Owls upend Bombers

     Lady Luck wasn’t smiling on the Bombers on Friday.  Unfortunately, the Bombers didn’t have much to smile about either as they fell to 0-2 on the season with a 12-6 loss at the hands of the Elgin Owls.

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    The Bomber defense was tough giving up just 136 yards of total offense to Elgin, but it was the Owls’ defense that proved to be the difference as Elgin’s Justin Landers returned one of eight Bomber fumbles 35-yards for a touchdown.
    The two teams exchanged possessions several times remaining scoreless throughout the first period.  Elgin’s defense gave the Owls the lead with 7:54 remaining in the second as Landers squeezed through the line, took the handoff from Bomber quarterback Willie Lane, and raced untouched to the endzone.  The extra point sailed wide right and Elgin’s lead remained at 6-0.
    The Bombers looked as if they would answer Elgin’s score on their next possession as Lane went around the left end for 11 yards, but after a short run by Charlie Sheffield, Lane dropped back to pass and coughed up the ball under the pressure of the Elgin pass rush.  Lance Whitson recovered the fumble for the Bombers, but Big Red was unable to convert on third-and-15 and was forced to punt.
    The Bomber “D” followed by holding the Owls three-and-out.  And the Bomber “O” started to drive once again.  Lane hit tight end Chris Messner for a 22-yard gain to the Elgin 35-yard line.  Justin Billy and Sheffield alternated on several short runs to get the Bombers to the Elgin 16-yard line, but a sack cost the Bombers 11 yards and Elgin held on fourth down to end the Bomber threat at the 27-yard line.
    After the Owls took over, Bomber defensive lineman Gary Perry sacked Elgin quarterback J.J. Anderson and Charlie Love followed with an interception giving the Bombers another chance just before the half.  However, another Bomber fumble gave the Owls the ball back with :08 remaining in the half and Elgin took the 6-0 lead into the intermission.
    The Bombers opened the second half with three first downs as Lane hit Justin Garza for a 16-yard gain before Josh Hughes ripped off runs of 11- and 10-yards.  It looked as if the Bombers would score as they marched to the Elgin 23-yard line, but the Owl defense again held on fourth down to end the Bomber threat.
    That stand was the momentum the Owls’ offense needed as they ran over 5:00 off the clock with a 67-yard touchdown drive that was their only significant offensive output of the night.  Landers capped the drive with a 3-yard dive into the endzone.  The two-point conversion failed and the Owls led 12-0 with 1:50 remaining in the third.
    Another fumble ended the Bombers next possession giving Elgin the ball deep in Bomber territory, but once again the Bomber “D” held as Lane and Sheffield dropped Anderson behind the line on fourth-and-one to end the third period.
    The Bombers opened the fourth on offense and promptly moved to the Elgin 30-yard line.  Love then took a reverse around the right side eluding several Elgin defenders on his way to the endzone apparently cutting the Elgin lead to six, but a late flag for clipping negated the score.   Two plays later another Bomber fumble resulted in a fourth-and-15 and Elgin once again held on downs.
    The Bomber defense stepped up again as Messner put a lick on Landers forcing a fumble, which Lane recovered.
    The Bombers took over on the Elgin 38-yard line with 5:20 remaining in the game.  Lane dropped back to pass on first down, but couldn’t find a receiver and scrambled for 16 yards.  A pass interference penalty on Elgin followed a five-yard catch by Messner setting the Bombers up with first-and-goal on the eight.  Three plays later Billy bowled his way into the endzone from two yards out cutting the Elgin lead to 12-6 with 1:25 remaining.
    The Bombers had one more chance, but Elgin picked off the attempted Hail-Mary on the game’s final play as Elgin upset the Bombers for the first time in over a decade.
    For the game, the Bombers out-gained the Owls 172-yards to 136-yards, but eight fumbles, four of which Elgin recovered, and an interception slowed or stopped several Bomber drives and kept the Bomber offense from getting into any rhythm.
    “We’re not very good right now, that’s the bottom line.”  Bomber coach Todd Hudson said, “We’ve got to get a lot better.  We’ve got a lot of potential, but we’ve just got to make some improvements.”
    Hopefully another week of practice and hard work will help the Bombers unlock their offensive potential as they try to jump into the win column next Friday; however, the road doesn’t get any easier for the Bombers as they travel to Turpin to play Class A’s No. 1 ranked Cardinals.