Webb doubles up Chargers despite Ellison’s heroics

Chattanooga Christian fought hard all night Friday but came up short, 42-21, against Knoxville Webb.

Despite the loss, junior running back Mondo Ellison gave CCS a fighter’s chance throughout most of the Division II-AA East game. He had 41 carries for 220 yards and two touchdowns and caught a pass for 33 yards.

Ellison accounted for 253 of the Chargers’ 306 total yards.

“He’s the workhorse. We know that. Between him and Roderick Young — those are two good backs that can tote the mail,” coach Mark Mariakis said. “I thought we did a decent job offensively today to move it on a very good defensive team.

“I think defensively today we didn’t play at the level we had been playing at. That was kind of disappointing. I don’t know why. In a big game like this, you’ve got to be able to step up.”

After an early turnover, the Chargers (5-3, 3-1) found themselves in a 14-0 hole midway through the first quarter. However, when Webb (4-3, 3-1) turned the ball over for the first time, quarterback Sam Hall connected with Jordan Perkins for a 22-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7 with 8:40 remaining in the second quarter.

“That’s a freshman out there playing in a big-time game,” Mariakis raved about Hall. “We hate it for Dylan (Clark), the senior, who right now is not able to play. He’s got mono. But it’s nice to have a freshman with some game experience to be able to come in and lead a team. He played well. He ran the ball well. He threw the ball well. So we’re OK there.”

The elation from the score was short-lived, though, as Webb fullback Morgan Ernst ran for a touchdown on the very next play from scrimmage. The Spartans gashed the Chargers on an inside trap handoff all night. Leading the way was Ernst, who finished with 174 yards on six carries, including TD runs of 60, 46 and 10 yards.

“We didn’t play at that level consistently tonight,” Mariakis said. “There were some bright spots for us, but when you’re playing a quality playoff team — like Webb is — you’ve got to play at that level every snap. And we didn’t do it tonight.

“So I just told them: Sometimes you win; sometimes you learn. And we’ve got to go back and look at the film. They’ve got to evaluate themselves and see what we’ve got to do to get better to get ready for Notre Dame next week.”

After leading 21-7 at the break, Webb extended its margin to 28-7 midway through the third.

Contact Thomas Black at sports@timesfreepress.com.