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The Elgin Wildcats varsity football team fell 36-19 to the Taylor Ducks after an hour weather delay Friday at Taylor High School.
Elgin was first on the scoreboard in the Sept. 11 loss and held a lead heading to halftime. Despite the outcome, head coach Rich Lucero said he was able to identify some inconsistencies and areas for improvement with the developing roster.
“Specifically on third downs and in the red zone, but you only learn by trial of fire, and that’s where we’re at,” he said.
The Wildcats found their stride with 49 seconds left in the first quarter on a receiving touchdown by sophomore running back Kelly Wendo.
Freshman running back JC Keller added the lone score of the second quarter, breaking through the Duck defense along the line of scrimmage to give the Wildcats their 15-13 halftime lead.
“The biggest part of our game plan was trying to establish a run game, because I think that’s what you need to do to win football games long term,” Lucero said. “The other side of that is possessing the ball so that we could keep their strong offense on the sideline, and I thought we did enough of that.”
Elgin would not find the end zone again until late in the fourth quarter, when sophomore quarterback Tanner Modesette connected with Wendo to set the final score at 36-19.
“We believe in Tanner Modesette, and we’re going to support and continue to develop,” Lucero said. “Sometimes it just takes time.”
With district play starting soon, the Wildcats now hold a 1-2 overall record.
Elgin travels to face Del Valle Friday before hosting the Rudder Rangers Sept. 25. The team opens district play against Pflugerville at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at Pflugerville High School.
