SPORTS

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY
Girls win second straight meet, boys finish fourth

Christian Kerfoot. Courtesy photo

The Elk cross country teams opened the season with a slower start than they had anticipated, causing some disappointment among several runners. “I’m not worried, we just have to trust the process,” Elk cross country coach Tim Nance said at the time. The words of their coach rang true on Saturday as the Elk girls team finished number one for the second straight meet and took home the first-place hardware from the Third Annual Veterans Serving Veterans Invitational held in Cadillac. 

The Lady Elks, ranked third in Division 3, won the 15 team Blue Division with a total of 45 points, Caro was close behind in second place scoring 49 points, Clare finished a distant third place with 118 points. The first five Elk girls were Brynne Schulte (4-19:55) followed by Anna Pray (5-20:10), Eva Pray (10-20:48 PR), Jaida Schulte (14-21:16) and Ella Peck (15-21:21).

The Elk boys ran against 17 teams in the Blue Division, finishing with a solid showing in fourth place with 156 points, just behind Benzie Central in third place with 153 points. Clare won the Invitational with a score of 57 points, Midland Bullock Creek came in second place totaling a 136. The top five Elks were Qwynn Darnell (10-17:07), Max Ward (21-17:51), Christian Kerfoot (30-18:19), Emerson Barnes (51-19:05) and Seth Brown (53-19:07).

In each race the first 10 finishers were awarded T-shirts and the top 30 runners earned custom Dog Tags, keeping with the veterans’ theme. The Elk girls took home three shirts and five dog tags, the Elk boys left with one shirt and three sets of dog tags.
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Elk Rapids will look to flex some muscle at the Shepherd BLUEJAY Invite on Saturday, an annual Invite that attracts talented competition with over 100 teams scheduled to participate.

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VARSITY FOOTBALL
Ring that bell! Elks win Homecoming 41-0 

Chase DeArment (2) stiff-arms an Ironmen tackler and picks up extra yardage on a quarterback keeper. Photos by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elk Rapids varsity football team was able to ring the end zone victory bell for the first time this season after shutting out visiting Mancelona 41-0 in the Homecoming game last Friday. The non-conference win was the second straight victory for the Elks, bouncing back after losing their first three games of the season.

This game marked the 45th time the Elks have clashed with Mancelona, making the Ironmen the team they have gone up against the most in the history of Elk Rapids football. Glowicki Field was packed, both with fans in the stands and in the student section located in the end zone. The Elk Marching Band was playing loud, the cheerleaders were firing up the crowd, the night felt perfect for a Homecoming victory.

Mancelona went on offense first, moving the ball downfield with a nine-play 41-yard drive, aided by a pair of Elk defensive penalties. The Elk defense reared up, forcing Mancelona to turn the ball over on downs at the Elk 34- yard line.

On offense for the first time, the Elks picked up a first down with a 15-yard run by Dominic Fortuna, followed by a pair of two-yard pickups from Brendan Shockley that placed the ball at the Ironmen 39-yard line. On third and six, Elk quarterback Chase DeArment pitched the ball to Shockley, the senior running back raced to the endzone for the first Elk touchdown of the night. Owen Spencer split the uprights with the extra point giving the Elks a 7-0 lead.

Less than a minute later Fortuna picked off an Ironmen pass for a 35-yard pick-six and a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. DeArment scored on a 13-yard run two plays later, Shockley ran through the middle for the two-point conversion increasing the lead to 21-0.

Mancelona came back with a six-play drive and an Elk personal foul penalty to move the ball 61 yards with a first and goal at the Elk seven-yard line. A high snap and Ironmen penalty placed the ball at the Elk 21 with a third and goal, then fourth and goal after an incomplete pass. The Ironmen quarterback lofted a perfect ball into the corner of the end zone that was tipped away at the last second by a leaping Keagan Cotterman, giving the ball to the Elks on downs.
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The Elks added one more touchdown in the first half, scoring on a 66-yard pass from DeArment to Bolde with a minute remaining on the clock, giving the home team a 27-0 lead at halftime. The Elks scored twice in third quarter, the first TD on a 40-yard run by DeArment, the second a seven-yard pass from DeArment to Shockley that gave Elk Rapids an 41-0 lead with a running clock to end the third quarter and the game. DeArment rushed six times for 79 yards and completed 5-10 passes for 137 yards. Shockley rushed 10 times for 113 yards, Braden Fluty ran three times for 28 yards, Fortuna carried twice for 20 yards, Bolde caught four passes for 130 yards. Defensively, the Elks tallied five sacks, two by Zach Knoll, and one from Joel Darin, Aiden Maloy and Shockley. The leading tackler was Darin with eight, followed by Shockley with seven and Bolde with six. Cotterman and Fortuna each had an interception. Elk Rapids (2-3, 1-2 Leaders Division) will be home on Friday with a conference contest against Charlevoix.

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VARSITY GOLF
Golfers wrap up regular season

The Elk golfers had two players unavailable making them unable to compete as a team at the Rayder Invitational played at the Belvedere Golf Course in Charlevoix last Wednesday. Three Elks played as individuals, led by Hope Hoedel finishing fifth overall after shooting a 92. The first-place round was a 70, followed by players with rounds of 87, 88 and 90 to finish just ahead of Hoedel. Elk golfers Laci Springborn turned in a 143 and Fiona Doherty shot a 140.

