Central Valley flexes its muscles in win over EF, 51-0
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Zion White releases a pass just before being hit by Central Valley无毛视频檚 Jackson Tonya during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Kyle Flournoy runs for an 11-yard gain against Central Valley during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Charlie Nigut (1) tackles Central Valley无毛视频檚 Landon Alexander during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Central Valley无毛视频檚 Jackson Tonya (53) and Sean FitzSimmons (right) bring down Elizabeth Forward quarterback Zion White during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Kyle Flournoy (23) blocks Central Valley无毛视频檚 John Peterson (17) in an attempt to clear a path for running back Charlie Nigut during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Nick Murphy (54) tackles Central Vallley无毛视频檚 Landon Alexander as EF无毛视频檚 DaVontay Brownfield (right) closes in during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward coach Mike Collodi makes a point with his players during a timeout in Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game against Central Valley at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Central Valley无毛视频檚 Matt Merritt (6) raises the football in the end zone after scoring one of this three second-quarter touchdowns against Elizabeth Forward during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Central Valley无毛视频檚 Matt Merritt (6) closes in as Elizabeth Forward quarterback Zion White looks to pass during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Serafino DeSantis kicks a 31-yard field goal against Elizabeth Forward during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | 无毛视频-Standard
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 Charlie Nigut (1) gets off a punt despite pressure from Central Valley无毛视频檚 Kyle Schad (20) during Friday night无毛视频檚 WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game at West Allegheny.
IMPERIAL 无毛视频� Elizabeth Forward has gradually worked its way up in its seven years under coach Mike Collodi to where it无毛视频檚 considered a top-tier WPIAL football program in Class 3A.
For the second year in a row, the Warriors found out they still have another big step to take to get to the top spot.
Top-seeded Central Valley exploded for 28 points in the second quarter on its way to a convincing 51-0 victory over EF in a WPIAL semifinal game at West Allegheny High School无毛视频檚 Joe P. DeMichela Stadium on Friday night.
Landon Alexander rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and Matt Merritt exploded for 159 yards and three scores in just seven attempts as Central Valley advanced to the WPIAL Class 3A final for the third year in a row.
Central Valley defeated Elizabeth Forward in last year无毛视频檚 WPIAL championship game, 35-0, and nipped Aliquippa in the 2019 final, 13-12.
The CV Warriors (12-0), who extended their winning streak to 24, are seeking their third straight district championship and second consecutive PIAA title.
无毛视频淲e just ran into a buzz saw tonight,无毛视频� Collodi said. 无毛视频淭hey have the longest winning streak in the state of Pennsylvania in all classes. They won the state title last year and almost won it the year before.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e a heck of a team. They executed. We didn无毛视频檛.无毛视频�
Central Valley dominated on both sides of the ball, amassing 479 total yards while limiting Elizabeth Forward to just 80.
Both coaches agreed the game was won in the trenches with Sean FitzSimmons, Merritt and Jackson Tonya leading the way for Central Valley.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 no secret. You win the line of scrimmage battle, you无毛视频檝e got a good chance of winning,无毛视频� CV coach Mark Lyons said. 无毛视频淔or all the credit we give our offensive line, I think our defensive line probably doesn无毛视频檛 get enough credit.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭heir defense is phenomenal,无毛视频� Collodi said. 无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檝e got two or three Division-I guys on their defensive line alone. It无毛视频檚 pretty hard to block FitzSimmons and then Merritt and 53 (Tonya), he无毛视频檚 a heck of a player, too.无毛视频�
Elizabeth Forward prided itself on its defense also and it gave up ground grudgingly in the opening quarter, allowing only a 31-yard field by Serafino DeSantis.
Central Valley took control in the second quarter when it unleashed Merritt on offense. The senior scored on touchdown runs of 6, 47 and 82 yards as the EF defense focused on stopping Alexander, who is one of the WPIAL无毛视频檚 leading rushers.
无毛视频淭hey did some things we never saw on film before, my hat goes off to them,无毛视频� Collodi said. 无毛视频淭hey ran Merritt a lot and we were trying to key on Alexander. Must be nice to have another kid like that to run the ball.无毛视频�
Lyons lauded Merritt, who missed a good chunk of the regular season due to injuries.
无毛视频淵ou无毛视频檙e seeing a healthy Matt Merritt on both sides of the ball,无毛视频� Lyons said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just another weapon for us and it takes a little bit of the load off of Landon.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 happy for Matt. There无毛视频檚 a kid who I无毛视频檝e seen put a lot of work into this program, a senior leader, does everything you want to represent our program. This was my way to reward him. I said just hang in there, when the big games come you无毛视频檙e going to be the guy and he bought in.无毛视频�
Alexander finished the second-quarter barrage with a 2-yard touchdown run 45 seconds before halftime to make it 31-0.
Alexander added a 79-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and Jack Bible returned an interception 59 yards for a TD to make it 44-0. Bret FitzSimmons无毛视频� 10-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter capped the scoring for CV.
Elizabeth Forward recorded a first down on its first play from scrimmage when Kyle Flournoy ran for 11 yards but it didn无毛视频檛 move the sticks again until the fourth quarter.
Flournoy was EF无毛视频檚 leading rusher with seven carries for 21 yards. Zion White completed just 2 of 10 passes for 50 yards with completions going to Zach Boyd for 38 yards and Charlie Nigut for 12 yards.
Elizabeth Forward无毛视频檚 winning streak ended at eight. EF didn无毛视频檛 look like a WPIAL final four team three weeks into the regular season.
无毛视频淲e were 1-2 early in the season and were at a crossroads of where this team could go,无毛视频� Collodi said. 无毛视频淲e reeled off eight in a row.无毛视频�
Collodi wasn无毛视频檛 down on his team after the game.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud of my guys,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淭his senior class has only lost nine games in four years. These seniors took us to the next level at EF.无毛视频�
Collodi has guided his Warriors to six straight winning seasons and has compiled a 47-22 record in his seven years at EF.
无毛视频淣ow we无毛视频檙e competing for WPIAL championships and we无毛视频檙e in the upper echelon of Triple-A year in and year out,无毛视频� Collodi said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 the kids. They无毛视频檝e bought in and are doing a heck of a job. The credit goes to them.无毛视频