The Athens News Courier have released the All County teams. Elkmont is well represented with five players on each team. The offensive team is in December 25 issue and the defensive team, December 26. If want a hard copy of the articles, you can get one at the Athens newspaper office.
OFFENSE:
Running back: Mike
Tucker, Elkmont Tucker split carries with no less than four other
backs, but still managed to accumulate 823 yards and eight touchdowns on
101 carries. Elkmont had four backs with at least 450 yards rushing.
Offensive
lineman: Eli Vining, Elkmont In the wing-t offense, he was an
offensive tackle and a very essential part of a rushing attack that
accounted for 2,890 yards of rushing offense and 749 yards through the
air.
Honorable Mention:
Eli Hobbs
Travis Riggs
Alexis Hernandez
DEFENSE:
Defensive line: Kody
Clark, Elkmont
Clark, who was one of the team’s top offensive lineman,
had 46 and a half tackles, four sacks, three fumble recoveries, and a
blocked PAT.
Linebacker: Jared
Bailey, Elkmont
Bailey was selected to 4A first-team all-state as an
athlete after a team-best six interceptions including one for a
touchdown to go along with 66 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. On
offense, Bailey led the team in receptions and rushing touchdowns.
Honorable Mention:
Jared Smallwood
Drew Thompson
Zeb Pankey
Photos provided by Down Home Portraits
It's finally here, first round of playoffs. All of Elkmont is excited about tonight's game. There is lots of info about the Haleyville vs Elkmont matchup. Hopefully, you will find what you are looking for here.
Schedule of events:
*pep rally @ 8:15 am (so much fun)
* walk thru (Spirit Walk) @ 1pm
for those of you who are wondering what this is: The students line the halls and wish the players well on the way to the game bus
* parents and non students can be part of the Spirit Walk by lining up outside the elementary door in the gym parking lot (side facing football field)
Tickets:
Adult and Student tickets for tonight's game can be bought at the school office for $8.
Weather:
Kickoff:
44 degrees; will drop to 41 by end of game.
Hill Spirit has always been told that cool weather is football weather but brrr!! Expect a few clouds to hang around tonight
with temperatures dropping quickly after sunset. Dress warm; don't forget gloves and bring an extra blanket. Might want to consider bringing a sleeping bag to step into when you find your game seat.
Radio:
The Elkmont football playoff game vs Haleyville will be broadcast live
on AM 1110 WSLV in Ardmore. You can hear the game on your Tunein App or
online at http://streema.com/radios/WSLV
Thoughts from the newspapers:
Florence Times Daily:
The skinny: There might not be much defense in this game, as Haleyville is averaging 40.3 points per game and Elkmont is totaling 32.3 points. …The Lions dropped Lawrence County 40-21 last week, while Elkmont beat Clements 42-14. . ... Haleyville quarterback Conner Kiser boasted four touchdowns last week and will look to carry that momentum into the playoffs. ... Elkmont running back Jared Bailey, who rushed for 115 yards and one touchdown on eight carries, will be a focal point for the Haleyville defense.
Decatur Daily:
In what should be a close
first-round playoff game, Haleyville looks to have a small advantage
being at home. Playing on the road has not worked against Elkmont. The
Red Devils are 5-0 on the road.
Video Highlights:
Haleyville vs Lawrence County
The News Courier normally recognizes one Athens or Limestone County football player each week for their outstanding achievements during the previous. This week, however, there were too many great performances to single out one player.
The News Courier Players of the Week are:
Reed Blankenship, West Limestone.
Chardarius Townsend, Tanner
Jared Bailey, Elkmont
Bailey was instrumental in Elkmont’s 31-7 victory Friday over Central. The senior had two interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense. On offense, Bailey carried the ball 13 times for 109 yards and caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Nelson just before halftime.
Deshler rolled to its sixth straight win Friday with a convincing Class 4A, Region 8 victory over Elkmont. The win keeps the Tigers (6-1, 5-0) on top the region standings. It also stopped Elkmont’s three-game win streak. Elkmont kept pace with No. 10 ranked Deshler for a half, but couldn’t compete with the Tigers depth in the second half during a 34-0 loss Friday.
