Laurel, Ellwood to battle with playoffs on the line
Written: Oct 13, 2011
 
By Joe Sager
New Castle News
Three weeks remain in the high school football regular season.
Plenty of unpredictable things could — and probably will — happen in that time.
One thing’s for sure, though, tomorrow’s Ellwood City Lincoln at Laurel game is the teams’ most-important test so far this year.
That’s because a WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference playoff berth will most likely be decided at 7 p.m. when the Wolverines visit the Spartans.
Both squads are 3-2 in the conference and have two more conference frays remaining after this week. Ellwood City (4-2 overall) welcomes Beaver Falls (4-1, 5-1) and visits Riverside (1-4, 2-4), while Laurel (3-3 overall) travels to Beaver (5-0, 6-0) and greets Mohawk (0-6, 0-6).
So, it’s quite possible both teams will go 1-1 in the final two games, which leaves tomorrow’s encounter as the biggest of the three.
“For both teams, it’s real important,” Laurel coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “The kids are excited. They know these last three games will determine whether or not their goals are met. Ellwood is the first one. They are good. They are very good.”
Wolverines coach Don Phillips knows this is a crucial stretch, but wants to keep his troops zeroed in on Laurel.
“The conference has a lot of balance. We need to win every game we can get,” he said. “We’re down to three left. We have some very important games coming up, but we can’t look at that. We have to stay focused.”
The Wolverines are hoping to rebound from last week’s 35-9 loss to Aliquippa.
“The game with Aliquippa took a toll on our kids. We felt we could have played better and we should have,” Phillips said. “This gives us a chance to redeem ourselves. Once the kids saw the film and became more aware of mistakes, there was a sense of determination. They seem to be very focused on the task at hand.”
Ellwood won its first three games, but dropped two of its last three. Nevertheless, Holzhauser is concerned with the Wolverines.
“Ellwood is an excellent team. They have real good athletes and real aggressive linemen. They are a real quality team for sure,” he said. “Coach Phillips does a great job with those kids. They are fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball. They are well coached and very aggressive on defense. Their offense is a multiple offense. They run multiple formations and do lots of things out of them.”
Laurel dropped its first three games, but rebounded for three-straight triumphs.
“I don’t think anyone in the conference has offensive and defensive fronts with their size. They are very, very large and physical,” Phillips said. “When you start watching them as a team, that’s one thing that jumps right at you. I remember, last year, it was a very physical game and I am expecting the same thing. They do their assignments well and there is a lot of team discipline there. We have our work cut out for us, no doubt about it.”
Both teams feature strong running attacks. Laurel’s Dylan Jones leads the county in rushing with 884 yards on 133 carries, while Ellwood’s Kyle Crawford is second with 841 yards on 85 carries.
“We need to execute,” Phillips said. “We can’t get into a situation where we have mistakes. We have to protect the ball and make the most of our opportunities. That’s the best plan. We have to keep their offense off the field, execute and do things that’ll end up giving us points.”
Holzhauser echoes that approach.
“It just comes down to being fundamentally sound defensively. We can’t be out of position,” he said. “We’re not going to do a lot of things differently on offense. We’ll play our game. Their defense is a little different than what we have seen. To prepare to block it will be a challenge. We’ll have to play our game and take what they give us, as we always do.”
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