Elgin endures defeat in Bierman's debut

Plainfield Central's Brian Meeks (left) breaks into the end zone against Elgin.
(Larry Kane/For the Herald News)

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PLAINFIELD -- What could have been a sweet debut for Elgin coach Dave Bierman in his first game on the sidelines for his alma mater quickly soured Friday night.

Maroons miscues erased a fast start and sent Elgin to a 47-25 loss to Plainfield Central in a non-conference season opener for both teams.

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Tom Roth

The Maroons looked to be on their way to scoring a road upset against the Wildcats as they held a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter. But Elgin would go without an offensive touchdown the rest of the way and Plainfield chewed through the Maroons' defense with its powerful running game.

"It started out OK," Bierman said. "First games are tough. We had a lot of miscommunication that we have to get corrected personnel-wise and assignment-wise.

"We need better communication on and off the field."

Elgin had no problems early as quarterback Tom Roth connected with Timothy Newcombe for a 50-yard TD strike that put the Maroons ahead early.

A Plainfield turnover inside its own 20 set up a 1-yard Roth touchdown run that put Elgin ahead 13-0 after a blocked PAT kick.

But the Maroons' offense stalled the rest of the way. Roth, who completed his first five passes, connected on only 1-of-14 the rest of the game.

Elgin couldn't compensate with much of a running game, either. The Maroons picked up only 58 yards on the ground, most coming with Roth scrambling on broken plays.

Still, the Maroons hung around thanks to a pair of big plays by Jamal Cook.

Elgin trailed 14-13 and gave up the ball on its own 20 midway through the second quarter because of a broken play on fourth down. Plainfield was marching for an easy score before Cook picked up a Wildcats fumble on the 1-yard line and ran it back for a TD that put the Maroons back ahead 19-14.

With Elgin trailing 49-19 in the third, Cook returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score that drew the Maroons within 40-25.

That's as close as it would get as Plainfield bullied Elgin on the ground, amassing 396 rushing yards on 56 carries.