Fabian Ramirez, Elgin reclaim Town Jug with shutout of Larkin

ELGIN – Led by running back Fabian Ramirez and quarterback Darin Ward, Elgin returned the Town Jug to the east side by beating Larkin 38-0 Friday at Memorial Field.

The Royals had possession of the Elgin championship trophy for the last three years.

Ramirez scored three touchdowns and rushed for 160 yards on 20 carriers. Ward completed 17 of 20 attempts for 194 yards including a 15-yard TD toss to Jeremiah Hill.

Ramirez provided all of Elgin’s first-half offense, scoring on TD rushes of 38 yards, 9 yards and 3 yards. The Maroons’ defense also contributed to the score by tackling Larkin (2-4, 2-2) quarterback Julius Yandell in the Royals end zone for a safety to end the Royals’ second drive of the game. Elgin had a 23-0 halftime edge.

Julian Hernandez (four carries for 16 yards) extended the Maroons’ lead at the end of the third quarter on a 1-yard scamper.

Hill, a senior, and Jayden Edgar, a sophomore, were Ward’s favorite targets. Hill caught six passes for 46 yards and Edgar grabbed three tosses for 91 yards. Ward’s TD strike to Hill with 8:19 left to play finished Elgin’s scoring.

Ramirez also played linebacker for Elgin’s defense that completely shut down Larkin’s offense. The Maroons only gave up three first downs. Six of Larkin’s nine drives ended in punts or turnovers on downs.

“Fabian is tough as nails. He’s a wrestler. He does what we ask him to do,” Elgin coach Anthony Mason said. “He’s a leader of this team and he’s a guy that’s going to hold people accountable.”

Senior Robert Capuzi also served double duty as both center and defensive nose tackle.

Ramirez said the defense’s strategy was simple.

“We aimed for a shutout. We trusted our D line to do their job — get the QB and we’ll take care of ours and that’s all we did,” the senior said.

Mason credited defensive ends Montez Miller and Andres Marquez with covering Larkin’s Yandell.

“Miller and Marquez did an amazing job. They really closed in on No. 1 (Yandell). We knew he was a little scat back so we wanted to keep him contained in the pocket,” the Elgin coach said.

Mason also praised Ward.

“I thought Darin Ward played an amazing game,” the coach said. “He kept the ball safe except that one mistake on that interception (a third quarter pick by Larkin’s Adrian Gasca).”

“It feels so good to get that jug back,” said Ward. “We came out with confidence and played our butts off.”

Elgin (2-4, 2-1) wasted little time in turning its attention the crosstown rivalry game after its first win of the season last Friday, a 53-0 victory over East Aurora.

“I thought after we had that big win last Friday that they could have possibly let down a little bit. So we want to lock in on them,” said Mason. “They knew it was a rivalry game so we wanted to make sure that they started locking in right away when the sun rose on Saturday.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241004/prep-football/elgin-shuts-out-larkin-to-regain-bragging-rights/