Ellwood upset bid falls short by inches
Ellwood City (3) vs. Beaver Falls (10)
Written: Oct 23, 2010
 SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
BEAVER FALLS — Ellwood City Lincoln football coach Don Phillips just wanted an official to make a call.
The Wolverines were trailing Beaver Falls, 10-3, with 17 seconds remaining in the WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference game at Geneva College’s Reeves Field last night. But Ellwood City had the ball at the Beaver Falls 1 with a shot to tie the score and send the contest into overtime.
Running back Kyle Crawford slammed over the right side, twisting and squirming for extra inches. It was hard to tell if he got the football over the goal line.
Officials ran in from all side to mark the ball. They looked at each other but no one gave the touchdown signal … or any signal. Time expired and Beaver Falls walked away with a victory.
“Some people said, ‘No, he didn’t get in.’ Everybody who came running over to me … guys who were neutral … said, ‘Coach, he was in. He was in.’ But none of their opinions matter. It’s the stripped shirts that matter.”
Phillips said he didn’t have an opportunity to question the officials because they ran off the field after the last play. Not that it would have mattered.
“Nothing I’m going to say is going to make them change their minds,” he added.
The loss dropped Ellwood City’s record to 4-3 in the MAC and 5-3 overall and sets up a showdown with rival Riverside (4-3, 5-3), which defeated New Brighton last night, Friday at Helling Stadium. The winner advances to the WPIAL playoffs.
Beaver Falls (6-1, 7-1) has clinched a playoff spot.
What bothered Phillips is the officials did not make any type of signal on the final play.
“The problem is they all run in there and they can’t make a decision. He’s either in (the end zone) or he’s not,” Phillips said. “If he’s not, you make a call. They all run in and they are standing there looking at each other, ‘What do you have? What do you think?’ No, this is not a debate. This isn’t debate class. Either he’s in or he’s not in … make a call, that’s all I want,” Phillips said.
The ending ruined what was otherwise a terrific football game.
Ellwood City’s defense was exceptional. Beaver Falls came into the contest averaging 35.9 points a game and did not score a touchdown on offense. The Wolverines kept Beaver Falls out of the end zone on three plays from the 2 in the third quarter.
The Wolverines also intercepted a pass and sacked Beaver Falls quarterback Carlin Henderson five times. Tigers running back Trey Hall did gouge Ellwood City for 202 yards rushing on 22 carries, but he never got into the end zone.
“We knew we were going to get Ellwood City’s best game,” Beaver Falls coach Ryan Matsook said. “This one had everything … goal-line stands, long passes, long runs … we’re lucky to come out on top.”
Twice in the first half Beaver Falls drove into Ellwood City territory and came away empty both times.
The Wolverines took a 3-0 lead on a Scott Lewis 38-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. They drove from their 29 to the Beaver Falls 21 in 15 plays, converting once on a fourth-and-2 play.
Beaver Falls tied it, 3-3, on an Evan Richards 22-yard field goal with 4:34 left to play. Hall broke off an 83-yard run that carried to the Ellwood City 2 to set up the score. Three times the Tigers tried to pound their way into the end zone only to be stonewalled by the Wolverines. Beaver Falls was going to take a shot again on fourth down but an illegal procedure penalty pushed the Tigers back 5 yards and they settled for the field goal.
Defensive end Trey Collier came up with the game winning play for Beaver Falls. He intercepted a Gino Ceriani pass in the left flat and rolled 39 yards for the score with 2:42 remaining.
“I saw him drop back and he turned his head and whoever he throws it to he looks right at them,” Collier said. “And I saw him turn my way. My original thing was to put my hands up to block the ball, but it came right to me.”
Ellwood City then went 49 yards in six plays, one of them a flea-flicker pass from receiver Matthew Morella to Crawford that gained 34 yards. The Wolverines also ran a hook-and-lateral play that picked up 17 yards and gave them a first-and-goal from the Beaver Falls 10.
Ceriani then scrambled for 9 yards but the next two plays went nowhere, setting up the fourth-down play to Crawford.
“We kept a pretty good football team under wraps,” Phillips said. “This is no consolation but they didn’t score an offensive touchdown. Our kids battled hard. I’m really proud of the kids.”
ELLWOOD CITY BEAVER FALLS
12 First downs 10
105 Yards Rushing 236
36 Yards Lost 42
69 Net Rushing 194
20 Passes Attempted 5
9 Passes Completed 3
2 Passes Intercepted 1
134 Yards Passing 33
203 Total Yards 227
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
6-41.2 Punts-Average 5-31
3-30 Penalties-Yards 5-45
ELLWOOD CITY 0 0 3 0 — 3
BEAVER FALLS 0 0 0 10 — 10
Scoring plays
ELLWOOD CITY — Scott Lewis, 38-yard field goal.
BEAVER FALLS — Evan Richards, 22-yard field goal.
BEAVER FALLS — Trey Collier 39-yard interception return (Richards kick).
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