Kickoff returns spell doom for Ellwood City in loss
Ellwood City (18) vs. Quaker Valley (21)
Written: Sep 07, 2015
Special teams proved costly for the Ellwood City Lincoln High football team Saturday.
The Wolverines allowed two kickoff returns for touchdowns in a 21-18 Midwestern Athletic Conference loss to Quaker Valley at Helling Stadium.
The game was originally slated for Friday, but lightning forced the game to be postponed to Saturday.
Chris Gordon returned the game’s opening kickoff for a score for the Quakers (1-0 conference, 1-0 overall) and Owen Harkins added the conversion boot for a 7-0 buffer. Amos Luptak added an 89-yard kickoff return for a score in the third quarter, coupled with Harkins’ conversion kick, to put Quaker Valley up for good at 21-18.
D.J. Barrett raced to a 32-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for the Wolverines (0-1, 0-1), cutting the deficit to 14-6 at the half.
Nick Ioanilli tallied two touchdown totes in the third quarter. Ioanilli’s first scoring scamper came from 21 yards out and the second came from five yards. Ellwood City failed on a pair of two-point conversion attempts on Ioanilli’s scores, the first was a rushing attempt and the second was a passing attempt.
Barrett paced Ellwood City with 117 yards on 17 carries.
Ioanilli’s second score put the Wolverines up 18-14. But the lead didn’t last as Luptak dashed in on the ensuing kickoff.
The Wolverines return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they travel to league foe New Brighton.
QUAKER VALLEY
AT ELLWOOD CITY
QUAKER VALLEY ELLWOOD
13 First downs 7
165 Yards Rushing 218
17 Yards Lost 22
148 Net Rushing 196
14 Passes Attempted 13
7 Passes Completed 2
1 Passes Intercepted 1
76 Yards Passing 31
224 Total Yards 227
5-3 Fumbles-Lost 4-2
4-30 Punts-Average 5-38
8-49 Penalties-Yards 4-40
Q. VALLEY 14 0 7 0 — 21
ELLWOOD 0 6 12 0 — 18
Scoring plays
QUAKER VALLEY — Chris Gordon, 91-yard kickoff return (Owen Harkins kick).
QUAKER VALLEY — Ricky Guss, 2-yard run (Harkins kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — D.J. Barrett, 32-yard run (kick failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Nick Ioanilli, 21-yard run (run failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Ioanilli, 5-yard run (pass failed).
QUAKER VALLEY — Amos Luptak, 89-yard kickoff return (Harkins kick).
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