Knights shut out Vikings for second win
Elkins entered Saturday with one victory. But it would only take another to vault the Knights into the postseason.
Led by two interceptions returned for touchdowns by Lucian Paul and a stellar performance by their defense, the Knights defeated Dulles 33-0 at Mercer Stadium.
“This is a year where you really don’t look at the record,” Elkins coach Dennis Brantley said. “The object is just to get to the playoffs, and we accomplished that. I’m really happy about the way we showed up and played, as hard as they played and as focused as they played. No nonsense, no mistakes. I’m really happy with their performance tonight.”
It amounted to a play-in game in District 20-6A, which opted for zone play.
The Vikings (2-5) finished second in their zone, defeating Bush and Fort Bend Austin. Elkins (2-4) was third in its zone, defeating Clements.
But the Knights are moving on, securing a spot in the Class 6A Division II bracket.
“It’s great,” Elkins defensive back Blake Thompson said. “We’ve had some up and downs in the season. But it’s up now for sure.”
George Ranch will take the other Division II spot from 20-6A, defeating Bush 34-14 in its play-in game.
The Longhorns and Knights will meet to determine the higher seed. George Ranch won the matchup 37-24 on Nov. 14.
Defense dominated the first half. Fittingly, it was the Knights’ secondary setting up their 13-0 halftime lead.
“We pride ourselves in our defense,” Paul said. “Our head coach, he’s been coming to us asking us to basically win the game. Tonight we really went out there and did that.”
Thompson jumped a route over the middle to give Elkins the ball at the Dulles 40-yard line. Jackson Fields followed with a 21-yard reception to bring a team into the red zone for the first time.
Fields broke the scoreless tie, chasing down Isaiah Smith’s pass for a diving touchdown catch with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Knights only had to wait 56 seconds for their next touchdown.
Paul, who had an active first half stopping the run along with Kole Davis, returned his interception 43 yards to bring further life to a stadium that was quiet early. Dulles blocked the point-after kick.
Both defenses were aggressive and delivered some solid hits. Elkins was led in part by two sacks and a tackle for loss by Andre Pittman.
The Knights got sacks from Christopher Harding and Malik Rugley as well. Christian Peluse nearly intercepted a handoff on one play and flattened a punt returner on another.
Dulles was led by lineman Camron Miller, who had multiple tackles for loss and quarterback hurries. Vikings defensive standouts included Alec Baldwin and Jerimiah Harrell.
Paul was the highestscoring player on the field at one point. Backfield pressure led to a pass right to him early in the third quarter, which he promptly returned 25 yards for his second touchdown.
Elkins pulled away later with the help of a reverse pass on third-and-20. Savion Sims took an end around, pulled up and delivered a 39-yard strike to Fields.
The Knights pulled ahead 25-0 when Smith and Fields connected for the second time.
Elkins mostly stayed with De’Cameron Sims on the ground the rest of the way. He closed the scoring with a touchdown run, capping the Knights’ most complete performance of the season.