Elder was able to pull away from Lakota West, 21-7, in this Crosstown Showdown non-conference season opener at Princeton High School.
If you missed the second quarter, you would have missed the majority of the scoring. It went three minutes into the second quarter until Elder opened the scoring. Elder senior quarterback Danny Niemann found senior wide receiver Danny Faillace on a 4-yard touchdown pass. Niemann threw for 166 yards on 20 completions.
The Firebirds countered 16 seconds later when running back Danny Afari ran for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. Afari rushed for 119 yards for the game.
Michael Bittner from Elder named Mercy Health MVP. @mercy_health @ehsports pic.twitter.com/REDvKW3zXl
— Crosstown Showdown (@xtownshowdown) August 26, 2017
Elder drove down the field prior to halftime and scored on a 3-yard touchdown run by junior Michael Bittner to take a 13-7 lead after the PAT was missed.
Bittner extended the lead in the third quarter when the junior back found the endzone for the second time in the game. The two-point conversion was converted. Bittner led the Panthers with 104 yards on 11 carries.
Junior Luke Massminster led the team with 19 carries and 61 yards. Niemann had two favorite receivers in this game. Kyle Trischer had nine catches for 79 yards and Jack O’Brien had 50 receiving yards on four receptions.
Lakota West sophomore quarterback MyJaden Horton threw for 54 yards and an interception. The Panthers held Morton to only five completions on 12 attempts.
The Firebirds defense helped keep the team in the game by forcing three turnovers. Chris Johnson, Jeremiah Ross and Hunter Anderson each had an interception to stop the Panthers.
David Afari named Lakota West Mercy Health MVP. @mercy_health @LWHSFootball pic.twitter.com/hyRbq72Hia
— Crosstown Showdown (@xtownshowdown) August 26, 2017
Elder (1-0) will host Oak Hills (0-1) next week and Lakota West (0-1) will try to get a win against Centerville (1-0) in its home opener.
Elder 0 13 8 0
Lakota West 0 7 0 0
RECAP:
Elder: Faillace: 4-yd rec by Niemann (Harmeyer kick)
Lakota West: Afari 80-yd run (Hjort kick)
Elder: Bittner 3-yd run (Kick failed)
Elder: Bittner 9-yd run (Massminster rush)
RECORDS: Elder (1-0); Lakota West (0-1)
