One for the books
Laurel (27) vs. Ellwood City (14)
Written: Oct 18, 2014
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Noah Wertz turned last night’s game into his own personal punt, pass and kick skills competition.
You can add catching as another category, as the Laurel High senior had a career outing in the Spartans’ 27-14 home triumph over Ellwood City Lincoln in a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference battle.
Wertz booted two field goals, including a school-record 44-yard rocket, intercepted two passes and threw a 2-point conversion pass. Also, he punted one time for 50 yards and added a PAT kick.
“We have known all year that he is a special type of kid with his leg and everything else,” Laurel coach Brian Cooper said. “He has proven himself, too, offensively and defensively as well. He didn’t get to play much in the past, but this year he has had to step up and be a leader. I am glad it all came together for him.
“I thought we played great all night. Really, all year, they’ve played well as a team. We just cut down a lot on the mistakes and played a lot better up front and controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Laurel is 3-4 in conference play, 3-5 overall, while the Wolverines slipped to 3-4, 4-4.
Wertz nearly had a field goal hat trick, but his 32-yard attempt in the first quarter sailed wide left. Nevertheless, the Spartans scored first when Clayton Sharek dashed in from the 2. Wertz added the PAT kick for a 7-0 lead with 9:16 left in the second half.
Ellwood responded when D.J. Barrett found Mario Street for a 15-yard TD pass to knot the game at 7 with 1:37 on the clock.
Laurel cashed in on its final possession as the team drove to the Wolverines’ 27. On fourth down with :02 remaining, Wertz drilled his 44-yard field goal into the wind with plenty of distance to give the hosts a 10-7 lead. It surpassed Jon Johnson’s 42-yard boot in 2009 atop the program charts.
“The wind was a big factor. Early-on it was worse, but it calmed down a little into the night. I just had to adjust,” Wertz said. “My snapper and holder have been working hard for me. They knew I wanted that record. I had one from 55 that came just short before and I had one from 57 that just came short earlier (in the season). To finally get one is a confidence builder.”
The Wolverines took charge to open the second half. Nick Ioanilli, who was limited to 21 yards rushing in four carries in the first half, broke out to start the third quarter. He had runs of 25 and 29 to set up Barrett’s 2-yard TD dash, which gave the guests a 14-10 edge.
Matty Conway’s 47-yard kickoff return set up the hosts deep in Ellwood territory. They drove to the 2, but were stopped on downs. Two plays later, a pair of false starts backed the Wolverines up to their own 3. Disaster struck when Luke Flynn picked up a loose ball and plowed his way into the end zone for a touchdown.
“I saw the ball. It got knocked out and was rolling around. I picked it up and just started going into the end zone. I had some help from a few teammates. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been there. I would have been stuck on the 2-yard line,” Flynn said. “That was huge momentum. That got us going. If it that didn’t happen, that score might not have said what it said tonight.”
Cooper agreed, “Getting that touchdown was a huge momentum swing there. The defense did a great job keeping them back in their own end. You’re going to make big plays when you’re playing as a team.”
There was a bad snap on the PAT kick attempt, but Wertz was able to scramble back, track down the ball, pick it up, roll to his right and loft a pass to a wide-open Chris Peluso for the 2-point conversion and an 18-14 lead with 3:38 to go in the third.
“That’s like backyard football to me; that’s gym class,” Wertz said. “My team knew what they had to do and they got the job done. It was a good team win.”
The Wolverines punted on their next possession and Laurel marched its way down and scored on Jake McDougal’s 6-yard run for a 24-14 lead with 10:22 to play.
Wertz collected his first interception on Ellwood’s next drive as he snagged Ioanilli’s halfback pass deep in Spartans territory. The hosts went on another long drive and capped it with Wertz’s 32-yard boot for a 27-14 buffer with 2:01 to go.
Wertz picked off Ioanilli again on the Wolverines’ next drive and Laurel ran out the clock to seal the win.
Conway led all rushers with 130 yards on 15 carries. Sharek had 77 yards on 17 totes.
Ioanilli finished with 86 yards on 10 carries in the loss. It pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark. He has 1,063 yards on 116 attempts.
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
ELLWOOD CITY LAUREL
10 First downs 22
146 Yards Rushing 304
1 Yards Lost 22
145 Net Rushing 282
13 Passes Attempted 10
2 Passes Completed 3
2 Passes Intercepted 0
65 Yards Passing 59
210 Total Yards 341
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-0
3-46.6 Punts-Average 1-50
6-25 Penalties-Yards 5-38
ELLWOOD CITY 0 7 7 0 — 14
LAUREL 0 10 8 9 — 27
Scoring plays
LAUREL — Clayton Sharek, 2-yard run (Noah Wertz kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Mario Street, 15-yard pass from D.J. Barrett (Devin Cortez kick).
LAUREL — Wertz, 44-yard field goal.
ELLWOOD CITY — Barrett, 2-yard run (Wertz kick).
LAUREL — Luke Flynn, 3-yard fumble return (Chris Peluso pass from Wertz).
LAUREL — Jake McDougal, 6-yard run (pass failed).
LAUREL — Wertz, 32-yard field goal.
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