ELGIN  Elgin had a lot of questions coming into this season after losing two All-Staters. Based on Thursday night's 34-0 dismantling of Rush Springs, some of those questions can be laid to rest.

The night belonged to running back Taren McDaniel. The fleet-footed senior took his first carry of the season 45 yards to paydirt after breaking a tackle at the line and scampering down the right sideline. On his third carry of the game, he broke another tackle and finished in the end zone 17 yards later to put Elgin (1-0) up 14-0 just 6:50 into the new season.

Losing longtime starting quarterback Garrett Lorah wasn't a problem in the first half as his little brother Brett completed four of his seven passes for 34 yards and a nine-yard touchdown to Josh Webb on his first varsity pass.

After the first quarter, Elgin led, 21-0, and was cruising.

"In the first half, we were really explosive," head coach Matt Allen said. "We were ramming it down their throat. Our kids just kept stepping on the gas. Taren was dynamite; he blew up."

McDaniel broke runs of 23 and 58 yards in the second quarter. The latter of which set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Zane Rulon with 2:45 left in the first half, giving the Owls a 28-0 lead. McDaniel finished the game with 177 yards (151 in the first half on seven carries) on 12 carries and the two scores.

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