FanNation - The Republic of Sport

A matchup of two of South Carolina's top 10 teams in class 3A with Lugoff-Elgin and Chapin Friday night didn't dissapoint anyone watching or listening on the radio.  Chapin which didn't achieve their first lead of the game til the end when Colden King connected on a 25 yard field goal for the 24-21 victory.  The Eagle win kept them undefeated through six games on the year and are now sitting atop the region standings with a 1-0 mark.  Lugoff-Elgin now falls to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Going into the game, both teams were averaging nearly 30 points a game but the first quarter was a defensive stalemate and ended scoreless.  With 38 seconds left in the first quarter, LE were driving but a fumble at Chapin's 25 yard line would spell doom for the Demons.  Not only would the Demons lose the fumble, multi talented Darius Custard would be lost for the game with another ankle injury. 

The Eagles would not be able to capitalize on the turnover as LE would get the ball back.  LE would use adjustments and ultimately get on the board first.  With 9:48 left in the half, Forrest Koumas would find E. J. Ruiz near the goal line.  Ruiz would outmuscle Chapin defenders and find paydirt for the Demon lead.  Grayson Quick, who missed last week's game due to the flu, would connect on the pat.

Chapin would fight back behind an enthusiastic home crowd to tie the score with 38 second left in the first half.  On a drive aided by LE penalities, and a questionable mark inside of the Demon five yard line, wide receiver Victor Frick would line up in the Wildcat formation.  Frick would run up to the line, then use a jump pass to find Conner Lowder in the back of the end zone for the score.  The pat would tie the score at seven apiece going into the locker room.

Lugoff-Elgin would get the ball to start the second half.  Coming out in the wing-t formation, the Demons exercised their will against Chapin.  Capitilizing on LE's speed, Julian Baxter would bust through the line and leave Chapin defenders in his dust on his 60 yard romp for a touchdown.  After Quck's pat, LE was back on top by seven with 9:53 left in the third quarter.

Chapin would strike back quickly.  On just their second play of the second half and just 42 seconds later, running back Josh Sanga would break tackles and gallop 41 yards for the score.  The kick was good, and we're back to a tie game.

Lugoff-Elgin was moving the ball, however the first interception by Chapin on the night would come with 7:21 left in the third.  The Demons was faced with a third and five and would call a pass play.  Dylan Kirkwood would intercept a Koumas pass and return to LE's 38 yard line.  The Demon defense would hold the Eagles without a score and get the ball back. 

Once again Lugoff-Elgin would be driving.  Faced with a second and twenty from the Chapin 25, the Demons would call a reverse pass with Forrest Koumas throwing toward Devonte Alexander at the goal line.  Bradham Wilder would race over toward Alexander and pick off the pass negating an excellent chance for a Demon score. 

LE would once again, force a Chapin punt and giving the Demons offense to score.  Lugoff-Elgin would decide to run the ball and with each play, the offense gained a little more confidence.  Blowing defenders off the ball, the offensive line would up a hole for Stephen Bonaparte to find the end zone from nine yards away with 9:46 left in the game.  The pat was good and LE was back up by seven, 21-14.

A minute and 24 seconds later, Chapin's Michael Weimer would find Jalen Pauling over the middle and he would race to the end zone for the 42 yard scoring play, tieing the game at 21 with the successful pat.

After a three and out series for Lugoff-Elgin, Chapin would get the ball back with 6:18 to play.  The Eagles would run 10 plays on the drive to set up Colden King's game winning field goal with 1:41 left on the clock. 

Lugoff-Elgin would be pinned deep in their own territory on the next drive.  Faced with a fourth and six and out of timeouts, LE would try a pass would fall incomplete.  Chapin would take a knee on their next two plays to run the clock out and secure their win. 

Demon Tidbits

--  Lugoff-Elgin racked up 411 total yards compared to Chapin's 349.

--  Chapin, Fairfield Central and A. C. Flora are 1-0 after the first week of conference play.  The FC Griffens beat Chester in Winnsboro, 28-24 on Friday.

--   LE will travel to play at Chester on Friday with the kickoff scheduled for 8 PM. 

--  Chapin continued to blare music from their p.a. speakers while Lugoff-Elgin was at the line and ready for the snap.  This occurred through the entire game and wasn't an isolated incident.  Chester will present a tough atmosphere as well as the Cyclone fans are very vocal in support of Chester.