Central Valley advances to 3A WPIAL finals after defensive win over Elizabeth Forward

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Annabelle Aquino | November 16, 2024

The Central Valley Warriors defeated the Elizabeth Forward Warriors 31-15 this Friday in the WPIAL 3A semifinals at Montour High School. Central Valley’s strong defense, led by Tyler Ondrusek and Lukas Gerovac on the line, and Aaron Lawson in the backfield, played a significant role in their victory.

Central Valley started by kicking off to Elizabeth Forward who began their drive with a pass from QB Ryan Messina to Connor Stokes. EF had a series of successful offensive drives, including a QB rush to the 36-yard line and a catch by Charles Nigut to get past the 50. Nigut played well on both sides of the ball, scoring a touchdown later in the game for EF and defending the backfield.

Aaron Lawson after denying Elizabeth Forward a first down.

CV’s defense quickly adapted to stop these short runs, forcing Elizabeth Forward to punt off on fourth down. Despite the snap being high over the head of Nigut, he recovered the ball and got it off just in time. Central Valley started their next drive on the 47 yard-line. EF then showed their capabilities on defense, stopping CV from even reaching a first down.

Both teams exhibited stellar defense on their next drives. Central Valley stopped Elizabeth Forward’s deep passes from connecting with receivers, leading to another 4th down punt. EF’s defense quickly answered back, holding CV at the 42 yard-line on 4th and 3.

Elizabeth Forward didn’t have the ball for long on their next drive; an interception by Lawson gave CV back the ball at the 20 yard-line. From there, Mason Dixon scored a rushing touchdown the next play, doing a cartwheel move over EF’s defense to reach the endzone. Domenic Pratt kicked the extra point, which put CV up 7-0 with 2:50 left in the first quarter.

With the momentum in their favor, Central Valley’s defense had another stop against Elizabeth Forward with help from Ethan Shearer who defended the QB rush. On fourth down, EF decided to punt off, but the snap was high over Nigut’s head again and Central Valley recovered the ball on the 16 yard-line. Because of this recovery, CV’s Jane Henry had no problem rushing for another touchdown. Pratt kicked another successful extra point, increasing their lead 14-0 with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

Elizabeth Forward answered back almost instantaneously. Messina launched a pass down the field to Stokes who scored with 0:59 left in the first quarter. A successful extra point put EF on the scoreboard, but still down 14-7 to Central Valley to end the quarter.

CV couldn’t make much more progress on their next drive. EF held them to 4th and 7 on their own 31 yard-line, so had to punt off. A similar result happened when EF tried their next drive; Central Valley’s defense held Elizabeth Forward on fourth down.

After receiving the ball back from EF’s punt, Central Valley made quick work. Steven Rutherford had a 91-yard touchdown down the field to increase their lead. The extra point secured by Pratt boosted them to a 21-7 lead with 9:50 left in the half. 

Elizabeth Forward trekked their way down the field to just past the 50, but CV’s defense once again stalled them from making it further. After 4th and 6, Central Valley earned the ball back. They couldn’t hold on to it for long though; an interception by Brenden Stroschein gave EF the ball back.

Once again, the defense from CV, including big sacks from Ondrusek and Gerovac led to Elizabeth Forward being at 4th and 19 with 1:15 left in the second quarter. After punting off, Central Valley took a knee to end the half, leading 21-7.

Central Valley received the kickoff on the 22 yard-line. They were eventually forced to punt off on fourth down, thanks to a strong Elizabeth Forward defense. The EF offense started to shine through the next drive; Nigut completed a run to move the ball to the 45-yard line. Messina then has a 15-yard rush to get the first down. This offensive movement continued down the field with catches by Andrew Grese to set the ball up at the 4 yard-line.

Just when Elizabeth Forward looked like they were going to score, CV caught a break with an illegal formation call on EF that turned the ball over. While the next play began at CV’s own endzone, thanks to a long rush by Dixon, the play ended with the ball at EF’s 25 yard-line. A few plays later, Henry rushed into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night. Despite a high snap, Pratt was able to make the extra point and boost their lead 28-7 with 1:06 left in the third.

Elizabeth Forward’s QB, Ryan Messina, prepares to throw the football.

Elizabeth Forward ended the third quarter with the ball around the 50. When the game continued in the fourth, EF was once again stopped by Central Valley’s defense and had a turnover on downs. Once CV gained possession of the ball, they quickly moved down the field with rushes from Dixon and Henry. EF’s defense finally kicked in again, and CV was stopped at 4th and goal at the 6 yard-line. CV decided to take the field goal, and Pratt successfully added another 3 points onto their lead, making the score 31-7 with 5:52 left in the game.

On the next drive, Elizabeth Forward’s offense took off, but it was too late in the game to make a difference in the outcome. Nigut and Stokes worked together to get the ball down the field, until Nigut finished rushing the ball into the endzone with 2:11 left in the game. EF then completed a 2-point conversion with a pass from Nigut to Stroschein, making the score 31-15.

Central Valley held onto its lead, and a first down by Dixon sealed its victory over Elizabeth Forward.

The Central Valley Warriors (#2 seed) will move on to play the Avonworth Antelopes (#5 seed) in the WPIAL Class 3A Championships and PIAA Qualifier at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.

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