Ellwood City no match for Wise, Beaver
Ellwood City (17) vs. Beaver (48)
Written: Oct 31, 2015
By Shawn Fox
New Castle News
BEAVER — Ellwood City Lincoln High had a wise strategy in how it would deal with Beaver.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the Bobcats had their own “Wise” plan.
Junior quarterback Darius Wise contributed to all seven of his team’s touchdowns Friday night as Beaver knocked off Ellwood City, 48-17, in a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference game at Pat Tarquinio Field.
“Everything we ran into tonight, there were no surprises,” Ellwood City coach Don Phillips said. “That young man is everything he’s billed to be. You’ve got to see him. That’s the only way you can understand his abilities and skills and just how talented he is. If you tell people about him, they hear you. You have to see it. He is a special player, and he makes them go.
“But, I thought our kids gave a great effort. I can’t simulate that speed in practice, but you do the best you can.”
The 5-11, 170-pound Wise rushed for 279 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. He also completed 4 of 13 passes for 119 yards and three scores.
In the process of his big night, Wise became just the fourth quarterback in WPIAL history to rush for 1,000 yards and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season. He has rushed for 1,399 yards and thrown for 1,031 thus far in 2015.
“We know times have changed and the workload that’s put on a quarterback is different, and offensive numbers are up everywhere, but still to be one of the four is amazing,” Beaver coach Jeff Beltz said. “It puts him in company with the likes of (former Jeanette standout) Terrelle Pryor, so that’s pretty special.”
Wise scored on runs of 34, 93, 69 and 40 yards, the last of which was on a fake punt in the third quarter. He threw TD passes to Christian Hyrb (24 yards), Brad Barker (65) and Chase Mamone (24).
After Beaver (6-2 conference, 7-2 overall) scored on its opening possession on the Wise-to-Hyrb aerial, Ellwood City answered.
Taking over on their own 28-yard line, the Wolverines drove the ball to the Beaver seven-yard line in 11 plays, 10 of which were runs.
“We wanted to keep the ball, there’s no doubt about it,” Phillips said. “In the opening drive, we went right down the field. Beaver responded well. It was just one of those nights.”
The drive stalled at the seven, but Justin Baney booted a 24-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 5:33 remaining in the first quarter.
“Giving up just a field goal was big,” Beltz said. “They were able to get first downs, but they were getting huge chunks of yardage. In situations like that, you just want to get a stop. It lead to a field goal, but I think that gives your team momentum.”
The Bobcats scored the next 21 points before Nick Ioanilli scored on a 28-yard run with 1:04 remaining before the half to cut the deficit to 28-10.
Wise scored on a 69-yard jaunt two plays later to give the Bobcats a 25-point edge at the break.
Beaver pushed its lead to 48-10 before Ioanilli scored on a four-yard run late in the third quarter to set the final. Ioanilli led Ellwood City with 84 yards on nine totes.
The Wolverines ended the season at 3-5 in the MAC and 4-5 overall after dropping their first three games.
“I’m very proud of our football team,” Phillips said. “As I told the kids just now, our senior leadership has been phenomenal. There’s always been a no quit attitude. They going to keep fighting from snap to whistle and from the opening kickoff to the final horn.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t complement my coaching staff. They’re the ones who work their tails off to get the kids ready. I’m proud of the kids because they do respond to the coaches and they do listen, work hard and give us everything we’re looking for.”
(Email: ncsports@ncnewsonline.com)
ELLWOOD CITY BEAVER
14 First downs 17
228 Yards Rushing 380
38 Yards Lost 14
190 Net Rushing 366
13 Passes Attempted 16
8 Passes Completed 5
2 Passes Intercepted 1
96 Yards Passing 125
286 Total Yards 491
2-2 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
5-31.8 Punts-Average 4-26.3
3-25 Penalties-Yards 6-41
ELLWOOD CITY 3 7 7 0 — 17
BEAVER 14 21 13 0 — 48
Scoring plays
BEAVER — Christian Hyrb, 24-yard pass from Darius Wise (Will Connelly kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Justin Baney, 24-yard field goal.
BEAVER — Wise, 34-yard run (Connelly kick).
BEAVER — Wise, 93-yard run (Connelly kick).
BEAVER — Brad Barker, 65-yard pass from Wise (Connelly kick).
ELLWOOD CITY — Nick Ioanilli, 28-yard run (Baney kick).
BEAVER — Wise, 69-yard run (Connelly kick).
BEAVER — Chase Mamone, 24-yard pass from Wise (kick blocked).
BEAVER — Wise, 40-yard run (Connelly kick).
ELLWOOD — Ioanilli, 4-yard run (Baney kick).
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