Ellwood ‘leaves it all on the field” in loss
Ellwood City (40) vs. Beaver (41)
Written: Oct 19, 2013
By Kayleen Cubbal
New Castle News
The Ellwood City Lincoln High football team did everything it needed to last night against Beaver.
Everything but win the game, that was.
The Wolverines bested the Bobcats in just about every category but the final score in a heart-stopping 41-40 WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference loss at Ewing Park’s Helling Stadium.
“We left it all on the field tonight,” Ellwood coach Don Phillips said. “We did everything in our power to beat them. Even though we didn’t win, we played a great game against a great team and I can’t be disappointed. It was a thrilling game.”
Beaver improved to 4-2 in the conference, 6-2 overall. Ellwood, officially out of the playoff picture, slipped to 2-5, 3-5.
The Wolverines came roaring back from a 34-20 halftime deficit, putting up three touchdowns and holding the Bobcats scoreless until the final minutes of the game.
Ellwood took the lead, 40-34, on a 9-yard run by Jared Meyers with 6:55 remaining. Seth Mley’s point-after kick failed.
Beaver came roaring back and scored a minute later on a 5-yard run by Jordan Yates and PAT kick by sure-footed Luke Scheidemantel.
The Wolverines had one last-ditch rally left in them. On fourth-and-21, Ellwood converted a hook-and-lateral play, with Meyers, working out of the wildcat formation, passing to Mley for 8 yards, who then lateraled to Nick Ioanilli for another 13, to put the ball on the Bobcats’ 43.
But on fourth down, Meyers’ desperation pass was knocked down by two defenders at the Beaver 8.
Ellwood finished with 317 yards rushing in the game to the winners’ 86, and 445 total yards to the Bobcats’ 294. The Wolverines held Beaver’s freshman phenom Darius Wise to 12 rushes for 60 yards and four catches for 61 yards, counteracting that with the hard-working Meyers’ 255 yards on 41 carries.
“We took a different approach to this game,” Phillips said. “Everyone plays a zone and sits back and lets Beaver throw the ball all over the place, we wanted to come after them and pressure their quarterback and we did that.
“We had a couple of special team mistakes and turnovers that hurt us, but Meyers ran hard, he was strong and powerful and just gave a great effort.
“I told the team I was really proud of them, especially with Beaver’s reputation, they could have packed it in, but they never quit right up until the end.”
(Email: kcubbal@ncnewsonline.com. Correspondent Gaylord Muny contributed to this story)
ELLWOOD CITY BEAVER
11 First downs 9
317 Net Rushing 86
9 Passes Attempted 35
3 Passes Completed 15
4 Passes Intercepted 0
128 Yards Passing 208
445 Total Yards 294
3-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-2
3-37.7 Punts-Average 6-27.5
6-30 Penalties-Yards 6-34
ELLWOOD CITY 12 8 14 6 — 40
BEAVER 14 20 0 7 — 41
Scoring plays
BEAVER — Darius Wise, 45-yard run (Luke Scheidemantel kick).
BEAVER — Dylan Goff, 38-yard interception return (Scheidemantel kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Keaton Docchio, 55-yard pass from Jared Meyers (kick failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Docchio, 28-yard run (run failed).
BEAVER — Wise, 36-yard pass from Alex Rowse (Scheidemantel kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Meyers, 49-yard run (Meyers run).
BEAVER — Jordan Yates, 9-yard pass from Rowse (Scheidemantel kick).
BEAVER — Goff, 27-yard pass from Rowse (pass failed).
ELLWOOD CITY — Docchio, 30-yard run (Seth Mley kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Meyers, 2-yard run (Mley kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Meyers, 9-yard run (kick failed).
BEAVER — Yates, 5-yard run (Scheidemantel kick).
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