Wolverines fend off Beavers, stay in first place

Saturdays have been set for college football for most sports fans, but this week it was for the Wolverines and Golden Beavers to do battle at Memorial Stadium to determine first place in the MAC. Local media coined the game the “Game of the Week” for 2A WPIAL football while the game lived up to all the hype - a WPIAL record holder quarterback Jaivin Peel and an explosive wide receiver core taking on a stingy Senior-led defensive team in the Wolverines. This battle took all four quarters to determine the winner even all the way down to the last few snaps the way a true game of the week should. But one team knew their undefeated section record would come to an end while the other knew first place was the reward.

Western Beaver took the opening kickoff after winning the coin toss and made a quick statement driving down the field, setting up for an early first quarter score. But the Wolverines defense that included #73 Evan Tweddell and #39 Deklan O’Brien found a way to stop #7 Jaivin Peel at the goaline as he scrambled up the middle of the field at the one yardline. The Wolverines took over on downs, but could not get beyond one first down. The Golden Beavers were once again set up with a short field after the punt, but a sack by #13 Kaden Docchio pushed WB back far enough to cause another turnover on downs.

Ellwood City this time around was looking to finally make a push on offense and were able to, but just like the Golden Beavers, the Wolverines were stopped on fourth down. It was so close that the officials had to pull out the old “credit card” check of the sticks. But either way, both teams combined were 0-3 on fourth down in the first quarter.

Western Beaver got the ball back once again but could not advance the ball for a first down. The ensuing punt was taken by #1 Dom Hogue who turned up field and set up the Wolverines with a short field in WB territory. The Wolverines set up shop at the 39 on offense, leaning on the heels of #2 Elijah Palmer-McCane. #9 Luciano Gagric also saw some great action in the backfield, racking up 29 rushing yards. The drive continued into the second quarter, where finally the Wolverines offense broke through with points as quarterback #12 Chris Smiley took the snap and turned his legs forward for the touchdown. PAT kick by #19 Caitlin Kreitzer was good to make the score 7-0 EC mid second quarter.

Western Beaver got the ball back again and was able to drive down the field once again against the Wolverines defense, but penalties and missed connections via the pass gave the ball back to EC again on downs. Frustration started setting in just a bit on offense for the Golden Beavers who were able to drive on the Wolverines defense, but just couldn’t get any points on the board in the first half. EC took the ball back with just 5 minutes remaining in the first half. Ellwood was looking to add to the lead, but penalties of their own and some miscues kept them from driving down the field. Wolverines punted the ball away giving Peel and company just over a minute to drive the field.

Jaivin Peel took command of the WB offense, driving down the field for the third time in the first half into the redzone area. Sure enough the Wolverines “bend-but-don’t-break” defense kept Western Beaver at bay as back-to-back passes with just seconds remaining were not completed. Give credit to Hogue along with #6 Gavin Partridge to help defend the passes. The first half clock struck zero, giving Ellwood City the lead 7-0 heading to halftime.

The Wolverines faithful fans cheered as the Blue and White took the lead into the second half, knowing that they would have a chance to get the leg up on the Golden Beavers receiving the ball first in quarter three. The Wolverines took the ball and drove all the way down to the 22 yardline, battling penalties and the run game. A 3rd down and 4 had Smiley just run the quarterback sneak, which looked like it turned into just a simple first down. However, with no whistle blown, Smiley continued to push on the pile as much as he could, finally getting back up to his feet and scampering in the last 17 yards into the endzone. The PAT was good by Kreitzer after the delay on the filed as the coaches were furious on the Western Beaver side, but to no evail. Wolverines led 14-0.

Western Beaver’s sideline seemed very out of sink, which led to a quick three and out by the Golden Beavers, giving the Wolverines another short field to possibly add to the scoreboard. Taking just two plays after the punt, EPM took the handoff from Smiley and followed his blocks all the way into the endzone, scoring the 33 yard rushing touchdown. The PAT kick was blocked, keeping the score 20-0.