The Deshler offense broke open a 14-0 game in the second half with three touchdowns, while the defense was holding the Red Devils (5-2, 3-2) in check. In fact, Deshler limited Elkmont to only 153 yards of offense.
A fumble recovery by Nick Aubrey on the Elkmont 10 set up the game’s first score.
With 10:54 left in the half, Deshler scored again to made it 14-0 at the half.
The Deshler offense began to start pulling away in the third quarter. Byrd scored on a 4-yard run to push the score to 20-0. With two minutes left in the third, Chris Robinson caught a 25-yard pass from Howard and outran the defense for another touchdown.
Then with just under 10 minutes left in the game, Deshler scored its last touch down of the game and topped it off with a 2-point conversion.
Elkmont falls to 5-2 on the season and 3-2 in region play, but still sit in third place in 4A Region 8 and can make the playoffs with wins over Rogers and East Lawrence in its next two games.
The News Courier has a great article on the team. If you want a hard copy, you can still get one until Thursday at the office in Athens.
Elkmont’s football team is off to its best start since 2008 entering Friday’s game against No. 10 Deshler. While most of the players on this 5-1 team are the same that were on the team that lost eight games a year ago, there is one glaring difference.
“I think they are a year older and a year stronger,” said Elkmont head coach Sean Holt. “They’ve had another year in our Wing-T system. We’ve added to it and got comfortable with it. The Wing-T is all about hard work. You have to be physical and that’s the way we play.”
A big reason Elkmont is in contention to host an area playoff contest is the running game. Through six games this season, the Red Devils are averaging 285 yards per game on the ground. And, while Elkmont is loaded with talented running backs, look no further than an experienced offensive line for the reason.“It’s made a big difference,” Holt said about having experience. “They’ve all stuck with it. They’ve played the big boys in Region 8 the last few years and that helps.”
Tackles Travis Riggs and Eli Vining, guards Kody Clark and Brent Stovall and center Hunter Brazeal are opening the holes for Elkmont’s running backs. “I feel like we can run over more people this year,” said Vining. “It’s more of a power-based offense, so it’s more on us this year. This is the first year that we’ve studied the offense all year, so we know it really well. I think when we get into a game, once we figure out what we’re going to do, we run them over.”
The flip side is the extra attention opponents are giving to stop the run game. Fortunately for Elkmont, quarterback Jordan Nelson is taking advantage of those opportunities. Nelson has thrown the ball only 32 times, but has completed 66 percent of his passes, averages 17 yards per completion and has four touchdowns to just one interception. “Teams are stacking the box and we’ve still accomplished what we want to do,” said Holt. “Last week, we threw it six times, but we were effective. The last three weeks, we haven’t thrown it a lot. But we’ve been successful when we have. Jordan Nelson has been really successful through the air.”
Elkmont has four players capable of carrying the load in Elkmont’s Wing-T offense, led by Mike Tucker with 546 yards and five touchdowns. All four backs have at least 250 yards and are averaging at least 5.5 yards per carry. “There is a lot of punishment in how we run the ball,” said Holt. “They can really get beat up so we swap them out. They can all play three positions. We run it to try to keep the other team honest by being able to run either direction with any of the backs. The offense is meant to keep the defense off-balance.”
Elkmont and its talented running game face their toughest task tonight against a Deshler team riding a five-game winning streak, including a 40-20 win over Wilson last week. “They’re big, fast and deep,” said Holt about Deshler. “Those guys are playing one-way, so they can sub. They can bring in one of their defensive players on offense. They are very deep as far as their roster. That takes a toll.”
A win would move Elkmont into a three-way tie with Deshler and Wilson in Class 4A Region 8, while a loss would put the Red Devils in sole possession of third place. “We wanted to make the playoffs,” said Holt about their goals entering the season. “Hosting a playoff game would be a great goal for us now. But to get in the playoffs is the goal. Even if we don’t win (against Deshler), we’re still in good shape.”
Source: Athens News Courier
