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High School Sports

September 14, 2008

Marlow slips by Elgin 20-15

Ryan Hatch

ELGIN — ELGIN — A minute and 31 seconds isn’t a very long time. And when trying to drive nearly 65 yards in the fourth quarter of a three-point game, it’s usually even shorter. But for the Marlow Outlaws, it was all they needed. And they even had a little time to spare.

Marlow beat Elgin 20-15 on a last minute drive that ended with a 28-yard reverse toss pass in the hands of Chance Casteel from Drew Wortham, silencing an Elgin celebration that started minutes before. The Owls had gone up 15-12 late in the fourth quarter on quarterback Eric Gengnagel’s one-yard run, but kept too much time on the clock.

“We were out of sync the whole game it seemed like,” Foster said. “Give credit to Elgin they played hard, they did everything they could to win a football game, we just made one more play than they did.”

And what a play it was. On his only pass attempt of the night, Wortham took an end-around hand-off, scampered several yards and let it fly toward the end zone, where Casteel beat an outstretched defensive back for the score.

Wortham finished the night four receptions for 58 yards with a touchdown pass. Coach Foster said he was very impressed with how Wortham played.

“He (Wortham) made some gutsy plays,” he said. “He’s a heck of a player, he plays a whole lot bigger than what he is.”

Quarterback Chance Rice, who carried the Outlaws’ offense with 118 total yards, led the final drive down the field with several big plays setting up the final score.

“Someone had to step up and make a play,” Rice said. “Me being the quarterback, I’m the one who has to.”

It was a sloppy game most of the way through, with each team being called for 13 penalties for a combined total of 250 yards. Coach Foster said it was the most penalties he could ever remember in a game. Both teams played pretty evenly, as Marlow finished the game with 13 first downs and Elgin 12, and each struggled to get a consistent flow on offense.

“Our defense played well, they kept us in it,” Foster said.

For Elgin, Gengnagel played nearly flawless, aside from throwing one interception. He finished with 149 yards rushing on 19 attempts with two touchdowns, and was 5-13 passing for 48 yards. Gengnagel was the only Elgin player with positive yards rushing the ball.

After last week’s loss to Tuttle, Foster was glad to get a win to regain confidence that would have certainly fell even further.

“We needed it,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the playoffs, but we needed a win just to get us going, hopefully it’ll continue.”

Rice echoed Foster’s message, describing the importance of getting a win going into next week.

“We had Tuttle and we disappointed,” Rice said. “Just to come out with a win, we’re more confident going into next week.”

Up next for Marlow is Comanche, who lost its second straight game of the year to Cache, 41-9.

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