The Antlers took a quick bus ride out to Mount Michael this past Friday and came out with one of their most convincing wins of the year. Coming in, the 4-1 Antlers looked to hand the 0-5 Knights their 6th loss of the year. Ranked as the 5th best team in Class B, it was important for the Antlers to give a statement win. 

     Elkhorn took the opening kickoff and marched the ball down the field with a strong five minute drive, highlighted by Aiden Young’s 56 yard run and Grant Gutschows one yard touchdown. After a tough drive from the Knights, the Antler defense forced them to punt, pinning Elkhorn’s offense on the 13 yard line. After just one yard from Braylen Johnson, Hayden Stec ran for 86 yards to give the Antlers their second touchdown of the night. The missed extra point meant the Antlers were up 13 to 0 with six minutes left in the quarter. The Mount Michael offense would again be forced to punt, leading to another Antler touchdown. It didn’t come easy, as two penalties on the drive put the Antlers in a tough position, but a five yard run from Aiden Young closed out the drive, and the Antlers came out of the 1st quarter up 20-0. 

     The Knights offense was again unable to make much on the opening drive of the quarter and were forced to punt. A demoralizing drive was then put together by the Antlers after taking up 6 minutes of clock on 13 plays. Stec would finish the drive with a one yard touchdown run. A short three and out from Mount Michael gave the Antlers another shot to score before halftime, and with 19 seconds left, Gutschow found Gannon Gragert for a 30 yard touchdown pass.

     The first drive of the second half looked like it might give some points to the Knights, but they would again be stuffed by the Antlers. Their four minute drive resulted in another punt. From here, the Antlers scored again in just four plays. After two passes to Drew Christo, Grant Gutschow ran it in himself from two yards out. This started the running clock, which triggers when a team goes up by 35 points or more. Mount Michael’s next drive took up six minutes, but again ended with a punt. Sophomore Connor Hunt would be put in at this point, and the Antlers would see another touchdown after Mikey Hart’s 59 yard run to put the Antlers up 48-0 with 10:13 left in the 4th. A 10 play 61 yard drive from the Knights put them on the scoreboard as the Elkhorn Antlers walked away with a 48-6 victory.

     The Antler offense saw just about everything work on Friday. Aiden Young and Hayden Stec had 121 yards and 130 yards rushing on 10 and 6 carries respectively and Grant Gustchow had 29 yards rushing and 67 yards passing while completing all 4 passing attempts. Gannon Gragert had two receptions for 41 yards, Drew Christo had two receptions for 26 yards, and Mikey Hart had one carry for 59 yards. Defensively, Dane Petersen had a big night with four tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble that was recovered by Jack Buddecke. Drew Christo had six tackles and a sack, and Isaac Robinson added four tackles.

     The Antlers did exactly what they needed to against a winless opponent, but Elkhorn’s next opponent will show what they’re made of. On October 9th, the 5-1 Elkhorn Antlers will travel to Bennington to face off against the 5-1 Bennington Badgers in a battle of two top five Class B teams.

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