2025 Fall Sports Season in Review
2025 Fall Sports - Overall: 46-50 (37-42) | .479 (.468)
Cross Country | 10-1 (10-1)
Cross Country picked up where they left off the past several seasons, posting another season of one or less matches in the loss column. The Wolverines only loss yet agin was to Mohawk, who have finished 1-2 respectively the last two seasons. ECXC Boys placed 4th at the 53rd Mary Uher Vulcan Invitational while finishing 9th at the Red, White, & Blue Invite. Meanwhile the EXCX Girls placed 9th at the Vulcan Invitational while finishing 19th at the RWB invite. EC yet again sent the boys team to states as they finished 3rd overall at the WPIAL Championships.
The group led by Lucas Bleakney and Nicklas Depaoli as Seniors along with Jacoby McKinney, Reese Edwards, and Giovanni Venezie finished 15th overall at the PIAA Championships to finish the year. On the flip side, Kennedy Coonfare, Olivia Parson, Marliegh Agnew, Peyton Cooper, Olivia Cassandro, and Sophia D’Addio paced the girls team to great success during the season. A big shoutout once again to Coach Brown on the successful season!
Football | 7-5 (5-2)
Last Year’s WPIAL Cinderella story was the Ellwood City Wolverines. With 16 Seniors graduating, most in the media did not think that EC would have the early success that they did this year. Some thought that EC would be okay enough to battle during the season and be in games. Some thought that the Wolverines had something to prove to WPIAL, that they were not a one-year-hit wonder team. Needless to say, they were not just one year and done. The Wolverines football program picked up where they left off last year in terms of making the playoffs and having a winning season, a feat that has only been done twice - 2023-2025 and 1985-1987 - in the 118 year history of EC football. The Wolverines also continued with their record-breaking ways, setting new bars on offense and defense.
The Wolverines bounced back after a Week Zero loss to Laurel - who just recently made the WPIAL 1A Championship game - shutting out Shenango the following week. The “Red-River Month” of teams that sprot the red colors was split with victories over Freedom and Mohawk in dramatic fashion, while tough losses to Neshannock and New Brighton. EC battled future Semifinal and section title team Western Beaver, while picking up big victories against Union and Beaver Falls late in the season to help with playoffs.
One of the most dominant games of the season…in fact…one of the most dominant games in recent history of the series came at the hands of Riv-Ell Cup rival Riverside, where the Wolverines won 48-14. With the 6-4 record, EC was primed for a run in playoffs yet again. Ellwood City would go on to defeat Keystone Oaks in the first round after a rough first half 35-13 setting up another possible Semifinal trip in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the result just did not go in the way of the Wolverines as Steel Valley would win 42-6 on the shoulders of their star Pitt athlete Barksdale. Even with the loss, Ellwood City finished the year with a winning record while setting several program records during the season. A big shoutout goes to the coaching staff that included Head Coach Dan Bradley, who also eclipsed the 100 win victory mark in the win against Riverside. The success continues as the saying goes…”In Coach Bradley we trust!”
Boys Golf | 15-1 (11-1)
One of the most successful decades in program history includes last season’s perfect record. This year, the Wolverines almost perfected the record again, just missing out on the road at Neshannock. Even though the loss snapped a 20 plus match streak, the Wolverines quickly bounced back to finish the season as section champions over the Lancers. EC also picked up 4 out of section wins to finish a run of 30-1 the past two seasons. Let’s go down the list.
EC finished first place and were section champions back-to-back seasons. The Senior led group was 46-11 as a team, posting 15-1, 15-0, 8-5, and 8-5 seasons. The team scored a 183 at Delmar which tied the course record set back in 1996 and the lowest score by the program since it started in 1964. Seniors Jordan Keller, Jaxon Rozanski and Sophomore Gino Biondi all qualified for the WPIAL Individuals, with Keller and Rozanski making it to the final round. The team finished 6th in the MAC Tournament while Coach Barry eclipsed the 200 win mark in his 23rd season of coaching. EC was also Tri-County Champions while finishing just outside the mark to move on as a team to the state playoffs. Overall, the team continues to show why they are a force in section play, while adding new pieces to the puzzle each year with Seniors graduating. Congrats once again on a successful season to the golf program!
