Leopards, Warriors seek spot in WPIAL final
Rob Burchianti | 蘑菇视频
Freeport蘑菇视频 Ben Lane (2) gets off a pass from his own end zone while being pressure by Elizabeth Forward蘑菇视频 Chase Whatton (67) and Nicholas Murphy (54) during last Friday night蘑菇视频 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.
Ed Thompson
Belle Vernon quarterback Devin Whitlocks runs for a first down against Chartiers Valley in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game on Oct, 30. Whitlock and teammate Cole Weightman were named to the 2020 Pa. Football Writers鈥� Class 4A All-State Team.
Belle Vernon and Aliquippa both played in a WPIAL championship game last year with the Leopards falling to Thomas Jefferson in Class 4A and the Quips losing to Central Catholic in Class 3A.
Only one of them will be able to get back to a final again this year as Aliquippa not only was bumped up into Class 4A but earned the No. 1 seed with a 7-0 regular season. The Leopards and Quips meet in the semifinals at 鈥淭he Pit鈥� in Aliquippa tonight at 7.
No. 4 Belle Vernon is 6-1 with its lone loss at No. 2 Thomas Jefferson.
Both teams are sparked by talented quarterbacks with Devin Whitlock leading the way for coach Matt Humbert蘑菇视频 Leopards with 18 rushing touchdowns and six through the air, and Vaughn Morris heading the Quips with 16 TD passes.
The Quips are seeking their 13th straight appearance in a WPIAL final and 18 title overall. The Leopards have won one WPIAL title.
Belle Vernon romped over visiting Chartiers Valley, 49-21, in the quarterfinals last week while host Aliquippa blanked Hampton, 31-0.
Elizabeth Forward蘑菇视频 playoff history isn鈥檛 quite what Aliquippa蘑菇视频 and Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 is but the Warriors are breaking new ground.
Elizabeth Forward won its first ever home playoff game, 34-20 over Freeport in the quarterfinals. It was the third-seeded Warriors鈥� first postseason win since 2000.
Next up for EF is a trip to second-seeded North Catholic, a team the Warriors have played in each of the past two regular seasons, falling 27-0 at home in 2018 and 12-7 at North Catholic last year.
Revenge isn鈥檛 on the minds of the Warriors, though.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just focused on one game at time like we鈥檝e done all year,鈥� said EF coach Mike Collodi. 鈥淚 use the analogy that we鈥檙e a train, North Catholic is on the track and they鈥檙e in the way of our ultimate goal.
鈥淥ur first goal is a conference title. Our next goal is a playoff win. Now the next goal is to get to the WPIAL title game.鈥�
Both teams are undefeated. The Trojans, who fended off Mount Pleasant, 35-14, last week, are 8-0 and the Warriors are 7-0.
鈥淚 think it蘑菇视频 going to be a great game between two really good teams with a lot of great players out on that field,鈥� Collodi said.
Elizabeth Forward relies on its powerful ground game but can throw the ball when needed with quarterback Zion White, who has stepped in after a season-ending injury to Evan Lewis.
The Warriors have a variety of play-makers which makes them hard to defend.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be too predictable,鈥� Collodi said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e fortunate in that we鈥檝e got a lot of good athletes. Every week someone different steps up for us.
鈥淭he first game it was DaVontay Brownfield. Then Nico Mrvos has an unbelievable game at Mount Pleasant. Kyle Flournoy had a great game. Evan Lewis had a great game at South Park. Zach Boyd had a great game receiving against Southmoreland.鈥�
Collodi stressed that his players don鈥檛 care who gets the yards or scores.
鈥淚 commend the team for how selfless they are,鈥� he said. 鈥淣obody ever complains about not getting the ball or scoring touchdowns. As long as we鈥檙e winning, that蘑菇视频 our ultimate goal as a team.鈥�
Elizabeth Forward features a strong defense led by Bowling Green recruit Chase Whatton.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got Chase, obviously, but we鈥檝e got 11 guys that run to the ball,鈥� Collodi said. 鈥淭hey always do their job.
鈥淢y mantra when I took over is we want to play fast and physical. Good things usually happen when you do that.鈥�
The game also kicks off at 7 p.m.