Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Williams the top target for Elks
ELKINS — Aden Williams wasn’t bragging when he discussed the efficiency of the Elkins offense before Thursday’s game with Lincoln.
If anything, he underestimated the Elks, who completed a perfect run through the 4A-1 Conference with a blowout 77-20 victory over the Wolves. Elkins (9-1, 7-0) will receive a bye this week before beginning the playoffs in Class 4A.
Elkins finished 8-3 last year with a playoff win over Dardanelle before being eliminated by Stuttgart.
The Elks have been impressive all season with a high-powered offense that features quarterback Slade “Dizzy” Dean, running back Da’Shawn Chairs, and a reliable group of receivers.
“Our offense is insanely good,” Williams said. “As long as our defense holds up, we’ll keep winning.”
That’s yet to be determined, especially in the playoffs against the top 4A schools in the state. But there’s no doubt Williams and his teammates are on a roll with eight consecutive victories following a 42-22 loss to 3A-1 Conference champion Charleston in early September.
It’s been a particularly good senior season for Williams (510, 160), who leads Elkins with 54 receptions for 856 yards and eight touchdowns. Williams also starts in the secondary, where he’s made 35 tackles and intercepted two passes.
“Aden’s done a great job since I got here in working hard and getting his body right,” said Zach Williams, who left Greenwood as offensive coordinator to take over the head coaching job at Elkins last year. “He’s gotten tremendously better at rout-running and having Coach [Drew] Morgan here has helped with that, obviously. Aden’s become our No. 1 go-to receiver.
“When we need a big play, we go and target Aden.”
Dean said his rapport with Williams and the other Elks receivers began well before the season.
“During the summer, we threw a lot and that’s continued today to where we really have a great connection,” said Dean, the junior quarterback. “He’s a great teammate. He’s one of the fastest kids I’ve been around and he tracks the ball great in the air. “
Elkins has also received plenty of big plays in the passing game from Jusiah Bettencourt, who caught 7 passes for 133 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Wolves. Williams added 7 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown. Stone Dean and Steven Holland are also capable targets, which forces defenders to respect all of the wideouts instead of ganging up on one.
“With the guys we have, it takes away coverage on one person,” Williams said. “They can’t focus on just one guy, they’ve got to focus on four.”
Dizzy Dean threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns while Chairs contributed 120 yards rushing and two scores on 12 carries when Elkins accomplished a rare feat after beating Lincoln to end the regular season.
“We haven’t won a conference championship since 1993, so it’s a pretty big deal to us, especially going undefeated in conference play,” Williams said.
The Elks will have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs up until the state championship game, if they make it that far.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, there’s no doubt these are exciting times in Elkins with a quarterback named Dizzy, a rocking running back named Chairs, and Elks running routes all over the field waiting for Dizzy to target them with his passes.
“It’s been a great experience with him,” Williams said of his quarterback. “He knows how to read what’s out there on the football field and find the open guy. I just love playing with him.”