Late surge pushes Panthers to 4-0
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Against unbeaten Wilmot Union High School Sept. 9, Elkhorn coach Tom Lee knew what to expect, a high-speed offense.
The Panther offense hit the ground early, and often, producing 211 of 283 total offensive yards to defeat Elkhorn 30-6 and stayed unbeaten at 4-0.
According to senior running back Jake Raiman, who had eight carries for 47 yards and a touchdown, the well-balanced rush attack did not come as a surprise.
“We just run our offense, that’s the bottom line,” said Raiman, whose quarterback, A.J. Frisby, engineered an efficient read option offense.
Frisby finished second among team leaders with 85 yards rushing on 11 attempts with a touchdown.
Meanwhile, junior Robert Brent added another 88 yards and 11 carries and a touchdown.
Lee stated the Elks’ offense could not keep up with the Panthers attack.
“They were a little quicker than we were, they got to the outside edges well,” Lee said. “We knew exactly what was coming at us.”
In the opening quarter, Wilmot added a 7-yard touchdown by Frisby, followed by a Jeff Shoopman 27-yard field goal.
Frisby, who completed four of 12 passes for 72 yards, found Brent on a 23-yard score in the second quarter, giving the Panthers a 17-0 lead entering halfime.
Following a scoreless third, the Panthers added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, starting with a 1-yard punch by Brent and another by Raiman, who took it in for nine yards.
The Elks responded to one of two touchdowns on a 55-yard score by the team’s leading rusher, Tyler Robers, to close out the game.
Robers finished with 11 carries for 101 yards.
Aside from Robers game, the Panthers held Elkhorn quarterback Cam Consolino to 10 yards passing.
Entering the SLC tilt, Wilmot coach Erick Kaiser had his eyes set on the Elks’ backfield.
“They have plenty of big backs in the backfield, plenty of good bodies,” Kaiser said. “They are a good team.”
After the Sept. 9 win, the Panthers entered into a three-way tie for first-place at 2-0 with Lake Geneva Badger and Delavan-Darien.
However, the Panthers have no plans to become complacent, Raiman said.
“We are just going to keep grinding,” Raiman said. “But, we definitely have a lot to improve on and we are going to keep going.”
On Sept. 16, the Panthers host Union Grove (1-1 SLC), a team coming off a loss to Delavan-Darien.