Tough lesson
Ellwood City (0) vs. South Fayette (35)
Written: Nov 06, 2010
  By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com
McDONALD — Ellwood City Lincoln High has made a lot of progress on the gridiron the past three seasons.
The Wolverines have learned plenty of things along the way, too.
Last night, they experienced something new — a playoff game for the first time since 2000. However, it was a tough lesson to endure as South Fayette rolled to a 35-0 home victory in a WPIAL Class AA first-round game.
The Lions (10-0) will face Freeport, a 30-22 winner over Jeannette, in a quarterfinal clash Friday at a site and time to be determined by the WPIAL.
“That was a good football team we played,” South Fayette coach Joe Rossi said. “When I saw our draw, I was a little worried because we saw them play Beaver Falls. They could have beaten them and, watching them against everybody in that league, they competed with everybody.”
The same could not be said for Ellwood City before Don Phillips and his staff took over in 2008. The Wolverines were mired in a long losing streak and were out of games in the first half, but made steady improvement and developed into a formidable foe. They went from 0-9 to 1-8 in two years. This defeat capped a solid turnaround season for Ellwood City (6-4), which earned its way back into the postseason gridiron dance.
“We had some chances; we had some opportunities,” Phillips said. “We were in uncharted waters. These kids didn’t know what they were getting into. To our seniors, I thank them for putting our program where I know it can be. They brought us from 0-9 when they were sophomores to 6-3 entering the playoffs. I can’t say enough good things about that group. I know they are brokenhearted right now. They had visions this was going to be a big, positive night for them and it didn’t work out that way. We made too many mistakes. You can’t make that many mistakes in the playoffs and you can’t make mistakes against a good football team like South Fayette because, every time you do, they are going to make you pay for it. They did.”
Despite the lopsided outcome, the Wolverines were in the game and trailed, 14-0, at halftime. So, Phillips hopes his younger players can use the postseason experience as an asset next season.
“No doubt about it. Anytime you take a program over and going from no victories to now — you have to learn how to win. You have to learn what it takes to move to that next level,” Phillips said. “Right now, as much as this hurts and it’s going to take a while for that sting to go away for these kids, it is the next step. When you get into the playoffs, you get into a different level of intensity. Everybody here is good, so you have to step up your game. I think our younger kids saw that and realize that, if you’re going to be invited to this party, you have to step up your game, not only in the first round, but every round after that. We’re going to learn from that and build from that. I think a lot of the younger kids have a better appreciation of what has to happen, intensity-wise and not just X and O-wise.”
Sensing Ellwood City’s playoff inexperience, South Fayette went on the attack immediately. Christian Brumbaugh, the WPIAL’s leading passer, threw a 51-yard scoring strike to Jeff Davis, who snuck past the Wolverines’ defense for a touchdown 56 seconds into the fray.
“We were baptized last year,” Rossi said. “So, we knew we wanted to jump on these guys, knowing it was their first time in the playoffs in 10 years.”
Ellwood City regrouped after that long play and held strong. The Wolverines’ defense created a quality scoring chance when it sacked Brumbaugh for a big loss and forced a fumble that Matthew Morella covered on the South Fayette 14. However, two plays later, Mike Fetchet intercepted Gino Ceriani’s pass in the end zone to stop the threat.
The Lions rode that momentum for an 80-yard drive to post a 14-0 lead with 6:30 left in the half.
Ellwood City countered with a solid march of its own. The Wolverines advanced to the South Fayette 9, but Scott Lewis missed a 26-yard field goal with 39.3 seconds remaining in the half to preserve the 14-0 margin.
The Lions intercepted another Ceriani pass on the first drive of the third quarter. The hosts turned it into points four plays later when Brumbaugh lofted a 26-yard scoring aerial to Josh Patterson for a 21-0 lead.
Brumbaugh took to the air again late in the quarter for a 17-yard TD strike to Zach Collingsworth to give the hosts a 28-0 edge.
“We wanted to come after (Brumbaugh). I know we hit him a few times and I know he hasn’t been hit like that before. I think we stung him, but we needed to get to him quicker and we needed to get to him more often to try to throw him off his rhythm,” Phillips said. “I know there were times, especially in the first half, where we did throw him off his rhythm a little bit and created some problems. But, it’s one of those things that has to happen all game long. Unfortunately for us, we just didn’t get to him quick enough and get some hits on him. I compliment their receivers; their kids made some catches.”
While Brumbaugh proved to be a baron of the skies with 194 yards passing, South Fayette completed a solid ground campaign. Davis collected 104 yards on 20 carries, while Trevor Fiorentini toted eight times for 95 yards — 61 of those coming on the final TD of the encounter.
“We felt all along they have a nice running back (in Davis). He runs hard,” Phillips said. “The thing he hurt us with, and what we kept telling the kids, is his cutback ability. We knew that was going to be there, but they were able to catch a couple of those cutback lanes and keep the ball moving down the field for first downs.”
The Lions proved they had more than an aerial attack, which is crucial for playoff advancement.
“We had showed we could throw it as well as run it. We had some kids step up and make plays defensively, too,” Rossi said. “So, it’s nice to move on.”
ELLWOOD CITY SOUTH FAYETTE
6 First downs 18
99 Yards Rushing 231
9 Yards Lost 28
90 Net Rushing 203
17 Passes Attempted 15
6 Passes Completed 9
4 Passes Intercepted 1
41 Yards Passing 194
131 Total Yards 397
3-0 Fumbles-Lost 2-1
5-45 Punts-Average 3-34
4-25 Penalties-Yards 7-50
ELLWOOD CITY 0 0 0 0 — 0
SOUTH FAYETTE 7 7 14 7 — 35
Scoring plays
SOUTH FAYETTE — Jeff Davis, 51-yard pass from Christian Brumbaugh (Tyler Yee kick).
SOUTH FAYETTE — Trevor Fiorentino, 4-yard run (Yee kick).
SOUTH FAYETTE — Josh Patterson, 26-yard pass from Brumbaugh (Yee kick).
SOUTH FAYETTE — Zach Collingsworth, 17-yard pass from Brumbaugh (Yee kick).
SOUTH FAYETTE — Fiorentino, 61-yard run (Yee kick).
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