“The team has had some ups and downs, but for a team as young as this one they have come a long way. The conference finals and regionals are coming up soon, I think the team could surprise some people,” said Elk varsity girls golf coach Mike Newhouse.

The Elk golf team has a busy schedule this week beginning with the Cadillac Invitational, held at the Cadillac Country Club on Wednesday (9/27). On Thursday (9/28) the Lake Michigan Conference Championships will be held at the Twin Birch Course in Kalkaska, then on Monday (10/2) the Elks will close out the regular season schedule competing in the Traverse City Central Invite, taking place on the Sundance Course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort in Kewadin.
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The Lady Elks are slated to compete in the Division 4 Girls Golf Regionals taking place at The Quest Golf Club in Houghton Lake on Tuesday, October 10.

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VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Elks sweep Rayders to remain unbeaten in conference

Josephine Lorenz (2) gets to the right place to keep the ball in play. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elk varsity volleyballers were back on the home court Tuesday night earning a sweep of Charlevoix in a Lake Michigan Conference battle. The win improved the Elks to 4-0 in the LMC title hunt.

“I thought we played pretty well tonight, one of the best games we have played this season,” said Elk varsity volleyball coach Connie Gorno. The Elks won the first set 25-21, took the second 25-20 and in the third set rallied back from a 10-6 deficit to score 11 straight points and take a 17-10 lead. Charlevoix clawed back to get within four at 24-20; the Elks got the final point they needed for the 25-20 win and three-set sweep. The Elks have not lost a set in four games of conference play, earning three-set sweeps of Harbor Springs, East Jordan, Grayling and tonight the Rayders. Caroline Best had 10 kills, 11 digs and served four aces, Violet Sumerix tallied eight kills with seven digs, Morgan Bergquist chipped in six kills, Gaby Morton sent back four kills, Ashley McCann had 27 assists and Mattea Ball totaled 12 digs. As a team the Elk stat line read 34 kills, seven aces, 31 assists, 42 digs and three blocks.

The varsity volleyball schedule has been less hectic these last few weeks, with games played just on Tuesday night. Coach Gorno doesn’t worry about her team becoming rusty with the once-a-week competition, rather the Elks have stepped up in practice. “In previous seasons we might have had two or three games a week right now, which meant our practices would be lighter,” Gorno explained. “We now work harder in practice with more defensive drills, serve and receive drills and other drills meant to finetune our skills. We have scrimmages among the team, and the girls are fiercely competitive, no one likes to lose. I have 12 outstanding athletes on this team, they work hard, they play well together, communicate well and they support each other.”

The days of a player dwelling on an error are over, these Elks move on immediately, ready for the next volley. “That was very frustrating when I first started coaching here, after an error a player would dwell on the mistake and it showed on the court,” Gorno said. “This is a game of mistakes, either we will make one or the other team will make one, that’s how points are scored. Now the team gets right back to work after an error, they have confidence in themselves.”
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Elk Rapids (11-10-1, 4-0 LMC) will host Boyne City in a conference contest on Tuesday (10/3).

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VARSITY SOCCER
Elks close in on conference crown 

Dalton Timmer (20) leaps over a Ram defender and takes a head shot. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

This might be hard to believe but the Elk varsity soccer team has just four games remaining on their regular season schedule, with three games being Lake Michigan Conference matchups. The Elks are in first place and control their own destiny in claiming the final LMC title by just winning.

The Elks hosted Harbor Springs last Thursday in a LMC game and played the Rams to a second 0-0 tie this season. Koa West had one save in the game.

On Monday the Elks were in Grayling for a conference tangle with the Vikings and earned a hard fought 3-2 victory. Cooper Moore scored giving the Elks a 1-0 lead; Grayling countered with a pair of goals and the Elks found themselves trailing 2-1. Grayling would not score again, as the Elks tied the game with a goal by Jayden Hresko. The tie was broken with the game-winning goal from Noah Hilley, giving the Elks a bit tighter hold on the LMC crown. Hilley had two assists, Hresko was credited with an assist, and West had two saves in the Elk goal.

“Our record and winning the conference, those are important, but I am honestly focused on each game and what we can do to improve,” said Elk varsity soccer coach Nate Plum.

“Against Harbor, we just didn’t score. We had 10 shots to their one, it was our fault that we didn’t score. That is a game we can learn from. We trailed in Grayling, but give credit to the boys, they fight and battle, they are not going to give up,” continued Coach Plum. “We have a great deal of talent on this team, we have great players in every grade. We also can change what we want to do, try different formations or switch our game speed. Still, I think that we haven’t played our best soccer yet, but we will keep at it. I always want the team to be the best soccer team that Elk Rapids has had. 

Elk Rapids (13-2-2, 5-0-2 LMC) next play at home in a conference game against Boyne City on Thursday, then travel to Petoskey on Saturday for a non-conference matchup on the artificial turf. The Elks will play their regular season home finale against conference rival Kalkaska on Monday and will celebrate “Senior Night.” They wrap up the regular season at Charlevoix next Thursday (10/5) in a final LMC contest.

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