With several players succumbing to the heat and humidity, other players had to step up Friday night for East Aurora.
In the season opener at Elgin, Ralph Clark was up to that challenge.
The junior running back rushed for 118 yards and scored two touchdowns in the second half as the Tomcats pulled away from Elgin for a 32-14 Upstate Eight victory.
“A whole bunch of our main people got hurt,” Clark said. “We had to step up. I had to help lead my team. It was exciting. I’m glad I had to step up for my team.
“I’m glad they picked me and trusted me.”
East Aurora coach Nick Kukuc wasn’t surprised about how Clark was ready to perform.
“He’s the heart and soul of our team when it comes to the physicality aspect,” Kukuc said. “Ralph is just somebody that likes to work hard. He likes to hit hard and he likes to play hard. He loves his teammates and he loves playing football.”
East Aurora (1-0) struck first. On a fourth-and-5 play with 2:36 left in the first quarter, Sterling Williams connected with Michael Moravek on a 12-yard TD pass.
Elgin (0-1) countered the next drive, however. Clem McCullough, playing in his first game for the Maroons after transferring from St. Edward, punched in a 3-yard TD run to force an 8-8 tie.
McCullough, who added two tackles for loss on defense, caught four passes for 42 yards.
“That’s coming off two weeks of him being in the program,” Elgin coach Anthony Mason said of McCullough. “Once he really dials in and gets that good connection with the quarterbacks, I think he’ll be even better.”
Williams added a 10-yard TD run to give East Aurora a 16-8 halftime lead.
“He got us off to a great start,” Kukuc said of Williams. “It was nice to have him in position as a senior, understanding the offense and getting his teammates in position to be successful.”
In the second half, however, Clark took over. The big burst was a 61-yard TD run with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
“I thought they were going to catch me, but I had to keep going,” Clark said. “I was tired, but I had to push through it.”
He added a 5-yard TD run on the final play of the third quarter, pushing the Tomcats’ lead to 32-8.
“They just found a matchup in the run game and kept feeding that one side,” Mason said. “We didn’t really adjust very well. I think the guys were kind of getting beat up and deflated at that point.”
Javion Van added a 25-yard TD run for Elgin in the fourth quarter, but from there, the Maroons couldn’t build on that.
“I would say our readiness to play was the main difference,” Mason said. “The first two series on offense were just a waste. We did not do what we expected to do. We did not execute very well. That was a huge part.”
East Aurora looked exhausted after the win, but Clark thinks the Tomcats’ perseverance will serve them well down the road.
“That shows we’re tough and we have heart,” Clark said. “I trust everybody on this football field. They’re going to have my back and I’m going to have their back.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.