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September 27, 2008

Argylls forge comeback win

By John Millikan

ELWOOD — After last week’s heartbreaking loss in the final seconds to Blackford, the Elwood Panthers found themselves in the midst of another Central Indiana Conference nail-biter with Madison-Grant on Friday night.

Mirroring last week’s loss, however, the Panthers gave up a touchdown with less then a minute left to lose 18-14 to the Argylls.

Madison-Grant fell behind 14-0 early in the first quarter, but the Argylls were able to capitalize on six Elwood turnovers and score 18 unanswered points to win the game. The comeback was highlighted by the final two Argyll scoring drives, which were 94 and 89 yards, respectively.

“These guys stepped up to the challenge,” said Madison-Grant coach Beau Engle, whose team had lost its three previous games. “I think they were a little sick of losing.”

Quarterback Andrew Stroup led the Argylls on the ground, rushing for 142 yards on 26 carries. Stroup also capped off Madison-Grant’s final two touchdown drives with a pair of rushing touchdowns and had two interceptions on defense.

“It isn’t all Stroup, but he is a big part of it,” Engle said. “If teams can tee off on him, and he can still get yards, then I am happy with that.”

Stroup’s final touchdown came with 38 seconds left in the game. On a second-and-goal play from the three-yard line, Stroup pounded it through the left side of the line for the score.

However, that left enough time for Elwood to make one last gasp at the end zone. But unlike Blackford in last Saturday’s game against Elwood, the Panthers couldn’t find a miracle.

After a kickoff return to midfield, Elwood quarterback Derek Wells threw his fourth interception of the game. With 27 seconds left, Derrek Purtee, who had two interceptions in the game, wrestled the ball out of the hands of Elwood wideout Kevin Worsley, securing an Argyll victory.

“That was one of the biggest plays I have ever seen,” Engle said. “The receiver came down with it, but our guy ripped it out of his hands. That’s an amazing play by Purtee — he wanted that football.”

Elwood was led by Jacob Dunnichay and Nathaniel Jones. Dunnichay led the team with 69 yards rushing, while Jones scored the only offensive touchdown for the Panthers — a 25-yard rushing touchdown. But overshadowing the Panther’s good start were a slew of turnovers.

“The bottom line is that we can’t get off the field defensively, and offensively we made way too many mistakes,” Elwood coach Marty Wells said. “Two tough ones in a row, and it doesn’t get any easier. I think the wheels are officially starting to wobble.”

The game, however, started out well for the Panthers. After forcing Madison-Grant to punt after its first possession, the Panthers forced three straight Argyll fumbles.

The first Madison-Grant fumble was returned 48 yards by Jones for a touchdown, and the second gave the Panthers good field position, which led to a 25-yard touchdown run by Wells.

Elwood led 14-0 at halftime, but Madison-Grant controlled the clock in the second half, including its final 89-yard drive that lasted more than eight minutes.

The Argylls improved their record to 2-4 and 1-3 in the CIC, while the Panthers fell to 2-4 and 2-2 in the conference.

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