Smiley & Co. beat Freedom 34-14

Another Friday Football night had come upon the Wolverines faithful at Helling Stadium, and didn’t disappoint. For the second straight week the Wolverines broke a record that was held in 2011 football season - win the season opening section game. Friday night it was the Wolverines against the Freedom Bulldogs. Who did Ellwood City beat the first week of section play back in 2011? The Freedom Bulldogs.

The opening kickoff was taken by the Bulldogs and after a first play first penalty of the game by Freedom, they were able to march straight down the field and score the first points of the game. The 73 yard drive was capped off by 21 yard passing touchdown by QB #21 Ty Schultheis to TE #8 Dekota Roberts. The PAT kick by #22 Jordan Delon was good and quickly, just five minutes into the game, the Bulldogs led 7-0.

The Wolverines first drive lasted just two minutes as they were not able to move the ball on their first drive or get a first down. Freedom received the punt and tried to go up two scores, but big time defensive plays for losses by #9 Luciano Gagric, #73 Evan Twedell, and #13 Kaden Docchio kept the Bulldogs at bay. Plus, a drive that witnessed 4 big penalties with one by the Wolverines defense kept the game at a stand still near the 50 yardline.

A turnover on downs by the Bulldogs gave Ellwood City a short field to start the second quarter. The Wolverines took the ball, but an interception by #77 Caden Martin on 4th down kep EC from gaining any momentum, who had only gained 2 yards on offense in the first quarter.

A lot of the credit from Friday’s game goes to the defense in the first half. The Wolverines held Freedom once again on a short field and took the punt to start their third drive of the game at their own 29 yardline. Another good drive was started by the Wolverines, but once again a turnover to #77 Caden Martin on a fumble recovery after #12 Chris Smiley was looking to pass gave the Bulldogs their 2nd turnover in the first while still not seeing the Woverines cross the 20 yardline of the Bulldogs.

Another three and out by Freedom gave the Wolverines one more chance before halftime to score with just 1:44 on the clock. And sure enough, the Wolverines were able to do just that. A 62 yard drive was capped off by a 21 yard touchdown pass from Smiley to WR #8 Michael Walters as he tapped his foot down in bounds just before being pushed out by the defender. The PAT kick by #19 Caitlyn Kreitzer was good as the score read 7-7 with 55 seconds left. Walters was crucial on the drive as he caught 3 passes on the drive, total over 40 yards. The Bulldogs were willing to take the score to halftime 7-7 in a game where they had dominated the stat line in all categories, but were tied in the category that counted the most.

Second half action started fairly quickly in favor of the Wolverines who received the kick to start the last 24 minutes of the game. Driving 82 yards, the Wolverines finished off the drive this time via the run by Smiley from 1 yard out, giving him 4 straight games with a passing touchdown as well as a rushing touchdown. PAT kick was good by Kreitzer. The drive included two crucial receptions by #5 DaiLonn Currie who got the Wolverines down to the three yardline after a 40 yard bomb came from Smiley. This time, the score read 14-7 in favor of the Wolverines - their first lead of the night that they would not give up the rest of the night.

A penalty on the PAT attempt gave the Wolverines the kickoff officially at the 45 yardline of the Bulldogs. Freedom on the very next play fumbled the ball, but a penalty by the offense actually helped them out as it was called a false start. Karma has a way of working itself out on the night as sure enough the very very next play was another fumble this time caused by #13 Kaden Docchio and recovered by #39 Deklan O’Brien. Just like that, the Wolverines were in busy starting their next drive at the Bulldogs’ 26 yardline.

Just 29 seconds later, Currie caught a great dime pass from Smiley right into the bread butter basket hands from 26 yards out to make the score 20-7. PAT was good by Kreitzer and in just 4 minutes of the second half Ellwood City was up 21-7.

A stunned Freedom sideline took the following kickoff and barely moved the ball, giving the Wolverines the opportunity to deliver the knockout punch - and they did. This time, the Wolverines drove down the field methodically relying on the legs of #2 Elijah Palmer-McCane who would finish the game with 27 carries and 162 yards. Three minutes later, the Wolverines finished off their third straight scoring drive in the second half as big-time catch SR Walters caught a 28 yard bomb across the field from Smiley to make the score 27-7 in favor of EC. The PAT kick once again was good by Kreitzer and just like that, the Wolverines capped off 4 straight scoring drives to make the score 28-7 in favor of Ellwood City.

A little brim of light was left by the Freedom Bulldogs as they took the ball at 5:17 left in quarter three and finished off a tough drive as Schultheis threw a dart to #7 Cody Patterson from 14 yards out. PAT kick was good by Delon to make the score heading to the fourth quarter 28-14 in favor of EC.

Penalties were a factor in back-to-back weeks as the two teams combined for 21 penalties and 201 yards assessed. Turnovers also were a factor as Freedom’s +2 margin faded as the Wolverines recovered a fumble as well as a nice interception by Currie kept the turnover margin even at the end of the game. Big marks go to QB Chris Smiley who did throw an INT and fumbled the ball, but battled back to throw 3 passing touchdowns while also accounting for a score via the run.

Fourth quarter action saw both teams possess the ball, but only one score ended up on the board. Ellwood City added a running touchdown from 16 yards out by #26 Dayntae Pierce. PAT kick was blocked to make the scoreboard read 34-14. What a fitting night for Pierce as he had battled the injury bug all season, to come in for one of his first plays on offense meanwhile scoring the late touchdown to seal the deal.

The Wolverines prevailed in the end, while picking up their first section game in a schedule since 2011, which they defeated the Bulldogs 57-21 that year. EC on the night outgained Freedom 415 yards to just 167, holding the Bulldogs to just 102 yards in the second half with most coming from their lone second half score. Talk about balance - EC had 202 yards rushing while having 213 yards passing.

Palmer-McCane finished with 27 carries and 162 yards while Smiley finished 14-26, but had 213 yards passing along with 3 passing touchdowns. Give credit to both Walters and Currie, who had 5 catches or 94 yards and 5 catches for 94 yards respectively. Walters finished with 2 receiving touchdowns while Currie had one tally as well. Kaden Docchio picked up where he left off last week on defense, tallying 10 total tackles with 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and the big momentum changer the force fumbled to help the Wolverines go up by two scores.

With the big stat line from tonight’s victory, EC individual palyers are starting to go up the ranks in EC records, with a pair of players going to #8 on lists as well. On the year, Smiley has 558 yards passing while throwing 6 touchdown passes and accounting for a total of 10 touchdowns. Palmer-McCane has ran for 563 yards while tallying 3 rushing scores. Walters now has 15 catches for 237 yards and 4 receiving touchdowns. Finally, Docchio has 34 tackles on the season with 10 tackles for loss while tallying 5 sacks on the year.

The Wolverines, 3-1 (1-0) will now face the Western Beaver Golden Beavers, 1-3 (0-1) who has been an up-and-down team this year. The Golden Beavers are coming off a 27-26 loss to Neshannock where they decided to go for the 2 point conversion to win the game and failed. Keep an eye out for their three player tandom, that includes QB Jaivin Peel who has almost 900 yards passing, Dorian McGhee who has over 300 yards at wide receiver, and Tyson Florence who has over 300 yards rushing. The Wolverines will look to start 2-0 in section play, the first they could do it since…you guessed it…2011. Live coverage of the game on Friday night will be presented by Ellwood City Sports, starting with pregame at 6:45 PM from Helling Stadium.