The Bureau Valley football team may not have won Friday against Macomb, but first-year coach Patrick Elder saw improvement and promise from his squad.
“We really did some positive things tonight that we haven’t done before,” Elder said. “We’ve gotten better every week. We haven’t seen the results on the field yet (in terms of wins and losses), but I believe we will.”
Although the Storm fell 42-16 in Friday’s Lincoln Trail-Prairieland Conference Large Division matchup in Manlius, BV scored a season high in points against its toughest opponent to date.
Unfortunately for the Storm (0-4, 0-2 LTPC Large), the Bombers (4-0, 3-0 LTPC Large) took control early and never looked back, pulling away to a running clock victory.
“We’ve got to be cleaner,” Elder said. “Oftentimes, we can be our own worst enemy and get in the way of our own success.”
Despite the deficit, BV kept fighting and scored twice in the fourth quarter.
The first came just eight seconds into the quarter when junior running back Dane Stewart bulldozed in from 11 yards out, followed by a successful two-point conversion. Minutes later, sophomore running back Keenyn Richter broke free for a 26-yard touchdown, and the Storm again converted the PAT run.
“Our kids executed better, and we were able to finish some things off,” Elder said.
While BV outscored Macomb 16-0 in the fourth quarter, the Bombers had already built a commanding 35-0 halftime lead and invoked the running clock just 94 seconds into the third quarter.
“We had some opportunities in the first half that we let get away,” Elder said. “When you play a team of that caliber, you can’t afford that.”
Macomb wasted no time establishing control.
After BV went three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, the Bombers scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass on their first play to take a 7-0 lead less than two minutes in.
They added a 34-yard touchdown pass later in the first quarter to go up 14-0.
In the second quarter, BV drove to the Macomb 6-yard line but stalled after back-to-back incomplete passes on third and fourth downs. The Bombers responded with a 94-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run, to extend the lead to 21-0 with 2:06 left before halftime.
Macomb wasn’t done.
The Bombers capitalized on a BV fumble with a 19-yard touchdown pass, then connected on a 54-yard touchdown pass at the halftime horn to take a 35-0 lead. They made it 42-0 just after the break on a 61-yard touchdown run, triggering the running clock.
“We’ve given up some big plays defensively this year, and we gave up some big ones tonight,” Elder said. “We need to be better for sure.”
For BV, Stewart ran for 43 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while junior running back Tucker Shane led the team with 47 rushing yards. Junior quarterback Aiden Litherland went 2-for-6 passing for 35 yards.
The Storm will look to bounce back in Week 5 when they travel to face Elmwood-Brimfield.
“They’re well coached, and we know they’re going to come right at us offensively,” Elder said. “We’ve got to find a way to be more crisp.”