Prep football: New Miami overwhelmed by double-wing Elgin 54-6

It was a ground attack that couldn’t be stopped, at least not by New Miami High School’s football team.

Visiting Marion Elgin punished the Vikings with a double-wing offense that produced 455 yards on the ground Saturday night as the Comets rumbled to a 54-6 victory at Mara Field.

“We heard they were 0-10 last year, so we came out here thinking we had a chance, but they obviously picked up some players,” New Miami junior Ronnie Bowman said. “We knew they were going to be strong and big up front, but we were not expecting this kind of strength out of them.”

Elgin (2-0) was indeed winless last year and gave up 58.1 points per game in the process, but the Comets have looked like a very strong Division VI squad so far in 2017.

“Their coach said they had 12 guys come out that didn’t play last year, and you can really see the difference,” Vikings coach John Singleton said. “There wasn’t anything we could do. They’re just bigger and stronger. We preach that we’ve got to get bigger and stronger, and I think tonight was a lesson in that.”

Brandon Kelly ran 11 times for 205 yards and four touchdowns for Elgin. Danyal Minton had 150 yards and two TDs on 13 carries in the winning effort, and Jordan Brown chipped in a 42-yard interception return for a score in the third period.

The Comets were officially 0 of 2 through the air … they did connect on one aerial, but it was a lateral. Through two games this year, Elgin has 1,008 rushing yards and 3 passing yards.

“Last week we actually set a school record with 553 yards on the ground (in a 60-27 win over Toledo Christian),” third-year Comets coach Derek Katris said. “We’ve built the double-wing offense and kind of ran the plays for three years, but this is the first time we’ve gone to the full-out double wing.

“Our kids are weight-room strong, they’re excited about it, and they love it. We’ve had a culture shift here, and it’s been awesome. I think we’ve built it the right way.”

Katris admitted he didn’t know much about New Miami prior to Saturday’s contest.

“We’ve seen the film, but I don’t really know anyone in the area. You just kind of show up and play,” Katris said. “They kind of remind me of the state of our program last year when we had 22, 23 kids and were 0-10. It’s a tough situation. It’s hard to deal with.”

The Vikings (0-2) trailed 38-0 at halftime, so the second half was played with a running clock. New Miami avoided the shutout when Bowman caught a 58-yard touchdown bomb from Trey Robinette with 2:38 left.

“I was getting the touchdown. I was not doing anything other than scoring,” Bowman said. “You could see it was going to be a beating from the beginning, but we had to keep chugging. In the second half, we were just like, ‘Hey, let’s wing it. We can’t get out of it. We ain’t forfeiting. So play your hardest.’ We gave it all we had with what we had.”

Robinette, a freshman, was 10 of 26 for 146 yards with two interceptions for the Vikings. The hosts were held to minus-21 rushing yards.

New Miami’s 21-man roster got hit with several injuries during the game, including receivers Danny Spivey and Jordan Robinette. Bowman (two catches for 69 yards, two kickoff returns for 54 yards) and Robinette (three catches for 51 yards, three kickoff returns for 72 yards) both accumulated 123 all-purpose yards.

Dalton Garrett had an interception and Andrew Gray recovered a fumble for the Vikings, who turned the ball over five times.

“I thought we had an opportunity to lay down in the second half and we didn’t, so I was proud of my kids for that,” Singleton said. “They were pretty down at halftime. I felt bad for them, but they went out and kept trying to make plays.

“We’re going to be overmatched in a lot of games. That’s the bottom line. Anybody can watch and see that. But they’re never going to be ashamed of how we play. We will always play hard. That’s all I can say.”

Both teams will return to action Friday, New Miami at Deer Park and Elgin at home against Mt. Gilead.

Elgin 14-24-16-0—54

New Miami 0-0-0-6—6

E: Danyal Minton 5 run (Pass failed)

E: Brandon Kelly 57 run (Wesley Stillions run)

E: Kelly 32 run (Minton run)

E: Minton 34 run (Kelly run)

E: Kelly 14 run (Minton run)

E: Jordan Brown 42 interception return (Evan Backensto run)

E: Kelly 50 run (Jordan McCormack run)

N: Ronnie Bowman 58 pass from Trey Robinette (Pass failed)

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