Belle Vernon gets statement win over Elizabeth Forward

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | October 29, 2022

The Interstate Conference title was on the line Friday night at Elizabeth Forward. It was expected to be a good game but Belle Vernon proved to be too much in their 48-14 win over Elizabeth Forward.

Belle Vernon got the ball to start the game and on the first play of the drive Braden Laux found Quinton Martin for a 36 yard touchdown pass which made the score 7-0 Belle Vernon with 11:47 in the first quarter. “We knew if we could get out quick, if we could jump on them quick, we could put ourselves in a advantageous position” said Coach Humbert.

On Elizabeth Forward’s first drive they got out to midfield but after that the drive stalled because of penalties. Belle Vernon started their second drive of the game on their own 8 yard line. After a first down to the 20 yard line, Quinton Martin was off to the races on an 80 yard touchdown run. “That big run early on, that was kind of a tone setter right off the bat” said Coach Humbert. That made the score 14-0 Belle Vernon with 7:36 in the first quarter.

Down 14-0, Elizabeth Forward started their second drive on their own 29 yard line. They decided to go for it on fourth down but the run fell short of the line to gain. Belle Vernon now had the ball at the Elizabeth Forward 38 yard line. On the very first play Braden Laux found Jake Gedekoh for a 38 yard touchdown pass. “We were able to hit those big splash plays in the first half” said Coach Humbert. That made the score 21-0 Belle Vernon with 5:45 in the first quarter.

Later in the first quarter off of a Belle Vernon fumble, Elizabeth Forward was finally able to get on the scoreboard, the drive started at the Belle Vernon 37 yard line, and the drive ended when Zion White connected with Keilly Rush for a 5 yard touchdown pass. That made the score 21-7 Belle Vernon with 1:55 in the first quarter. That would be the score at the end of 1.

In the second quarter Belle Vernon started another drive in Elizabeth Forward territory at the 26 yard line and eventually Quinton Martin scored on a 1 yard run, that gave Belle Vernon a 28-7 lead with 5:55 in the second quarter. “I honestly couldn’t do this without the rest of my teammates, I’m not gonna take full credit, yes I was a part of it, but I couldn’t have done this without my teammates” said Quinton Martin about his performance.

On the next drive Elizabeth Forward came up with a big answer, Zion White connected with Zach Boyd for a 28 yard touchdown pass, the main play on the drive was a 29 yard completion. That made the score 28-14 Belle Vernon.

It didn’t take that long for Belle Vernon to answer right back. Braden Laux found Quinton Martin for a second time this one a 27 yard pass. “He definitely did (make some big passes) that connection between me and Braden has been there since sixth grade, that’s what it will always be” said Quinton Martin.

On the last drive of the first half Elizabeth Forward was putting together a great drive but unfortunately they ran out of time deep in Belle Vernon territory when a pass fell incomplete in the end zone. That made the score 35-14 Belle Vernon at halftime.

Elizabeth Forward got the ball to start the second half but on the second play of the drive they fumbled it away to Belle Vernon. Their first drive started at their own 48 yard line. On third down Quinton Martin was off to the races yet again for a 47 yard touchdown run.

Quinton Martin was the player of the game for Belle Vernon he had 5 total touchdowns. He had 2 catches for 64 yards and he had 179 yards rushing yards on 13 carries. Belle Vernon’s defense was dominant in the second half not allowing Elizabeth Forward to get things going on offense. A big part of that was because of Quinton Martin. “Everyone knows he can cover pretty much anyone out there” said Coach Humbert. “I take pride in my defense, I play cornerback, I just stay with the guy and just lockdown the defender” said Quinton Martin.

Belle Vernon added one last score before the game ended making the final score 48-14. Up next Belle Vernon will most likely have a bye week and play an opponent to be determined in the second round. Elizabeth Forward’s opponent is also to be determined and could quite possibly also have a bye week.

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