Winless Ellwood continues to improve
Ellwood City (0) vs. Center (21)
Written: Oct 17, 2009
 By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
CENTER TOWNSHIP — The Ellwood City Lincoln High football team is earning respect in the Midwestern Athletic Conference.
That might seem strange since the Wolverines’ losing streak was pushed to 31 games last night in a 21-0 loss at Center’s Sarge Alberts Stadium.
Despite its lowly status in the standings, Ellwood City is quickly turning into the team no one wants to face in the circuit under head coach Don Phillips
The Wolverines (0-6 conference, 0-7 overall) have made believers out of Freedom, Aliquippa, Beaver and — now — Center. Ellwood City scared all four teams, but just couldn’t find a way to complete the upset victories.
“I hate these games,” Center coach Larry Taddeo said. “I hate to coach against Donnie Phillips. I’d rather play Aliquippa.”
Once again, the Wolverines’ defense played solid football against a top-tier team. However, Ellwood City’s offense continued to struggle. The Wolverines managed a paltry 56 yards on the night.
“Not enough firepower,” Phillips said. “We played some decent defense and caused some issues for them. I know we caused some problems for them, but we couldn’t capitalize. Our defense did a lot of nice things; you just can’t be out there all that time. That was part of the problem.”
Ellwood City had the potential for a momentum-changing touchdown late in the first half, thanks to its defense. Anthony Punzell intercepted a Preston Dawson pass near Center’s 23 and ran it back to the 5 with 1:19 left on the clock.
However, the Wolverines failed to punch the pigskin into the end zone on four running plays as they were halted at the 1 with 1.3 seconds remaining in the half.
That’s where we have to get beyond that hump,” Phillips said. “If we score and tie it at 7-7, I’d like to think we have some excitement.”
Taddeo knows Ellwood City could have changed the game’s complexion with a score in that situation.
“Sure it could have. I give our kids credit, though,” he said. “We were flat the whole night. I don’t know why. I just told kids that it’s over and I don’t want to think about it; I just want to go home.”
The Trojans (5-1, 6-1) got another break on their first drive of the second half. The Wolverines had their own goal-line stand going, but Ben Cobb picked up a fumble on fourth down near the Ellwood City 5 and scrambled around the left end for a TD and a 14-0 lead.
“I was a little bit lucky, for once,” Taddeo said. “Sometimes, you need that. I wasn’t lucky last week (in a 13-12 loss to Aliquippa).”
The Wolverines’ offense continued to come up empty in the second half. Losing quarterback Gino Ceriani to an ankle injury didn’t help matters, either.
Center’s Aaron Law, a son of former Rochester star Essex Law, scored the game’s final points on a 16-yard run late in the fourth quarter to give the Trojans the 21-0 victory.
“I am really proud of the kids because they did not back off,” said Phillips, who coached at Center from 1987-2000. “They did not back off of Center, with their reputation and everything. Our kids came to play and they tried to make a statement. We just need a little more firepower.”
ELLWOOD CITY CENTER
4 First downs 19
79 Yards Rushing 206
36 Yards Lost 40
43 Net Rushing 166
8 Passes Attempted 22
3 Passes Completed 9
1 Passes Intercepted 2
13 Yards Passing 153
56 Total Yards 319
3-0 Fumbles-Lost 4-0
7-33.4 Punts-Average 2-31.5
6-46 Penalties-Yards 10-70
ELLWOOD CITY 0 0 0 0 — 0
CENTER 0 7 7 7 — 21
SCORING PLAYS
CENTER — Rob Nohe, 18-yard pass from Preston Dawson (Luca Campos kick).
CENTER — Ben Cobb, 1-yard run (Campos kick).
CENTER — Aaron Law, 16-yard run (Campos kick).
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