Anyone who has followed high school football the past year knew how quickly Western Beaver could answer, but the Wolverines defense continued to make plays keeping the Golden Beavers out of the endzone. Once again the fourth 4th down play was failed and gave the ball back to EC. This time though the Wolverines would not be able to move the ball and in fact had their first blemish of the game - an interception thrown by the punter Smiley on a trick play that gave the ball back to WB in EC territory.

On the last cusp of the third quarter, Peel and company finally broke through the Wolverines defense as #4 Chris Kirkland caught a pass over the middle by Peel for the 24 yard receiving touchdown. The PAT attempt by #24 Noan Schweikert was no good, keeping the score 20-6.

Just one play after the kickoff, the Western Beaver defense made their own splash play as they picked off Smiley on the pass and had the short field once again. The momentum seemed to shift to the Golden Beavers with just a couple seconds left in the third quarter. But one of the biggest things this year that has helped the Wolverines has been timely turnovers…and they got just what they needed on the next drive. With just two seconds left on the running clock in the third quarter, Peel quickly got the offense up to the line instead of letting the clock hit zero. The quick drop back pass was tipped by Docchio and interceptied by Gagric on the tip, sending the game to the fourth quarter back in favor of EC.

Wolverines took the fourth quarter ball and just slowly marched down the field, looking to shorten the game with the 14 point lead. Ellwood was not able to advance past their own side of the field, but did take off more than 4 minutes of the quarter time.

Western Beaver went back on offense and quickly made another mistake on offense as Peel rolled out to the far side, but was chased down and sacked by Docchio who also recovered the ball on the fumble. This gave another opportunity for the Wolverines to bleed the clock even more. The Ellwod offense did that and more, adding another touchdown by Palmer-McCane, this time from 2 yards out. The PAT was wide right to keep the score 26-6.

With just 5:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, Western Beaver had to march 84 yards after the big tackle by Docchio on the kickoff. Somehow, someway, Peel and the wide receivers were finally able to get on the same page as three or four passes over the middle left WB down at the 6 yardline of EC. The drive was capped off by #5 Braeden Mayo who ran up the middle for the rushing touchdown to make the score 26-12. The PAT attempt by Schweikert was good as the scoreboard now read 26-13.

After the first unsuccessful on-side kick by WB, the Wolverines had the ball near the 50 yardline but could not get a first down. Once again another trick play by the punt team for Ellwood looked like it may get the first down, but #7 Anthony Barberio was tripped up on the play while the officials called illegal man down field. The penalty was declined with Barberio being short, giving Western Beaver one last chance on offense.

The Peel effect added one more late score, this time at the 1:44 mark as a 38 yard pass was caught by #8 Wyatt Sparbanie who caught the ball and ran into the endzone. PAT was good to make the score 26-20. The only issue for Western Beaver - timeouts. WB used all three timeouts on the previous Ellwood drive, basically making the final on-side kick determine the outcome. Sure enough the hands team for Ellwood #27 A.J. Grinnen caught the ball and fell down to the field to maintain the ball. The Wolverines offense came out one last time knowing that they just had to kneel down three times and the game was over. For the first time since 2018, Ellwood City had beaten Western Beaver, 26-20.

Ellwood City for the first time all season was outgained on offense 334 to 263. Jaivin Peel was 22 of 43, passing for 314 yards. Meanwhile, the running game for EC combined for 209 yards on 54 rushing plays. The big stat of the day was third down and fourth down conversions, where EC held WB for a combined 5 of 17, just 29% efficiency.

The Wolverines now move to 6-0 (4-0) on the season while being in sole position of first place in the MAC. The win continues the winning streak, now 6 games - the first time EC has done so since 1986! Now the Wolverines will look to win 7 in a row, a feat that hasn’t been done since 1944. This time around, it’s even more meaningful as the Wolverines can make history yet again this time against their Riv-Ell Cup rival Riverside 4-3 (3-1). Game time is slated for 7:00 PM on Friday at Riverside High School, with the night being RHS’ Senior Night. Live coverage of the game can be viewed on YouTube network for Ellwood City Sports. As Bruce Badgley stated to Coach Dan Bradley on the WPIAL Blitz Show interview this past week, “WHY NOT ELLWOOD?!”