Cougars still winless after loss to Elida

CINDY WOOD/independent sports

ELIDA — It was all Elida in a 43-6 Western Buckeye League win over Van Wert Friday night. Elida quarterback Reggie McAdams had a night for the books, completing 23 of 34 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns. All four of those touchdown passes went into the hands of Bulldog receiver Austin Etzler. Colin Blymyer took care of the ground game for the Bulldogs and Van Wert struggled to gain any yardage, or momentum, throughout the first three quarters.

McAdams began Elida’s scoring spree with a touchdown completion in the first quarter, after having one called back on a holding penalty. A couple plays later, he connected with Austin Etzler for the first of four times last night, this time from 27 yards out, and the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead.

It looked as if Van Wert was in the game, trailing by one touchdown at the end of the first, but things then got out of hand — quickly — for the Cougars.

At the 5:37 mark of the second quarter, McAdams ran it in from 9 yards out. The kick from Nathan Jenkins was good and Elida led 14-0. Less than a minute later, McAdams found Etzler again from 27 yards out to put the Bulldogs up 20-0, when the extra point attempt failed.

Another touchdown pass to Etzler from 18 yards out came with under 30 seconds to go in the half, and the Cougars found themselves trailing 27-0 going into the locker room.

It was more of the same in the second half, as McAdams found Etzler again in the end zone, this time from 12 yards out, and the kick was good. After pinning Van Wert quarterback Tyler Williams deep in Van Wert territory, Elida’s defense got in on the scoring when Amari Gooding tackled the Van Wert quarterback in the end zone, adding another two points to the lead.

Fortunately, Van Wert avoided the shutout when Lucas Sullivan scored from a yard out for the Cougars in the final quarter.

McAdams wasn’t finished, though, and tacked on a 28-yard touchdown run with 5:45 to go in the game to give the Bulldogs the final margin of victory.

For the game, the Bulldogs rushed 22 times for 132 yards, while Van Wert ran 39 times for just 71 yards.

Williams completed 5 of 10 passes for 46 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, while the Cougars managed only eight first downs on the night, compared to Elida’s 25. McAdams passed for 360 yards, completing 24 of 36 attempts, with four TDs and two pick-offs.

The Bulldog defense also dominated, limiting Van Wert to just 117 yards of total offense while Elida racked up 504 yards on the tired and struggling Cougar “D”.

Butterfingers were also a problem for Van Wert, which coughed the ball up six times, losing two of the fumbles, while Elida had two fumbles and lost one.

With the win, Elida moves to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the WBL. The Cougars fall to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in league play.