Girls Golf | 9-7 (7-7)
Wow is all we can say about this group. What an amazing story the Wolverines have going in their golf programs. From 2-12 last season to now over .500 overall and .500 in section play, the Lady Wovlerines golf program has quickly made strides back to their status just a couple of seasons ago removed from competition. The season saw EC finish 5th in section play, that included North Catholic, Shady Side Academy, Seton laSalle, and Sewickley Academy. North Catholic went on to win the WPIAL Championship while Shady Side was not too far behind. The Wolverines finished the season with big victories over Beaver, Ambridge, Central Valley, Sewickley Academy, New Brighton, and Mohawk. The Wolverines almost upset Sewickely twice, losing the second match by just 2 strokes. EC battled Seton LaSalle as well during the season losing both matches by a combined 8 strokes. If for just 10 strokes, the Lady Wolverines could have been sitting in third place and would have just missed out on team playoffs.
Either way, Coach Braymer and Assistant Coach DeLoia have no reason to not be anything other than pleased with the success from the team. The team was led by Seniors Rori Minerd, Chelsea Baker, and Gabrielle Cioffi while Junior Rylee Prestopine helped with the “middle-leg” of the scoring sheet. The upcoming freshmen group saw decent amount of success, including Ava Trputec who helped set some great scores by EC. The expectation continues to trend upward for the program going forward just in its second year of play after being disbanded for a couple of seasons.
Soccer | 0-18-0 (0-16-0)
Soccer saw improvements across the board, including a roster that added much needed depth. Sporting over 20 plus on the roster, the Wolverines battled tough Beaver County opponents that included the likes of Avonworth, Beaver, Quaker Valley, and Central Valley all who had success in the WPIAL playoffs. Wesley Ketterer paired up with Aden Huth led the charge up front with the striker positions while the defense that included the goaltending by Isaac Smith made strides to keep EC in a couple of games. Unfortunately the Wolverines did not pick up a victory, they did however score 8 goals on the season, including a hat trick by Ketterer aginst Mohawk in a 4-3 loss.
Girls Tennis | 2-5 (2-5)
Girls Tennis had a tough start to the season, taking on an onslaught of Beaver County teams that included Beaver, Blackhawk, and Lincoln Park. Beaver would go on to win the section undefeated in section play, while Blackhawk would also make playoffs. Lincoln Park just missed out the cut ahead of Central Valley and Ellwood City. The Wolverines battle injuries to start the season, but would pick up two crucial victories on the season including a perfect sweep against Beaver Falls. The most important victory on the season though was of course against Riverside. Mia Meredith, Rori Minerd, and Olivia Parson helped EC keep things in check while battling all season long. Meredith McCommons, Hannah Cameron, Luna Kowitca, and Chloe DiCerbo paced the doubles teams during the season.
Girls Volleyball | 3-13 (2-10)
EC Volleyball had several shoes to fill this year after having 6 seniors who were also primary starters graduate last year. Injuries for most of the season kept Senior Ava Lucarelli out along with Junior Lena Lucarelli in similar fashion. Both of the Lucarelli’s were contributors off the bench last year and helped with the recent success of the volleyball program. With that in mind, most of the season would be led by the remaining Seniors who included Emma Schlafly, Natalie Jones, and Payton Hamilton. These Seniors saw several newcomers out on the court, that included a fairly balanced Freshmen and Sophomore group that made nights interesting at the Junior Varsity level as well. The team would start the season off with a victory over New Castle, but would then quickly slide into section play and find the road fairly tough. However, the Wolverines were able to sweep Beaver Falls for the remaining two victories, including a 3-0 win against the Tigers on Senior Night to send off the seniors in great fashion.
