Category: Elkton Football
No. 18 Warriors spoil Elkton's homecoming; Gresock tosses 3 TDs
During halftime of its match with Elkton High Friday evening, Havre de Grace football coach Brian Eberhardt challenged his team. The 18th-ranked Warriors answered Eberhardt’s request with an impressive second half, rolling to a 39-14 victory over the No. 20 Elks in front of a huge Homecoming audience in Cecil County.
Havre de Grace junior quarterback Alex Gresock threw three touchdowns and rushed for a score for the Warriors, and senior wideout Jordan Day had 113 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Elkton standout running back Raiquon Estep had 116 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown for the Golden Elks.
Havre de Grace scored touchdowns on their five possessions in the final 24 minutes of action, improving to 6-0 on the season. The Warriors are lone unbeaten in the UCBAC Chesapeake (3-0).
“It is a tough place to play, so getting a win here is huge,” Day said. “We have been working hard all season so getting wins like this mean a lot.”
Estep gave the Golden Elks (5-1, 2-1 Chesapeake) a 7-0 lead with a seven-yard run to cap off an eight-play drive with 10:58 seconds left in the first half. Havre de Grace responded on the ensuing possession when Day scored on a 50-yard reception from Gresock that included a stiff arm to tie the game.
Late in second quarter, the Elkton defense forced Havre de Grace to punt and the Golden Elks received the ball at their own 36-yard line with 21 seconds left in the period. Quarterback Ray Johnson connected with Estep for 25 yards down the middle of the field.
On the next play, Johnson delivered another strike to Michael Vass for a 39-yard touchdown with one second left in the half giving the home team a 14-7 advantage.
“This was one of the worst halves of football we played, Eberhardt said. “I told the guys to step up and play with a little more heart and that’s what they did.”
Day got the second half scoring onslaught going for the Warriors, hauling in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Gresock, three minutes into the third. The Warriors still trailed after the Golden Elks blocked the extra point attempt.
After forcing Elkton to a three-and-out, Gresock delivered a pass to Christian Penrow for 47 yards, setting up a 6-yard Sean Greeley touchdown run to give Havre de Grace the lead for good. The Warriors padded the lead with 8-yard touchdown pass from Gresock to Jordan White, a Gresock six-yard scamper and a Tony Bowan 13-yard touchdown run up the middle.
“We have so many guys who not only talented, but hard workers and I happy that they just kept fighting the whole night,” Eberhardt said.
“They made some adjustments we didn't have an answer for. They've got a really good football team over there,” Elkton coach Matt Feeney said. “They put their really good players in positions to make plays, we didn't have an answer this time. I'd like to think if we had another crack, we would have some answers.”
No. 18 Havre de Grace 39, No. 19 Elkton 14
Havre de Grace 0 7 12 20 – 39
Elkton 0 14 0 0 - 14
Second quarter
Elkton - Estep 7 run (Johnson kick)
Havre de Grace - Day 50 pass from Gresock (Harris kick)
Elkton - Vass Jr. 34 pass from Johnson (Johnson kick)
Third quarter
Havre de Grace - Day 63 pass from Gresock (kick blocked)
Havre de Grace - Greeley 6 run (run failed)
Fourth quarter
Havre de Grace - White 8 pass from Gresock (conversion failed)
Havre de Grace - Gresock 6 run (Harris kick)
Havre de Grace - Bowman 1 run (Harris kick)
