ELGIN — Shocked by surrending an opening kickoff return for a touchdown, Elgin Public-Pope John powered back to defeat High Plains 66 to 36.
The Wolfpack wrapped up 599 yards of total offense, capitalizing on a career-game by junior running back Jack Wemhoff. He carried the ball 39 times for 357 yards, scoring three touchdowns. Teammate quarterback Paiton Hoefer threw four touchdown passes and ran for three more scores.
High Plains came in to the game averaging 57.5 points per game, having split their first two games.
So, to win, the Wolfpack had to slow down the Storm’s offense, particularly Javier Marino. They did just that, limiting the signal-caller to just 110 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. The key to that was the play of the Wolfpack defense, in particular Dylon Lueking and Sam Hemenway. Together, they combined for 22 tackles (11 apiece). Cale Kinney and Nick Anderson each had nine tackles.
It was a total team victory, both the offense and defense doing their jobs. But, it was through the air, not on the ground, that EPPJ took the lead.
