Familiar foes: Belle Vernon, EF know their semifinal opponents well
Holly Tonini
Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 Devin Whitlock (1) looks for a running lane during Friday蘑菇视频 WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game against New Castle at Belle Vernon. The Leopards take on Thomas Jefferson at West Mifflin in the semifinals tonight with a trip to the final at Heinz Field on the line.
Jim Downey | 蘑菇视频
Elizabeth Forward running back DaVontay Brownfield (9) looks a seam behind teammate Jace Brown (60) in the first quarter of a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal playoff game against Freeport on Nov. 12. Brownfield ran for 154 yards in the Warriors鈥� 14-6 win. Elizabeth Forward meets Central Valley at West Allegheny in the semifinals tonight with a trip to the final at Heinz Field on the line.
Belle Vernon and Elizabeth Forward are one step away from playing for a WPIAL football championship at Heinz Field.
A familiar foe stands in each team蘑菇视频 path tonight.
The top-seeded Leopards (9-0) take on No. 5 Thomas Jefferson (8-2) in a Class 4A semifinal at West Mifflin High School. Fourth-seeded EF (9-2) meets No. 1 Central Valley (11-0) in a Class 3A semifinal battle of Warriors at West Allegheny High School.
Belle Vernon defeated the visiting Jaguars on Sept. 24, 28-21, in a Big Eight Conference showdown thanks to two late, long touchdown runs by spectacular quarterback Devin Whitlock.
The Leopards defeating TJ in the regular season has not been uncommon under coach Matt Humbert. Coach Bill Cherpak蘑菇视频 Jaguars have lost only six conference games since 2015 and half of those have been to Belle Vernon.
The postseason has been a different story. Thomas Jefferson is 2-0 against Humbert蘑菇视频 squad in the WPIAL playoffs, defeating the Leopards 27-0 in the 2017 semifinals and 41-7 in the 2019 championship game.
Humbert was well aware of that fact after Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 earlier win over TJ this year.
鈥淚t is bittersweet because there is so much football left,鈥� Humbert said at the time. 鈥淭he irony is we have been through this story before where we get them in the regular season and then the postseason is a different animal.
鈥淚 think we need to hone in on what we are doing and get better each week because we know the real season begins in November.鈥�
Since that game, Belle Vernon has won by an average score of 46.2-12.4. After receiving a first-round bye, the Leopards romped over No. 8 New Castle in last week蘑菇视频 quarterfinals, 45-20.
Thomas Jefferson finished third in the Big Eight after suffering a second conference loss, 42-28 at McKeesport, on Oct. 22. The Jaguars have won their two playoff games handily, 41-0 over Indiana and 42-14 over previously undefeated and fourth-seeded Hampton, 42-14.
Belle Vernon hopes to have star running back Quinton Martin for a full game this time. In the first meeting with TJ, Martin suffered a knee injury and missed almost the entire second half.
The winner faces either No. 3 McKeesport or No. 2 Aliquippa who face off in the other semifinal. The Tigers beat Armstrong, 41-7, in the quarterfinals while the Quips gradually pulled away for a 36-0 win over Laurel Highlands.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 going to be tough,鈥� Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said of facing the Tigers. 鈥淲e got to see a little bit of them. That wing-T is tough to stop. They鈥檙e good at it. They come out of there flying. We鈥檙e going to really have to be disciplined.鈥�
The Class 4A championship game is scheduled to be played at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 27 at Heinz Field.
A year ago, Elizabeth Forward rolled to an unbeaten regular season and was 8-0 after two playoff wins before falling to Central Valley in the WPIAL final, 35-0. Central Valley went on to win the PIAA championship and finished 12-0.
The CV Warriors (11-0) are riding an impressive 23-game winning streak with their last loss coming against Wyoming Area, 21-14, in the 2019 state final.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been No. 1 in the state for two or three years and they are very talented,鈥� EF coach Mike Collodi said. 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 talk much about Central Valley to be honest. We鈥檙e just focusing on ourselves and what we need to do. Last year we were coming out of a battle with North Catholic (17-0 win in the semifinals) and a couple of our key players were injured going into Central Valley. That蘑菇视频 no excuse and they鈥檙e obviously a great team.
鈥淲e鈥檙e healthy now. We just need to play at our best and do all the little things, fundamentals, and don鈥檛 let the stage be too big. They know what蘑菇视频 at stake, a trip to Heinz Field. We just want to do what we do, which is play fast and play physical. That蘑菇视频 what we preach.鈥�
Elizabeth Forward (9-2) opened the season 1-2 but since then has reeled off eight wins in a row, including a 14-6 victory over Freeport in last week蘑菇视频 quarterfinals.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a completely different team than we were the first couple weeks of the season,鈥� Collodi said. 鈥淚njuries and inexperience hurt us early on. We were missing four two-way starters in one of those losses. We鈥檙e a young team but, overall, we鈥檝e matured tremendously since then.
鈥淲e definitely got on a roll. We鈥檙e humming pretty good and the kids are believing.鈥�
Time of possession will be a key factor in the game, according to Collodi.
鈥淲e want to control the ball and keep their high-powered offense off the field. No turnovers is a key. Against Freeport we turned the ball over three times. We can鈥檛 accord to do that in this game.
鈥淲e want to have sustained drives and come up with points every time we touch the ball, whether it be a touchdown or field goal. That蘑菇视频 what we have to do on offense.
鈥淥n defense, we鈥檝e got to tackle. Last year we didn鈥檛 tackle well. They have probably the best running back in Western Pennsylvania (Landon Alexander) and he runs hard, he蘑菇视频 fast and has great vision. We鈥檝e got gang tackle him because he never goes down on first contact. We鈥檙e really preaching flying to the ball and trying to create turnovers as well.鈥�
EF蘑菇视频 top offensive players are quarterback Zion White, running backs DaVontay Brownfield and Kyle Flournoy and wide receiver Zach Boyd.
鈥淲e have a lot of weapons,鈥� Collodi said. 鈥淲e have two strong runners that we try to give equal touches. Zion is a heck of a quarterback. He蘑菇视频 big, has a strong arm and is very cerebral. We ask him to do a lot of different things. Zach has scored a bunch of touchdowns in different ways.鈥�
One talented player Elizabeth Forward will be without is two-way starter Johnny DiNapoli, a junior transfer from East Allegheny who has been ruled ineligible for the postseason by the WPIAL.
鈥淛ohnny is one heck of a player,鈥滳ollodi said. 鈥淨uite frankly, I don鈥檛 understand the ruling behind it. It蘑菇视频 unfortunate. But it蘑菇视频 our next-man-up mentality. We know we don鈥檛 have him so the next man has to step up.鈥�
The winner will play either No. 2 North Catholic or No. 3 Avonworth in the Class 3A final, scheduled for noon on Saturday, Nov. 27 at Heinz Field.