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South Elgin earns 16th straight home win

Larkin was able keep pace with South Elgin in the early part of Friday night's Upstate Eight Conference contest.

At one point in the first quarter, the Royals tied the Storm and only trailed 14-6 at the end of the period.

However, South Elgin's effective triple-option offense kicked into high gear in the second quarter and the Storm pulled away to win its 16th home game in a row, 47-12.

"You've got to respect the triple-option because if you don't, we run hard and if you do, receivers are open," said South Elgin quarterback Jake Sullivan, who threw 4 touchdown passes.

South Elgin coach Dragan Teonic was not surprised by the Royals' tenacity.

"Totally what we expected. They are in games, they are a team that's improving," Teonic said. "We knew they were tough. They had other scoring opportunities that we were able to quash."

South Elgin (4-0, 4-0) scored on the first drive of the game. Mason Montgomery finished the possession when he took Sullivan's pitch and rumbled for 8 yards to put his team on the scoreboard, leading 6-0 with 8:13 left in the first quarter.

The Storm immediately got the ball back on an onside kick, but the drive stalled at the Royals' 25-yard line.

Larkin (1-3, 1-3) took over and marched down field to cross the goal line on Jalen Miller's 15-yard run at the 2:37 mark of the first quarter. South Elgin's Denver Davis and Jordan Green blocked the extra-point try, so the Royals were only able to tie the Storm 6-6.

The tie was short-lived as South Elgin scored on its next possession. Ari Karvis ended a 65-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge with 42 seconds left in the quarter. The two-point conversion was good putting the Storm up 14-6 to start the second quarter.

South Elgin executed another successful onside kick. A drive that started in the first quarter and ended with 9:57 left in the second quarter resulted in another Storm score on a 14-yard Sullivan pass to a leaping Kyle Steinhofer in the end zone.

Larkin responded with Miller's second score of the game on a 3-yard plunge at the 7:11 mark of the period.

Montgomery and Steinhofer both notched their second touchdowns of the night on second-quarter passes from Sullivan, who finished 7-of-14 for 96 yards. At halftime South Elgin led 34-12.

South Elgin added 2 more touchdowns in the third quarter. Montgomery scored his third touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Sullivan. Jordan Green crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run.

In addition to completing 2 passes for 29 yards, Montgomery rushed 115 yards on 9 carries. Teammate Lucas Noworol gained 110 yards on 9 attempts.

Larkin threatened to score again in the third quarter. A 64-yard pass from Tizairian Johnson-Williams (10 for 23 for 177 yards) to Chevelle Clements (5 completions for 125 yards) put the Royals at South Elgin's 9-yard line. A bad snap recovered by the Storm's Damiel Viscuso ended the threat.

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