EC offense makes great strides against Union
Friday night lights this week for the Wolverines went as business goes, picking up where they left off the previous week against their cross-town rival. EC would put up over 70 plays on offense, over 450 plus yards, while scoring another 40 plus points this week as they defeated the Scotties 41-6 at Socs Roussos Stadium.
Ellwood City would be denied on the first drive of the game, but would pick up the pace after a quick turnover on special teams. EC would then battle some penalties, but ultimately score points on a drive that included a huge 25 yard catch by Anthony Barberio from Tyler Smiley on fourth down. The drive was capped off by Smily who ran the ball into the endzone for his 4th rushing touchdown of the season. The PAT kick was good by Aden Huth who came back from recent injury to make the scure 7-0 EC.
Union would continue to battle in the early going and even put together a decent drive, but just could not put up points giving the ball back to the Wolverines. EC would drive down the field once again via the big pass reception by Dom Hogue who was able to adjust for the catch while being held. EC would cap off the drive with a rushing touchdown from Richard Cureton from 2 yards out to make the score 14-0 with the PAT good by Huth.
Union would get a big play, scoring drive from the running back Gianni Million who scampered 43 yards in every direction that you can think of on the field. The PAT kick was wide left to keep the early second quarter score 14-6. Union would get a quick change to double on the Wolverines with a three-and-out, but Union would make it all the way to the endzone…without a score. The Union receiver would be left open in the endzone but would not complete the process of the catch, giving EC the ball back from their own 7 yardline. EC would drive down the field with ease, focusing on the run game with Cureton and Guilian Frisk. The 93 yard drive would be capped off with a 7 yard touchdown run up the middle, giving EC the halftime lead of 21-6 with PAT good by Huth.
EC would dominate the first half, going for almost 300 yards on offense while limiting mistakes on the field. The Wolverines also held Union to 108 yards in the first half, with almost half of them coming from the 43 yard rushing touchdown by Million.
Third quarter action saw both teams trade posessions with EC finally breaking through mid third quarter with Cureton picking up his third rushing touchdown of the game, scoring from 8 yards out. The PAT kick was good by Huth to make the score 28-6 going into the fourth quarter.
Union would continue to struggle to get anything going, especially in terms of penalties - The Scotties had zero in the first, but finished the game with six crucial penalties on offense and defense in the second half. EC would score two more times, with Smiley getting a passing touchdown a week after he put up 5, this time to Dom Hogue from 16 yards out. The PAT snap was muffed to keep the scoreboard at 34-6. The final score of the game came from Guilian Frisk from 31 yards out, finishing the great run game by the Wolverines. The PAT was good by Huth to make the final score of the game 41-6 in favor of EC.
Ellwood City would finish with 71 plays on offense while totaling 477 yards, with 288 coming from the ground game. Smiley would finish 12-23 with 189 yards passing and a touchdown. Hogue would finish with 6 catches on the night while putting 100 receiving yards. Cureton would go for 26 carries and 143 yards, including 3 rushing touchdowns. Smiley would also add 77 rushing yards along with Frisk with 63. Talk about Ellwood City defense being great? Ellwood held the Scotties to…just…3 yards…in the second half. Wow.
With the victory, Ellwood City improved to 5-4 (4-2) on the season while giving themselves the easiest track to get second place in the standings. Win and not only are you clinched for playoffs, you almost certainly lock up a home playoff game in the first round, and get a higher seed in the playoff bracket. Meanwhile, week 9 foe Beaver Falls 4-5 (4-2) looks to bounce back after being upsetted by Riverside on the road 21-18. Their road to the playoffs is fairly similar to Ellwood City - win and you lock yourself into playoffs at worst the three seed from the section depending on what Riverside does with Mohawk in the final week of the season.
2A PLAYOFFS - 7 playoff spots have been clinched, including 3 from the Allegheny (South Allegheny, Apollo-Ridge, Steel Valley) and from the Century (Seton LaSalle, Washington, Keystone Oaks) along with the MAC (Western Beaver). OLSH and Waynesburg Central could be potential wildcards for those two opposing sections while the MAC is completely open beyond Western Beaver. The favorites will be Ellwood City, Riverside, and Beaver Falls with Mohawk still having a shot if they defeat Riverside. Freedom would have to pull off an upset of Western Beaver to be even considered as a wildcard, while New Brighton defeating Union in the last week…could…potentially…give them a shot as a possible 2nd wildcard team from the MAC if the committee chooses to do so.
Either way folks, it’s going to be a crazy last week of play with over 16 scenarios that can happen for playoffs. Be sure to tune in to Ellwood City Sports this coming Friday as we will have coverage of Week Nine action between Ellwood City and Beaver Falls. Pregame will start approximately 6:45 PM from Reeves Field.
2A-2 MAC STANDINGS - WEEK EIGHT
Western Beaver 20-14 New Brighton
Ellwood City 41-6 Union
Riverside 21-18 Beaver Falls
Mohawk 29-0 Freedom
