WPIAL Playoffs: Ellwood set to battle Greensburg Central
Written: Nov 11, 2011
 By Joe Simon
New Castle News
The dust finally has settled in Ellwood City.
People might still be talking about last week’s wild, come-from-behind victory over Freeport, but they’re not in the Wolverines’ locker room.
“I’m really happy about that,” Ellwood City Lincoln High coach Don Phillips said. “They’re excited and all that, but we know that if we’re going to continue to go on in this tournament, we have to move on from that game.”
It can be easy to refocus when perennial powerhouse Greensburg Central Catholic is the opponent Ellwood faces in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Valley High School in New Kensington. The Centurions (9-1) have been to the playoffs nine straight years, winning the WPIAL title and advancing to the state title game two years ago.
To stop Greensburg Central from reaching that point again, the Wolverines (7-3) are going to have to slow a high-octane offense powered by a potent running game. Leading the attack is Jordan McCrae, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior running back who’s rushed for 1,123 yards and 17 touchdowns on 119 carries (9.4 average).
The task of halting the Centurions is similar to last week’s, when Ellwood faced the run-heavy offense of Freeport, which had success on the ground until the fourth quarter.
Phillips says the experience is one he expects to benefit the Wolverines.
“It does help, because obviously our kids have the mindset that they have to prepare, not only with schemes and alignments, but mentally, that they’re going to run the football, and we’ve got to meet that challenge,” Phillips said. “They have a nice sized football team and a power running game. They have the ability to throw the football — they run some shotgun and spread offense — but when you get down to it, they’re a power football team. They’ll run the I formation, and they’ll use a couple different guys in the backfield.”
The Centurions aerial attack is led by quarterback Bobbie Noble, a 6-3, 200-pound senior who has connected on 46 of 94 passes for 935 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s averaging more than 20 yards per completion.
Most of those passes have gone to Justin Kempka, Greensburg Central’s main deep threat. The 6-3, 220-pound senior caught 27 passes for 543 yards (20.1 average) and six TDs.
“When they throw the ball, they’re pushing it down the field,” Phillips said. “They’ve got some quality receivers, and they take full advantage of their opportunities.”
Ellwood still is a bit of a newcomer to the postseason, making its second straight trip after a 10-year hiatus. The Wolverines won a playoff game for the first time since 1987 with last week’s 33-26 victory, but things won’t get any easier. Greensburg Central coach Muzzy Colosimo said he is well aware of the trick plays Ellwood utilized against Freeport, so the Centurions will be ready for whatever the Wolverines throw at them.
“At this stage of the game, when you’re in the playoffs, every team is good,” Colosimo said. “Every team has the ability to come back on you. I thought Freeport was a good team. They came back on them and that’s the sign of a good football team.”
Ellwood is going to have rely more on its running game, led by senior back Kyle Crawford (1,050 yards on 146 carries) to defeat the Centurions, Phillips said. Running the ball will allow the Wolverines to control the clock and keep Greensburg Central’s offense off the field. Of even more importance is to improve defensively, he added. Ellwood allowed more than 300 yards rushing last week, a figure that could spell doom if it’s duplicated by the Centurions.
“Defensively, we’ve got to be more secure in our pursuit angles,” Phillips said. “(Freeport) had two big runs when we got out of our pursuit lanes, and that can’t happen.”
Not unless Phillips can pull something else out of his bag of tricks.
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