Ellwood puts it all together in shootout victory
Ellwood City (54) vs. New Brighton (40)
Written: Sep 10, 2011
 Special to the News
NEW BRIGHTON — In a game that had more than 900 yards total offense, the biggest play involved defense.
That’s usually how it works, and Ellwood City Lincoln came up with the defensive play of the night that led to a 54-40 victory over New Brighton at the Lions Oak Hill Field.
Ellwood City, now 2-0 both overall and in the Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference, had scored last night on a halfback pass from Nick Polka to Kyle Crawford from 26 yards out to take a 41-33 lead with 2:26 left in the third quarter. But the Wolverines had not been able to stop New Brighton in the second half.
The Lions had good field position following the ensuing kickoff and started from their 41. Three running plays by speedster Kellen Mackey gained 9 yards, giving New Brighton a fourth-and-1 situation as the quarter closed.
In a contest that had runs of 97, 88 and 64 yards, gaining 1 yard looked like a cinch. But New Brighton quarterback Michael Nevill lost a yard on the first play of the fourth quarter and Ellwood City took over on the Lions 49.
“That was really big. We needed that,” Ellwood City coach Don Phillips said.
It was big because two plays later Crawford, who had a monster night, skirted left end for 47 yards and a touchdown with 11:07 remaining. And even though the try for the two-point conversion failed, the Wolverines had a 47-33 lead.
New Brighton scored again on a 41-yard run by Nevill with 5:27 left to pull to within 47-40. But Ellwood City secured the shootout victory with a six-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a 45-yard run over right tackle by Crawford.
“If anybody came here and wanted to see a defensive game, they wasted their time,” Phillips said with a smile. “These kids are awesome because they hang in there and hang in there.”
Crawford, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior, had a game he, and most of the Ellwood City fans, will remember for awhile. He rushed for 265 yards on 18 carries, caught three passes for another 47 yards and scored six touchdowns. Crawford would have had a seventh TD but he ran out of gas and was tackled at the New Brighton 1 after running 97 on a second-and-9 play.
“I wish I wouldn’t have fallen at the goal line but I was cramping up,” he said. That run set up a 1-yard scoring burst by Alexander Grymes.
“Is he special or what? He’s an offensive weapon, runs hard, catches the ball, plays defense, returns punts, returns kickoffs. He does it all and his heart is always out there for all his teammates,” Phillips said of Crawford. “He’ll probably fall asleep on the bus on the way home.”
Crawford said he was battered after the long game – it took nearly three hours to play. “My legs hurt, I feel like I have a broken rib, my elbow is banged up … I feel like a Navy SEAL,” he said.
But it wasn’t all Crawford. Ellwood City rolled up 592 yards total offense.
Quarterback Bryan Graebing completed 5 of 7 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Beau Ewing rushed 11 times for 64 yards and Polka pulled in a 75-yard pass for a touchdown and threw the scoring pass to Crawford.
New Brighton was paced by junior running back Kellen Mackey who had everybody holding their breath every time he touched the football. He went 88 and 64 yards for touchdowns on his second and third carries of the game. Mackey finished with 253 yards rushing on 18 carries and scored three times.
Mackey is such a threat that Ellwood City pooched the ball short on kickoffs to keep it away from him.
“I knew it was going to be a game like this because when we looked at film of them that little No. 28 (Mackey) was everywhere,” said Phillips when asked if he expected a shootout. “And No. 21 (Nevill), he’s a horse. You saw us just bouncing off of him.”
ELLWOOD CITY NEW BRIGHTON
23 First downs 12
404 Yards Rushing 309
3 Yards Lost 64
401 Net Rushing 255
12 Passes Attempted 15
7 Passes Completed 6
1 Passes Intercepted 0
191 Yards Passing 92
592 Total Yards 347
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
2-37.0 Punts-Average 3-30.3
12-95 Penalties-Yards 5-25
ELLWOOD 14 7 20 13—54
N.BRIGHTON 12 7 14 7—40
Scoring plays
NEW BRIGHTON — Kellen Mackey, 88-yard run (kick failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Kyle Crawford, 8-yard run (Scott Lewis kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Nick Polka, 75-yard pass from Bryan Graebing (Lewis kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Mackey, 64-yard run (run failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Crawford, 4-yard run (Lewis kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Michael Nevill, 11-yard run (Nick Perretta kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Alexander Grymes, 1-yard run (Lewis kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Mackey, 31-yard run (Perretta kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Crawford, 13-yard run (Lewis kick).
NEW BRIGHTON — Tyler St. Esprit, 49-yard pass from Nevill (Perretta kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Crawford, 26-yard pass from Polka (kick failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Crawford, 47-yard run (run failed).
NEW BRIGHTON — Nevill, 41-yard run (Perretta kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Crawford , 45-yard run (Lewis kick).
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