Stout Defense Keys Elder Victory

Elder rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit for a 13-3 win over the Covington Catholic Colonels in the 9^th Annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown. CovCath drove into the Elder red-zone four times, but on each occasion, the Elder defense rose up and kept CovCath out of the endzone. Senior quarterback Derrick Ventre and senior running back Pat Williams led Elder offensively in the victory.

The Elder defense had their feet put to the fire after only one play into the season as CovCath forced a turnover at the Elder 33-yard line. CovCath drove seven plays to the Elder 3-yard line, but junior running back Brent Buckley was stopped for no gain by a host of Elder defenders on a crucial 3^rd and 2. CovCath settled for a 20-yard field goal and took a 3-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. After the field goal, the defenses from both teams took over for the rest of the half. The Elder defense forced three CovCath punts and didn’t allow the Colonels to cross midfield. For their part, the CovCath defense forced three punts of their own and ended Elder’s most promising drive by tipping and intercepting a Ventre pass late in the half.

CovCath received the second half kickoff and came out firing in their opening drive. Quarterback Josh Bessler drove the Colonels 74 yards on six plays with passes to tight ends Alex Wise and Peter Sutton and was helped by a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on the Elder defense. From the Elder 13-yard line, Wise rushed eight yards to the Elder 5-yard line where he fumbled after a hit from Elder senior defensive back Ross Metz. Elder recovered the ball at their own 2-yard line to stop the drive.

On the ensuing drive, Elder kept the ball on the ground, rushing seven consecutive times before facing a 4^th and 1 from their own 49-yard line. Ventre’s quarterback keeper was stopped short of the marker and CovCath took over possession inside Elder territory. The Elder defense was once again up to the challenge, this time wasting no time getting the ball back to the offense. On the first play of the drive, Metz forced another CovCath fumble that was recovered by junior linebacker Steve Hengehold on the Elder 38-yard line. Elder seized this momentum and drove 62 yards on eight plays, mixing the run and the pass. Ventre rushed eleven yards for a first down, and kept the drive alive by completing passes of sixteen and eighteen yards to Nick Olthaus and T.J. Ramstetter. The drive was culminated with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Ventre to Kyle Rudolph on the only third-down of the drive. After the PAT failed, Elder led 6-3 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.

Elder kicker Ben Van Olfen boomed the ensuing kickoff into the endzone, forcing CovCath to start their drive at their own 20-yard line, and directly in front of the Elder student section. The CovCath drive went backwards as the Elder defense fed off the crowd noise and a CovCath false start penalty. After a CovCath punt on fourth and long, Elder took over possession at the CovCath 48-yard line with a chance to add to their lead. Ventre remained perfect through the air in the second half, completing a shovel pass to sophomore Jabare Battle, and two passes to Olthaus. On 2^nd and Goal from the CovCath 2-yard line, Williams ran untouched off left-tackle into the endzone for an Elder touchdown. Van Olfen added the extra point, and Elder led 13-3.

Trailing by ten points in the fourth quarter, CovCath opened up the offense on their next drive. The Colonels drove 65 yards to the Elder 10-yard line on nine plays, keyed by a 20-yard pass from Bleser to Kurt Bovard. With CovCath driving deep into the Elder red zone, the Elder student section and fan base rose as one, contributing to back-to-back CovCath false start penalties. Now facing a 1^st and 20 from the Elder 20-yard line, CovCath lost a fumble in their backfield that was recovered by Elder junior linebacker Ricky Otis with six minutes remaining.

Starting from their own 23-yard line, Elder took over four minutes off the clock as they ran the ball exclusively on their drive. Williams ran the ball six times for eighteen yards, but more importantly stayed in bounds on each run to keep the clock running. After a 41-yard punt from senior punter Michael Cooke, CovCath took over from their 18-yard line with under two minutes to play.

From there, Bleser once again drove CovCath deep into Elder territory. Facing 4^th and 10 with under a minute remaining, Bleser connected with Bovard for 27 yards down to the Elder 19-yard line. After the fourth CovCath false start penalty in front of the Elder student section, Metz intercepted a Bleser pass attempt on the 2-yard line to seal the victory for the Panthers.

Game Notes:

§ Elder running back Pat Williams rushed 28 times for 108 yards and one touchdown.

§ Elder quarterback Derrick Ventre completed 10 of 16 passes for 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Ventre was perfect through the air in the second half, completing all six pass attempts for 87 yards. Ventre also added 25 yards on the ground on 9 carries.

§ Elder wide receiver Nick Olthaus caught 5 passes for 65 yards.

§ Elder tight end Kyle Rudolph caught 3 passes for 37 yards and one touchdown.

§ Covington Catholic running back Brent Buckley rushed 17 times for 60 yards.

§ Covington Catholic quarterback Josh Bleser completed 13 of 25 passes for 166 yards and one interception.

§ Covington Catholic outgained Elder in total yardage 284-278.

§ Elder punter Michael Cooke averaged 38.5 yards on four punts with a 37.5 net.

§ Elder has a 7-2 Showdown Record.

§ Elder leads Covington Catholic 3-0 in the all-time series.

§ Elder won for the first time when trailing at the half since defeating LaSalle 38-35 at The Pit on September 24, 2004.