Warriors advance to semifinals with milestone win
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Kyle Flournoy breaks a tackle against Freeport during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium. Flournoy rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the Warriors无毛视频� 34-20 victory.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Freeport无毛视频檚 Ben Lane (2) gets off a pass from his own end zone while being pressure by Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Chase Whatton (67) and Nicholas Murphy (54) during last Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium. The Warriors travel to North Catholic tonight with a spot in the WPIAL championship game on the line.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 DaVontay Brownfield (9) slips a tackle near the sideline against Freeport as the clock winds down in Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium. The Warriors controlled the ball for the final 7:35 of play to wrap up their first ever home playoff win, 34-20.
A very happy Elizabeth Forward head coach Mike Collodi addresses his team after its 34-20 victory over Freeport in a WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium Friday night. It was the Warriors' first postseason win since 2000 and its first ever at home.
Elizabeth Forward's Chase Whatton (67) and Vernon Settles (22) correctly signal touchdown as teammate Kyle Flournoy crosses the goal line on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter against Freeport during聽Friday night's WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium.
Elizabeth Forward's Nico Mrvos turns the corner to pick up yardage against Freeport during聽Friday night's WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium. Mrvos scored two touchdowns in the Warriors' 34-20 victory.
Elizabeth Forward's Kyle Flournoy (23) finds running room against Freeport during聽Friday night's WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium. Flournoy rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the Warriors' 34-20 win.
Freeport's Mario DeVivo (3) crosses the goal line on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ben Lane in the fourth quarter of Friday night's WPIAL Class 3A playoff game at Warriors Stadium. The Yellowjackets scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns but it wasn't enough as Elizabeth Forward earned its first ever home postseason win, 34-20.
Elizabeth Forward cheerleaders got in the Halloween spirit by sporting a variety of headgear at Warriors Stadium on Friday night. They had plenty to cheer about as the Warriors defeated Freeport, 34-20, for their first ever home playoff win.
The Elizabeth Forward band performs during halftime of the Warriors' WPIAL Class 3A football playoff game against Freeport Friday night at Warriors Stadium.
Fire trucks flash their lights just outside Warriors Stadium in celebration of Elizabeth Forward's 34-20 win over Freeport in a WPIAL Class 3A playoff game Friday night.
ELIZABETH 无毛视频� Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 biggest football crowd of the season got to witness a program first and the ending of a long drought on Friday night.
The Warriors rolled to a 27-0 first-half lead and survived a mistake-prone second half to defeat visiting Freeport, 34-20, in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal playoff game at Warrior Stadium.
It was EF无毛视频檚 first ever home playoff victory and also its first postseason win anywhere since 2000.
More importantly, the win advanced the third-seeded and unbeaten Warriors (7-0) into next Friday无毛视频檚 semifinals where it will travel to No. 2 North Catholic, which beat Mount Pleasant, 35-14, on Friday.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 unbelievable, from where we无毛视频檝e come to where we are know,无毛视频� EF coach Mike Collodi said. 无毛视频淭he program is just getting better and better.无毛视频�
That无毛视频檚 thanks in large part to Collodi, the sixth-year coach who now has a sparkling 37-18 record at Elizabeth Forward. Collodi had taken the Warriors to the playoffs the previous three years but they came up short each time. Friday night无毛视频檚 win was only the sixth in the postseason for Elizabeth Forward.
Collodi, though, deflected credit for his team无毛视频檚 success to his players.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e the ones that do it,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 100 percent guys like these two (motioning to Bowling Greene recruit Chase Whatton and Nicholas Murphy standing nearby) and the rest. The bought in, trusted me and I love everyone of them. I无毛视频檓 so happy for these guys they deserved it.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just huge for our team,无毛视频� Whatton said of the victory. 无毛视频淔irst time in history on this field. I无毛视频檓 very happy.无毛视频�
The Warriors rode a strong ground attack led by Kyle Flournoy, who rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns. DaVontay Brownfield ran for 80 yards and a score and Nico Mrvos added 69 yards on the ground and two TDs.
Elizabeth Forward dominated play in the first half from the very first snap when Whatton tackled Freeport无毛视频檚 Vincent Clark for a 5-yard loss.
The Warriors forced a three-and-out, then Brownfield broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run three plays later and Andrew Smith无毛视频檚 extra point made it 7-0.
The ensuing squib kick went off a Yellowjackets无毛视频� lineman with EF recovering at their own 49. The Warriors marched 51 yards in seven plays with Mrvos covering the final 23 with a 22-yard scamper down the sideline followed by a 1-yard plunge for the score and a 14-0 advantage.
Elizabeth Forward made it 20-0 with 6:35 left in the second quarter when Fournoy capped a 41-yard drive following a Freeport quick kick with an 8-yard touchdown run.
Mrvos put EF up 27-0 with a 2-yard TD run with 38 seconds left in the half.
It was Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 best half of the season, according to Collodi.
无毛视频淲e put it all together,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e came out to play. The team was ready to roll tonight.
无毛视频淲e wanted to use a bunch of our athletes at running back and sort of just wear them down. We knew we were a little bit bigger than them and we just wanted to keep pounding and pounding and pounding. The line did an awesome job tonight. The backs did a great job.无毛视频�
The Warriors weren无毛视频檛 nearly as sharp in the second half with several penalties and turnovers, which allowed the Yellowjackets (3-3), behind quarterback Ben Lane, to stay in the game.
Elizabeth Forward fumbled on the first play of the third quarter and Lane tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Brady Stivenson on the next snap to make it 27-6.
The Warriors seemed to put the game away on Flournoy无毛视频檚 13-yard touchdown run with 10:37 left in the fourth quarter, but Lane threw a 19-yard TD pass to Mario DeVivo just 1:17 later.
After EF fumbled the kickoff, Lane again led Freeport downfield and threw 29-yard touchdown pass to Colton Otterman with 7:35 remaining and then passed to Cole Charlton for the 2-point conversion and suddenly the Yellowjackets were within 34-20.
Elizabeth Forward squashed any hopes Freeport had of completing a dramatic comeback when it once again turned to its powerful ground game and methodically marched downfield to run out the clock.
Lane completed 12 of 19 passes for 160 yards and three touchdown and also was intercepted for only the second time this season by Mrvos late in the first half.
Elizabeth Forward quarterback Zion White was efficient, completing 4 of 5 passes for 70 yards. EF, which lost starting quarterback Evan Lewis to a season-ending injury on Oct. 9 against South Allegheny, used both White and Mrvos behind center against the Yellowjackets.
While Whatton was thrilled with the win, he sounded like a coach when he assessed his team无毛视频檚 second-half problems.
无毛视频淪tupid stuff like that, that doesn无毛视频檛 have to happen,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e need to definitely fix those things at practice if we want to beat North Catholic.无毛视频�
The undefeated Trojans (8-0) have beaten EF in each of the past two regular seasons, 27-7 at Warriors Stadium in 2018 and 12-7 at NC last year.
The Warriors are far from intimidated, though, according to Murphy.
无毛视频淚 couldn无毛视频檛 be happier, North Catholic, we无毛视频檝e gone head-to-head with them the past couple years,无毛视频� Murphy said.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 excited. We want them again.无毛视频