Wolverines show progress in loss to Tigers
Ellwood City (10) vs. Beaver Falls (43)
Written: Sep 26, 2009
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
It was hard to tell from the final score, but the Ellwood City Lincoln football team is getting better.
And it is getting closer to ending the streak.
The Wolverines dropped a 43-10 decision to talented Beaver Falls, the No. 1-ranked Class AA team in the WPIAL by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, last night at Geneva College’s Reeves Field. But the Wolverines did some good things in the Midwestern Athletic Conference contest and didn’t fall apart in the second half.
The loss was the 28th in a row for Ellwood City and eclipsed the recent Neshannock losing streak of 27 from 2000-2002. The Wolverines haven’t won since beating Quaker Valley Sept. 15, 2006.
They are improved from last season, however. Just ask Beaver Falls coach Ryan Matsook, whose Tigers moved to 4-0 overall and in the conference with the victory.
“They are a hundred-thousand times better,” Matsook said when asked about the Wolverines. “As a conference, you are not going to see any 60-0 games this year. From top to bottom, the conference is better.
“They battled and caught us on some blitzes, but we have some kids who can run and we tried to get it in their hands.”
One of those is running back Cody Cook who rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries. Another is Admire Carter, who carried twice for 44 yards and pulled in a swing pass for 56 more and a touchdown.
Beaver Falls took a 28-0 lead into the locker room at the half, but Ellwood City (0-4, 0-3) managed to rush for 70 yards in the first half and might have even scored if a pass off a fake punt on a fourth-and-7 play from the Beaver Falls had been completed.
The closest Ellwood City came to scoring in the first half was the Beaver Falls 36.
“At halftime I think we realized that we could play with those guys because we had made some plays,” Ellwood City coach Don Phillips said. “I told them that I wanted them to go out and win the second half.”
Beaver Falls outscored the Wolverines 15-10 in the second half and when Cook scored on a 1-yard run for the Tigers at 6:55 of the third quarter and Evan Richards kicked the extra point the mercy rule went into effect. That meant the clock continued to run on penalties and incomplete passes and the contest was shortened.
Ellwood City, which is playing a ton of underclassmen and was without top running back Codey Hunter, who had to sit after being thrown out of last week’s game, got on the board on Scott Lewis’ 26-yard field goal at 1:38 of the third quarter. It was set up by a 15-yard run by Garrett Thomas after quarterback Tyler Lucarelli was sacked and fumbled. Thomas finished with 53 yards on nine carries.
The Wolverines put together a 50-yard, five-play drive for their touchdown. Jared Feit, who rushed for 48 yards, hauled in a 22-yard toss from Lucarelli in the end zone for the score with 1:20 left. Ellwood City then tried an onside kick and just missed recovering the football.
“Even the guys holding the sticks said ‘That’s a nice pass. That’s another nice pass,’ when we were moving the ball,” Phillips said. “We are making progress and we’re getting better each week, but we need that victory to get us over the hump.”
Ellwood City has home games the next two weeks. The Wolverines entertain Beaver on Friday and then Mohawk Oct. 10. Ellwood City and New Brighton are the only winless teams in the MAC. They will meet the next-to-last week of the regular season.
ELLWOOD CITY BEAVER FALLS
8 First downs 16
126 Yards Rushing 235
20 Yards Lost 15
106 Net Rushing 220
11 Passes Attempted 8
4 Passes Completed 6
0 Passes Intercepted 0
49 Yards Passing 150
155 Total Yards 370
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
3-28.3 Punts-Average 0-0
4-30 Penalties-Yards 8-68
ELLWOOD CITY 0 0 3 7 — 10
BEAVER FALLS 14 14 7 8 — 43
Scoring plays
BEAVER FALLS — Marlo Cleckley, 7-yard run (Evan Richards kick).
BEAVER FALLS — Carlin Henderson, 37-yard pass from Tony Omogrosso (Richards kick).
BEAVER FALLS — Cody Cook, 9-yard run (kick failed).
BEAVER FALLS — Admire Carter, 56-yard pass from Omogrosso (Dashaun Boyd pass from Omogrosso).
BEAVER FALLS — Cook, 1-yard run (Richards kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Scott Lewis, 26-yard field goal.
BEAVER FALLS — Boyd, 3-yard run (Wesley Nesmith run).
ELLWOOD CITY — Jared Feit, 22-yard pass from Tyler Lucarelli (Lewis kick).
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