Wolverines shut out in Riv-Ell Cup season finale
The Riverside Panthers continued their string of victories of rival Ellwood City Wolverines, as they improved to 7 straight victories in the Riv-Ell Cup rivalry matchup. This time, the Panthers picked up their 6th shutout victory, defeating the Wolverines 28-0 while solidifying their playoff run starting next week.
First quarter action had both teams go back and fourth with possession of the ball, but neither team could produce offense long enough to put points up on the board.
Second quarter action showed the dominance that the Panthers have had with their star QB #1 Samuel Hughes, who quickly doubled their yardage on the first two plays of the quarter. A 7 minute drive was capped off by the Panther’s RB #2 Robert Janis scoring from 1 yard out on a drive of more than 60 plus yards. The PAT kick was failed, keeping the score at 6-0 Riverside.
Turnovers have plagued the Wolverines all season long, a stat where they were -17 (28 to 11) on the year, and that story continued on the night. A fumble recovery by the Panthers defense on the ensuing drive by the Wolverines set the Panthers up with a short field, and they capitalized quickly. A 3 yard run by WR #11 Noah George on a jet sweep to the far side crossed the goal line, making the score 12-0 Riverside. The 2 point conversion was good off of a tipped pass in the endzone - Hughes to WR #12 Ayden Garcia - making the score 14-0 at halftime.
Halftime stats were clearly in favor of the Panthers, who almost hit the 200 yard mark after the lack-luster first quarter action. The Wolverines did not have much to say on offense wise, with the best play of the night coming from Senior WR #17 Brighton Mariacher on a reverse run of 22 yards. The Panthers held the Wolverines to just 66 offensive yards in the first half and would better that mark, holding the Wolverines to just 2 yards in the second half.
Third quarter action saw the Panthers take a 21-0 lead as Hughes made a great pass from 10 yards out to Garcia who made his way into the endzone for the touchdown. The PAT was good by K #8 Nolan Zona.
The last score of the evening came just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter as the Panthers finished another great drive on the evening, this time Hughes did it himself running in from 10 yards out. PAT was god by Zona as the final score on the evening read 28-0 in favor of Riverside.
The remaining 11 minutes involved several subs by both teams, where once again the Panthers seemed to dominate the possession and the total yardage on the evening. In the end, the Panthers outgained the Wolverines 398 yards to just 68, with just 2 of those 68 yards in the second half by the Wolverines. The Panthers also were able to force three turnovers on the night, with two of them accounting for scores later on the drives.
The Wolverines up to this point averaged just over 51 plays per game on offense, but tonight Ellwood City would have the ball for just 31 offensive plays while accounting for just 15 minutes of possession.
The Wolverines finish the year 2-8 (1-6) on the season, missing playoffs by three conference wins. Although the Panthers picked up the win and continued their dominance - now 22-15-0 in the series - in the Riv-Ell Cup series, the Wolverines were able to break many records this year statistically.
The Wolverines broke a 27 game losing streak in general.
The Wolverines broke a 27 conference game losing streak.
The Wolverines had their first Sophomore RB eclipse 1,000 yards - #2 Elijah Palmer-McCaine with 1156 yards.
Elijah Palmer-McCaine’s 1156 yards officially puts him at 6th place for most rushing yards in a season since 1963. His 1,277 yards overall has him marked 15th for most in a career.
Elijah Palmer-McCaine had 13 rushing TDs, putting him in 8th place since 1972 for most rushing TDs in a year. His 14 overall has him marked in the Top 15 for most in a career.
QB #12 Chris Smiley passed for 940 yards which was 5th most in a season by a Wolverine since 1965. His 75 pass completions was also 3rd most ever since 1966.
RB #26 Dayntae Pierce finished with 506 kickoff return yards, which is the most since at least 2012.
The MAC conference is set officially for playoffs as Beaver Falls (9-1) will be the #2 seed, Neshannock (9-1) earns the #4 seed, Mohawk (4-4) gets the #9 seed, Western Beaver (7-3) comes in as the #10 seed, and finally Riverside (5-4) will get the #14 seed representing the conference.
The Wolverines football squad will wrap up the 2022 campaign this Wednesday in a J.V. exhibition game at Helling Stadium, slated for a 6:00 PM start. ECS will have live video coverage of the game.
