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The Elgin High School varsity football team had a tough night on Sept. 8 as the Wildcats were defeated 33-7 at home by the Rangers of Bryan Rudder High School.
On Military and First Responders Night at Wildcat Stadium, Elgin got behind quickly and was unable to recover as Rudder controlled this matchup on both sides of the ball.
“We didn’t play very good tonight,” Wildcats head coach Heath Clawson said after the loss. “It happens. It’s one game. But I take it to heart. It’s on me. We will go back to work tomorrow and be better next week. Families bond together and support each other all the time. Not just when it’s good. Character is who you are when times are tough.”
Trailing 20-0 in the second quarter, Wildcats senior quarterback Nathen Lewis led an impressive drive downfield and was eventually able to score on a one-yard touchdown run to get Elgin within striking distance trailing just 20-7 heading into halftime.
Unfortunately, the offense was not able to get things going consistently as the Wildcats struggled at home the rest of the night against the Rangers.
However, Clawson and his team have a golden opportunity to bounce back on the road this week as Elgin will travel for its non-district finale at 7:30 p.m. against Cedar Creek High School at Bastrop ISD Memorial Stadium. This will be Homecoming for the host Eagles, who are off to a 0-3 start and have not won a game since the 2021 season in which Elgin and Cedar Creek were both winless and the Eagles defeated the Wildcats 14-6. In the 2022 matchup, Elgin was able to cruise to a dominant 44-15 victory over Cedar Creek.
Expect the Wildcats to play much better in this Friday’s matchup as Elgin looks to establish its running game on offense and force turnovers on defense to set the tone.
