ELMA–During its recent losing streak, it became clear to the Elma Eagles coaching staff that their young team needed to learn how to win and the skid had as much to do with the mental aspects of the game as the physical, possibly more so.

On Friday evening in Elma, the Eagles took those lessons to heart and into overtime, beating Black Hills 34-28 for their first victory in five games.

“Last few weeks have been rough. A lot of learning has been going on and there has been a lot of good effort in practice trying to get better,” Elma head coach Larry Raynes said. “The kids went out on homecoming and played their butts off.”

How the two teams got there was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Eagles (2-5 overall) in a familiar position in the first quarter, trailing the Wolves (2-5) 14-0 after one period of play.

But rather than let the early deficit deflate them, as has happened in previous losses, the Eagles – which were down to just three healthy seniors and a defense comprised of mostly sophomores – kept their heads in the game.

“That was kind of the same recipe as the last five games,” Raynes said of getting down by two touchdowns in the first quarter. “But they buckled down, went out and started playing football.”

Elma got on the scoreboard when sophomore standout Colt Landstrom hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Isaac McGaffey and – after Black Hills regained a two-score lead on a short touchdown run by Jesse Keith – trailed 20-14 when McGaffey found sophomore receiver Troy Rupe for a 12-yard touchdown just before the end of the first half.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma quarterback Isaac McGaffey (3) is pursued by Black Hills’ Cole Creekpaum during the Eagles’ 34-28 overtime victory on Friday in Elma.

Elma took a 28-20 lead on two 25-yard touchdown passes from McGaffey to Landstrom, one at the 4:47 mark of the third quarter and another early in the fourth.

The Wolves tied the game when Jaxson Simmons broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes to go in the game.

A fourth-down pass from McGaffey inside Black Hills territory was intercepted with 45 seconds to play and was followed by a Wolves drive stalling out on a fourth-and long at the Elma 30-yard line to send the game into overtime.

With a chance at snapping the losing streak within sight, Elma’s defense did its job by keeping the Wolves offense scoreless in the first possession of overtime, forcing a turnover on downs and giving the Eagles offense a chance to win the game with a score.

But an illegal formation penalty and an incomplete pass forced Elma into a 3rd and 12 at the Wolves’ 27-yard line.

But McGaffey scrambled and found Rupe with a clutch 18-yard pitch-and-catch to move the chains.

After a 3-yard run by running back Kolby Rademacher got the ball to the 6-yard line, McGaffey rolled out and found Landstrom in the flat for a touchdown to end the game, setting of a long-awaited Eagles victory celebration.

“It’s one of our signature goalline plays, a little whip route to Colt Landstrom,” Raynes said of the game-winner, where Landstrom fakes a slant inside the whips out toward the sideline. “It was a nice little catch and Colt had an amazing game.”

Landstrom put up Athlete of the Week type numbers with his 12 catches for 179 yards and four touchdowns while McGaffey completed 18-for-31 passes for 238 yards and five touchdowns.

Elma had 287 yards in the game on offense.

The Wolves had the rare displeasure of racking up over 500 yards of offense but being on the losing end of the game.

Black Hills had 508 yards – 443 of those on the ground – and had 21 first downs to 12 for Elma.

But the Wolves turned the ball over three times in the game and Elma’s defense made stops at key moments late in the game when it counted most.

The Eagles defense was led by freshman defensive back Treycen Sample with 16 total tackles (9 solo) and McGaffey, who intercepted a Keith pass and recovered a fumble from his safety position.

Sophomore linebacker Daniel Merriweather had 10 total tackles (3 solo) while senior defensive back Caiden Radamacher added eight tackles (3 solo) and recovered a fumble in the win.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma defenders Kolby Radamacher (17) and Trey Sample (4) make a tackle during a 34-28 overtime victory against Black Hills on Friday in Elma.

Raynes said the difference in Friday’s victory was his team’s ability to overcome mental mistakes that plagued his players in previous weeks.

“When those things happened, we’d keep making mistakes, mentally. … It seemed like tonight, it started to go our way, things started to hit. We started making those catches and those plays and we started blocking better. Everything just got a little better,” he said. “I think through the experience of coming up short and seeing it on film that this isn’t a physicality thing, it’s technique and mental errors more than anything. … They went out there and executed much better and that is the result they got from their hard work.”

With the losing streak now behind them, the Eagles will resume league play when they host Hoquiam at 7 p.m. on Friday in Elma.

Black Hills 14 6 0 8 0 – 28

Elma 0 14 7 7 6 – 34

Scoring

First quarter

Black Hills – Creekpaum 7 run (Bender kick), 8:27

BH – Bender 23 run (Bender kick), 2:55

Second quarter

Elma – Landstrom 27 pass from McGaffey (Vargo kick), 11:52

BH – Keith 1 run (run failed), 7:49

E – Rupe 12 pass from McGaffey (Vargo kick), 1:56

Third quarter

E – Landstrom 25 pass from McGaffey (Vargo kick), 4:47

Fourth quarter

E – Landstrom 25 pass from McGaffey (Vargo kick), 11:45

BH – Simmons 50 run (Tinsley run), 1:43

Overtime

E – Landstrom 6 pass from McGaffey

Passing: BH – Keith 2-4-1-65. McGaffey 18-31-1-238.

Rushing: BH – Fetherstone 21-150, Tinsley 19-93, Bender 8-78, Keith 9-70, Simmons 1-50, Creekpaum 1-7. E – K. Rademacher 15-45, Landstrom 1-3, McGaffey 9-1.

Receiving: BH – Fetherstone 1-50, Pinard 1-15. E – Landstrom 12-179, Rupe 2-30, Sample 2-18, J. Brookins 2-11.