By John Howley / SportingPumpkin.com
Despite a tough beginning, Logan Elm got its offense going in the second half Friday night to defeat visiting Fairfield Union 34-14.
“I think that in the second half we showed ourselves and showed others what we are truly capable of,” Logan Elm coach Terry Holbert said. “We came out flat. (Fairfield Union) came out in the first half and were more physical than we were.”
LE opened the game with Gabe Chalfin taking the opening kickoff back for a touchdown but trailed 7-6 at halftime.
After the Falcons opened the second half with a touchdown drive, the Braves’ defense tightened up and the offense got on track.
LE scored on four of its five possessions in the second half, with the fifth coming to an end when the clock expired.
Holbert said it was the team’s senior leadership that turned things around.
“It was a special night — it was Senior Night,” Holbert said. “That was just evident of our leadership. They took the guys at halftime and took control of the second half. They didn’t panic and they responded to adversity. I’m so proud of our seniors and our leadership.”
Senior quarterback Conner Robinson led the way completing 17 of 20 passes for 164 yards and rushing for 72 more.
He ran in two scores, threw TD passes to seniors Jason Sailor and Cole Westenbarger and connected with Sailor and Chalfin, also a senior, on two-point conversion plays.
“Your leadership is that foundation and this group of seniors, several of them had to play as freshmen and had to play as sophomore and took several beatings. They have faced tons of adversity and I’m just incredibly happy for them to experience this,” Holbert said. “They’ve worked for this, it’s something they’ve earned.
“We’re really going to enjoy this one and get ourselves refocused over the weekend.”
While the offense ramped things up in the second half, the LE defense kept the Falcons under wraps most of the night.
“Defense played tremendous. Multiple times we put them in really bad situations,” Holbert said. “That was just an all-around team effort.”
Sophomore Blayton Reid was LE’s top rusher with 85 yards on 13 carries.
Chalfin led the Braves with six catches for 59 yards and Sailor had five grabs for 63 yards.
Jayden Pritchard led Fairfield Union with 123 yards on 14 carries and scored on a 50-yard run in the third quarter.
Up next
Logan Elm (2-2, 2-2) rides its two-game win streak into next week when the Logan Chieftains come to town. Logan dropped to 0-4 on the season with a 14-0 loss to Bloom-Carroll Friday.
Fairfield Union (0-4, 0-4) hosts Bloom-Carroll (4-0, 3-0) Friday.
Logan Elm 34, Fairfield Union 14
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Fairfield Union 7 0 7 0 14
Logan Elm 6 0 22 6 34
First Quarter
LE — Gabe Chalfin 85 kickoff return (kick failed), 11:46.
FU — Etham Hyme 4 run (Bodie Hammack kick), 6:46.
Third Quarter
FU — Jayden Pritchard 50 run (Bodie Hammack kick), 9:42.
LE — Conner Robinson 3 run (run failed), 8:05.
LE — Jason Sailor 13 pass from Conner Robinson (Gabe Chalfin from Conner Robinson), 5:20.
LE — Conner Robinson 10 run (Jason Sailor from Conner Robinson), 0:39.
Fourth Quarter
LE — Cole Westenbarger 9 pass from Conner Robinson (kick failed), 7:37.
TEAM STATISTICS
FU LE
First downs 10 14
Rushing yards 57-234 31-162
Passing yards 30 164
Comp.-Att.-Int 1-2-0 17-20-0
Total yards 264 326
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2
Penalties-Yards 3-30 4-50
Punts-Ave. 3-22 0-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Fairfield Union — Dylan Moro 6-5, Hayden Collins 16-65, Jordan Casto 14-3, Ethan Hyme 6-36, Jayden Pritchard 14-123, Austin Pennell 1-2. Logan Elm — Conner Robinson 13-72, Blayton Reid 13-85, Matthew Dyer 2-0, Cole Westenbarger 1-3, Caleb Cradlebaugh 2-2.
PASSING – Fairfield Union — Hayden Collins 1-1-0-30, Barrett Young 0-1-0-0. Logan Elm — Conner Robinson 17-20-0-164.
RECEIVING – Fairfield Union — Blayne Carpenter 1-30. Logan Elm — Gabe Chalfin 6-59, Jason Sailor 5-63, Braylen Baker 4-29, Cole Westenbarger 1-9, David Evans 1-4.
