Oliver, Elmwood hang on against L-B

BLOOMDALE – Mason Oliver and his Elmwood teammates had done just about everything right Saturday night in their Region 18 postseason game against Liberty-Benton.Oliver, the Royals dynamic running back, was closing in on 300 rushing yards, and had already scored three touchdowns.Quarterback Hayden Wickard had passed for two touchdowns and run for another.The Royals defense also had done its part, getting a pair of fourth down stops when L-B quarterback Kam Garlock and his offense had marched inside the Elmwood 10.It all helped the Royals build a considerable lead over the Eagles. When Oliver broke a 66-yard touchdown run with 3:28 left in the third quarter, Elmwood's lead appeared nearly insurmountable – 41-20.But with 2 ½ minutes left in regulation, all of that was a distant memory, and Elmwood's season was on the line.Garlock had gotten hot, completing a pair of long touchdown passes to Malik Eckford. L-B kicker Cason Doolittle had executed a flawless onside kick after the second Eckford score, and the Eagles Connor Boyd recovered.Now, down just a touchdown, Garlock – who had thrown for a program record 515 yards Saturday night – used his legs, bolting into the end zone from 12 yards out.Suddenly, Elmwood's lead was down to 41-40 with 2:26 left in regulation, with an L-B conversion attempt comingThe Royals could be excused if they were startled, or at the very least, disappointed.But Oliver said that wasn't really the case. "It was down a little bit, but once we looked to our leadership, they helped pick us up," he said. "They kept us going. They didn't let anyone get down on the field. If some one was hanging their head, they were there." While Elmwood refocused, Liberty-Benton coach Scott Garlock had a decision to make: Send out Doolittle to kick the extra point and potentially force overtime, or go for two to take the lead.Garlock chose the latter."We were having a hard time stopping (Elmwood), and we thought that was our best chance to maybe win it and put them in panic mode," the L-B coach said. "Our kids all wanted to go for it."So, Kam Garlock took the snap and rolled left. But he ran into pressure from the Royals' Casey Frank. Frank reached the quarterback and sacked him.The Royals still led."We threw a different coverage in that play," said Elmwood coach Greg Bishop. "We sent some pressure, we got pressure, and our kids just fought and fought and fought, tooth and nail. That's all we can do. Find a way to win, make a play when it matters most.""It's one of those things you're gonna kick yourself forever for," coach Garlock said. "But I wanted to give our kids a chance to win that game, and they sure battled back."The game wasn't over yet, but this time, Elmwood recovered Doolittle's onside kick. Big runs from Oliver and Wickard sealed the game.Oliver ended with 309 rushing yards on 24 carries."That kid's phenomenal," coach Garlock said. "We knew that watching tape; he's done that all year. We were hoping we could slow him down a little bit more, but he's a heck of a football player."Oliver credited the Elmwood offensive line."They really stepped up, and that helps me a lot. I'm building that stronger trust with them. Now I know, like, 'Hey, he's gonna get this guy, he's gonna get this guy,' and I have that free cut and I can keep going.""He's dangerous with the ball in his hand," Bishop said. "Credit to our receivers blocking on the edge and our linemen opening those holes, but he's a special player."Wickard also was special Saturday. He threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Mason Mossbarger, and connected with Micah Oliver on a 17-yard score. He threw for 144 yards and ran for another 71, which included an 11-yard touchdown run."He's a gamer," Bishop said. "He comes out, and he does a lot of things for us well. Hayden has done a great job leading the team and managing the offense."Wickard will get that chance again next Saturday, when the Royals (10-1) will face 10-2 Elyria Catholic in a third-round matchup.Bishop said the plan remains simple."We keep growing every single week," he said. "That's our goal: just get a little better every single day and keep moving forward."Meanwhile, L-B bows out at 8-3, despite some eye-popping offensive numbers.L-B receiver Lincoln Garlock caught eight passes for 238 yards. That included a touchdown reception of 63 yards. Eckford, who had three second-half TD catches, finished with eight grabs for 177 yards. And Chandler Parker – who had a 66-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown on L-B's first play from scrimmage – added six completions for 88 yards.Those passes all came from Kam Garlock, who threw a school-record 55, connecting on 26."I was happy with the way Kameron managed the game," coach Garlock said. "We knew we had to make plays, and our receivers made plays tonight."The coach said the idea was to hold nothing back. He said the Eagles were disappointed after a lopsided loss to McComb in the regular season finale two weeks ago."That was our motto this week: Let's go ahead – no matter the situation, let's go out and fight until the end and see what happens," coach Garlock said. "It almost was enough." Liberty-Benton&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;13 – 40Elmwood&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;15&emsp;&emsp;0 – 41First QuarterL-B – Chandler Parker 66 pass from Kam Garlock (kick fails)ELM – Hayden Wickard 11 run (kick fails)ELM – Mason Mossbarger 21 pass from Wickard (kick fails)L-B –Lincoln Garlock 63 pass from K. Garlock (Cason Doolittle kick)Second Quarter ELM – Mason Oliver 42 run (pass fails)ELM – Micah Oliver 17 pass from Wickard (Wickard run)Third Quarter L-B – Malik Eckford 39 pass from Garlock (Doolittle kick)ELM – Mason Oliver 5 run (Alex Arnold pass from Wickard)ELM – Mason Oliver 66 run (Will Sorensen kick)'L-B –Eckford 42 pass from K. Garlock (Doolittle kick)Fourth Quarter L-B –Malik Eckford 35 pass from K. Garlock (Doolittle kick)L-B – K. Garlock 12 run (K. Garlock run fails) Team StatsL-B&emsp;&emsp;ELMFirst Downs&emsp;&emsp;18&emsp;&emsp;18Rushes-yards&emsp;&emsp;19-51&emsp;&emsp;34-376Comp.-att-Ints&emsp;&emsp;26-55-1&emsp;&emsp;8-12-1Pass yards515&emsp;&emsp;144Punts-avg&emsp;&emsp;3-35.6&emsp;&emsp;2-38.0Penalties-yards&emsp;&emsp;5-45&emsp;&emsp;3-20Fumbles-lost&emsp;&emsp;2-0&emsp;&emsp;1-1Individual statsRUSHING: Liberty-Benton – K. Garlock 9-25; Toby Collert 8-15. Elmwood – Mason Oliver 24-309; Wickard 9-71.PASSING: Liberty-Benton – K. Garlock 26-55-1-515. Elmwood – Wickard 8-12-1-144.RECEIVING: Liberty-Benton – L. Garlock 8-238; Eckford 8-177; Parker 6-82. Elmwood – Mossbarger 3-62.