Elder High School football coach Doug Ramsey was happy his team escaped hostile territory with a crucial Greater Catholic League Conference victory, but also a little disappointed with how his group finished the contest.
Despite boasting a 21-0 halftime lead, his Panthers were pushed to the brink late. Elder managed to withstand everything La Salle could dial up in the second half, staving off the Lancers’ late rally attempt for a 28-21 victory in the regular-season finale for both teams at Lancer Stadium.
“Give La Salle credit, they came out and played really well in the second half, but we had opportunities,” Ramsey said. “Credit to them, but we found a way at the end. . . But I’m proud of our guys, we fought, played hard and came away with a win against a tough team.”
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Early in the contest, the Lancers were looking to capitalize on excellent field position for La Salle’s first possession of the night. With the ball sitting at the Elder 34-yard-line following a face mask penalty, the Lancers coughed up the rock on a mis-exchanged jet-sweep, which junior Samari Freeman recovered for an early Panther takeaway.
A handful of plays later, Elder senior Drew Ramsey punched in the game’s first score, putting the Panthers ahead 7-0 and capitalizing on the takeaway.
Perhaps the play of the first half – and in hindsight, possibly all night – came on a crucial fourth-and-one for the Panthers, who had the ball on the Lancer 7-yard-line. Coach Ramsey rolled the dice, entrusting his offense to pick up the yardage, rather than settling for a field goal. Ultimately, it paid major dividends.
Elder senior quarterback Ben Hambleton broke a tackle en route to the conversion, setting the stage for a five-yard rushing score by junior Luke Flowers.
The Panthers tacked on another first-half score in the final minute of the second quarter, with Drew Ramsey finishing a nearly five-minute, 72-yard drive with his second score of the night, this time from two yards out.
Following intermission, La Salle’s offense finally began to click. Senior quarterback Cam Cope led the Lancer offense down the field midway through the third quarter and found senior Dylan Eddings for a 10-yard strike and the Lancers’ first points of the night.
The Panthers quickly responded, however, as Hambleton finished off a 63-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown to senior Zane Klusman – putting the Panthers back ahead by three scores with under nine minutes remaining in the contest.
Give La Salle credit though, they never quit fighting.
Cope – who ended with 174 passing yards and two touchdowns – really had the Lancer offense moving and scored just a minute later. Cope connected on a pair of 30 or more yard connections, allowing for a two-yard rushing score from senior Davay Hill.
Meanwhile, the Lancer defense continued to find its footing and you could slowly feel the pendulum of momentum swing back in La Salle favor late. The La Salle defense forced another stop, electrifying the crowd and intensifying the moment.
With Cope guiding the Lancers, the comeback ensued. Cope found junior Jaylen Grant wide-open on the Lancer sideline for a 27-yard walk-in score, drawing the Lancers within just one score.
After another stop defensively, La Salle had one last drive to prove it late. Despite a break on a defensive holding – which negated what appeared to be a safety – Elder’s defense stood strong. Flowers intercepted one final heave by Cope, crushing any comeback aspirations the Lancers had and sealing a major victory for the Panthers.
“That was big,” Coach Ramsey recalled his defense’s fourth-quarter stop. “We needed a stop there, then Luke Flowers gets the interception at the end. It was big. We really stopped them twice. We stopped them down there and then hereafter the penalty. Just a really good job by our defense at the end.”
Shuffle passes, wildcat packages, intermediate routes, you name it, the Panthers did it. They ultimately just wanted to find the ball in the hands of their best playmakers – Ramsey and Hambleton -- and to their credit, did so effectively.
Ramsey finished with 34 touches, 191 yards and two touchdowns. Hambleton ended by converting 21-of-31 pass attempts for 167 yards and a touchdown.
“In the first half [we were clicking offensively],” coach Ramsey said. “Then we had a good drive to make it 28-7. We tried to mix things up, do a lot of different things, show a lot of different looks. I thought our offensive line played really well tonight. We’ve struggled to run the ball and we ran it really well tonight.”
With the victory, Elder (5-5) finishes the year second in the GCL, slotting in with a 2-1 conference record. La Salle (5-4), finishes at 0-3 with narrow losses to both Elder and Moeller and having lost four of their last five contests.
As victors in three of their last four contests, coach Ramsey feels confident with his team’s progression entering postseason play.
“I feel good. We’re playing pretty well here at the end of the season. We’ve won three of our last four games. You think about it, we’ve beaten La Salle and Moeller for two of those three wins. I feel pretty confident rolling into the playoffs.”
Elder – 7 14 0 7 – 28
La Salle – 0 0 7 14 -- 21
1Q: E – Ramsey 11-yard rush (Maurer kick) 7-0 Elder.
2Q: E – Flowers 4-yard rush (Maurer kick) 14-0 Elder.
E – Ramsey 1-yard rush (Maurer kick) 21-0 Elder.
3Q: LAS - Eddings 11-yard reception from Cope (Luensman kick) 21-7 Elder.
4Q: E - Klusman 3-yard reception from Hambleton (Maurer kick) 28-7 Elder.
LAS - Hill 3-yard rush (Luensman kick) 28-14 Elder.
LAS – Grant 23-yard pass from Cope (Luensman kick) 28-21 Elder.
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