Ellwood snaps 31-game losing streak
Ellwood City (33) vs. New Brighton (21)
Written: Oct 24, 2009
  SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
The approach was different. The goal was the same.
Players and coaches on the Ellwood City Lincoln High football team were on opposite sides of the track when it came to the team’s losing streak. The Wolverines entered last night’s home game against New Brighton having lost 31 consecutive games. It was the longest current streak in the WPIAL.
The key word here is ... was.
The streak died in the mud at Ewing Park’s Helling Stadium when the Wolverines defeated New Brighton, 33-21. It was Ellwood City’s first victory since downing Quaker Valley, 28-13, Sept. 15, 2006.
“It feels amazing … the best thing ever,” Ellwood senior tight end/linebacker Ronnie Grymes said. “That’s all we talked about in the locker room … how we had to end it.
“We’ve been so close in so many games this year. Coach (Don Phillips) always says dominate, punish and finish. All we had to do was finish and that’s what we did tonight … finally.”
New Brighton was the perfect team to end the streak against. Like the Wolverines, the Lions came into the Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference game winless after seven games. Ellwood came close to ending the streak last season at New Brighton but lost, 41-40.
While the players were talking about the losing streak and ending it, the Ellwood coaches never mentioned it. Stopping the streak has not been their main focus.
“The coaching staff never brought it up,” Phillips said outside a happy locker room. “The kids did, but for us (coaches) it’s not important. Let’s get better has always been the bigger issue. We figured if we did that the other thing would take care of itself.”
Ellwood has been getting better all season. It battled talented Aliquippa to a scoreless draw in the first half before losing, 27-7. It lost to Beaver by only a 14-6 count and was down only a touchdown to Mohawk before falling, 26-14.
Phillips said he even saw some positive signs last week when the Wolverines were shut out, 21-0, by Center.
“This (winning) proves that they can play,” he said. “We’ve been hanging in there, but until you do it (win), you never know.”
After falling behind 7-0 on the first play of the second quarter, Ellwood players probably were wondering if they could end the streak. But the Wolverines went 68 yards in 13 plays on their next possession to tie the score and bolster their confidence.
Jared Feit, who rushed for 77 yards on 13 plays, scored on an 11-yard run with 2:31 left in the first half.
A holding penalty against New Brighton on the first play after Ellwood’s kickoff backed up the Lions to their own 17. Another penalty put them on their 12. That set up what might have been the play of the game.
New Brighton lined up in a wildcat formation with running back Trey Hall set to take the direct snap from center. But the ball sailed over his head and when he couldn’t pick it up, Grymes fell on it in the end zone for a score.
Just like that, the Wolverines had a 13-7 lead with 2:01 left in the half.
“That was my first varsity touchdown … it feels great,” said Grymes, who was covered in mud following the game. “I thought it was going to be a safety and I ran over to tackle him and I saw the ball on the ground and I just hopped on it.
Grymes got Ellwood the ball back seconds later. He pulled away from New Brighton running back Trey Sims following a 16-yard gain. The Wolverines took over on their 48 with 1:45 left in the quarter.
“How about him stealing the ball,” Phillips asked. “Ronnie has had a little bit of an issue with his hip and we weren’t sure we were going to have him for this game. But he sucked it up and said he wasn’t going to miss playing in his last home game.”
The Wolverines turned the turnover into a touchdown when quarterback Tyler Lucarelli hit Codey Hunter on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 18.2 seconds left in the half. It was the only pass Ellwood threw all night and it produced a 21-7 lead.
The Wolverines went up 27-7 on the third play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Garrett Thomas burst over the right side for 86 yards on a play that carried to the New Brighton 2. Hunter then scored on the next play and it appeared the game might be over.
New Brighton wasn’t about to go away, however. It put together a 63-yard, six-play drive for a score and then marched 65-yards in nine plays after recovering an Ellwood fumble. Hall scored on runs of 11 and 10 yards.
The Lions had closed the gap to 27-21 with a quarter remaining. Last year, Ellwood might have folded under the pressure. Not this season.
The Wolverines held New Brighton on fourth-and-8 at their 32. They then put the contest away when Hunter dashed 63 yards up the middle for a touchdown with 7:05 left. An interception by Grymes about a minute later allowed Ellwood to take time off the clock.
Thomas finished with 116 yards rushing on 10 carries and Hunter had 72 yards on 10 attempts to go with his 27 yards receiving.
“This has been a long time coming,” Phillips said of the win. “I’m happy for the seniors. For the underclassmen, now it’s let’s go.”
NEW BRIGHTON ELLWOOD CITY
15 First downs 10
190 Yards Rushing 279
35 Yards Lost 15
155 Net Rushing 264
11 Passes Attempted 1
3 Passes Completed 1
1 Passes Intercepted 0
74 Yards Passing 27
229 Total Yards 291
2-2 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
1-26 Punts-Average 3-32.3
8-55 Penalties-Yards 6-50
NEW BRIGHTON 0 7 14 0 — 21
ELLWOOD CITY 0 21 6 6 — 33
Scoring plays
NEW BRIGHTON — Trey Hall, 4-yard run (Nate Johnson kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Jared Feit, 11-yard run (Scott Lewis kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Ronnie Grymes, fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Cody Hunter, 27-yard pass from Tyler Lucarelli (Lucarelli run).
ELLWOOD CITY — Hunter, 2-yard run (kick failed).
NEW BRIGHTON — Hall, 11-yard run (Johnson kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Hall, 10-yard run (Johnson kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Hunter, 63-yard run (run failed).
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