‘It feels amazing:’ Ellwood wins another one
New Castle (45) vs. Ambridge (7)
Written: Sep 11, 2010
By STEVE TREU
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
ELLWOOD CITY — The Ellwood City Lincoln football team is on another noteworthy streak.
Two wins in a row.
The Wolverines rolled past their second straight opponent in Midwestern Athletic Conference action last night, pounding visiting New Brighton 44-14.
“It feels amazing,” senior quarterback Gino Ceriani said. “We’ve been taking a butt-kicking for a long time, and we are finally putting it all together.”
Ellwood’s offense scored on its first seven possessions, the defense limited the Lions (1-1) to just 23 rushing yards and the special teams produced several long run-backs.
The result so far? Undefeated and in first place.
“That sounds wonderful, no doubt about it,” Ellwood coach Don Phillips said. “Any time we get in a position to win a football game, especially after what we’ve been through the last few years, it’s exciting. We’re improving in all three phases of the game.”
The offense stole the show in this one.
Ceriani accounted for a pair of touchdowns, while Garrett Thomas rushed for 107 yards and two scores on just 12 carries as the Wolverines jumped out to a 23-0 lead just a few minutes into the second quarter.
After Nicholas Polka’s 48-yard punt return set up the game’s opening score on a 22-yard field goal from Scott Lewis, the Wolverines produced touchdowns on their next six drives.
First came Thomas taking an inside handoff to the left and cutting back to his right for a 43-yard touchdown, followed soon after by Ceriani hitting Kyle Crawford on a 30-yard TD that was a carbon copy of a similar bomb that the duo connected on last week.
Ceriani then chipped in as a defensive playmaker, snagging an interception and moments later capping a short drive with a 1-yard keeper for what would turn out to be an insurmountable lead.
During that 4-minute span to start the second quarter, Ceriani threw for a touchdown, picked off a pass, ran for a touchdown and rescued a kitten that was stuck in a tree outside Helling Stadium.
“Gino’s awesome. He’s provided the senior leadership that we need and he’s taken what we’ve been trying to do and embraced it,” Phillips said. “He’s running the offense exactly the way we want it. The thing we’re most excited about is that Gino’s giving us a passing game that will keep defenses honest.”
New Brighton got on the board by abandoning the run and going to the air, as Drew Devinney caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Mike Nevill with 4:06 left in the second quarter. But that left the Wolverines plenty of time to operate before halftime.
Thomas carved up the Lions with several runs, while Anthony Punzell added a rugged 9-yard run and an even tougher 17-yard reception to get down to the 1, where Thomas bulled in for a 30-7 halftime lead.
Ellwood followed a similar blueprint to start the third quarter, with Thomas’ power running sparking a drive that was capped by Alexander Grymes on a 1-yard burst for a 37-7 lead.
After Nevill and Devinney hooked up again for another scoring strike, the Wolverines closed the scoring early in the fourth when Punzell shot through a gap to the right for a 23-yard touchdown.
“Our offensive line takes a lot of pride in opening those holes,” Phillips said.
Added Ceriani, “Our line has been great helping us pound the ball.”
Ellwood takes a break from conference action next week with a road trip to Mount Pleasant (2-0).
“We are getting better, but we still have a long way to go,” Phillips said. “There are still some things out there that we have to get shored up.”
NEW BRIGHTON ELLWOOD CITY
8 First downs 11
58 Yards Rushing 243
35 Yards Lost 4
23 Net Rushing 239
21 Passes Attempted 3
10 Passes Completed 2
1 Passes Intercepted 0
138 Yards Passing 47
161 Total Yards 286
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
3-25 Punts-Average 0-0
3-22 Penalties-Yards 5-45
NEW BRIGHTON 0 7 7 0 — 14
ELLWOOD CITY 9 21 7 7 — 44
Scoring plays
ELLWOOD CITY — Scott Lewis, 22-yard field goal.
ELLWOOD CITY — Garrett Thomas, 43-yard run (kick failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Kyle Crawford, 30-yard pass from Gino Ceriani (Lewis kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Ceriani, 1-yard run (Lewis kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Drew Devinney, 21-yard pass from Mike Nevill (Austin Shaw kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Thomas, 1-yard run (Lewis kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Alexander Grymes, 1-yard run (Lewis kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Devinney, 5-yard pass from Nevill (Shaw kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Anthony Punzell, 23-yard run (Lewis kick).
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