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Ellwood City Holds Off Neshannock 28-21

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 7, 2024

New Castle – Ellwood City used a strong start and an even better finish to hold off Neshannock 28-21 Friday night at Bob Bleggi Stadium.

Not even a 1-hour weather delay due to lightning could spoil the dramatics between the Wolverines and the Lancers, who played an outstanding football game.

For Ellwood City, they knockoff the 5th ranked Class A team in the state and will look to enter the 2A rankings this week.

“For the program, it’s a good win versus an outstanding opponent in Neshannock,” said Ellwood City head coach Dan Bradley. “For us, we’re getting better, competing, and that’s all you can ask.”

The Wolverines got another outstanding game from running back Elijah Palmer-McCane, who rushed for a game-high 187 yards on 29 carries while adding one reception for 59 yards and a score.

“Oh, it was exciting. I loved it, and it feels amazing, said Palmer-McCane. “Considering they’re an amazing team, I respect all those guys. I don’t know them, but they are good players, and it was a hard game. It was fun, and I enjoyed it all. I could do better; I was decent, but I’m not satisfied. Now I’ll be looking for more.”

Taking the football to begin the contest, Ellwood City drove 69 yards in ten plays, opening the scoring when quarterback Chris Smiley scored on an 11-yard option keeper at the 7:36 mark of the first quarter.

On their next possession, the Wolverines marched 84 yards in 11 plays, capped with Palmer-McCane’s first touchdown of the evening, a 6-yard run. Defensively, Ellwood City held the Lancers on downs at their 16-yard line.

“That was very important to put them behind the eight ball,” Bradley said. “They’re so dynamic offensively. Their running back and quarterback are dynamic, with athletic receivers on the outside. I thought we did a good job of containing them. But if playing from behind, they’re tough to beat.”

Neshannock got back into the contest on their succeeding drive, needing only three plays to go 65 yards as tailback Anthony Eakin scored on a 35-yard run.

Ellwood City could not control the ball on the ensuing kickoff, and the Lancers recovered at the 12-yard line.

Five plays later, quarterback Gino Mozzocio scored on a 1-yard run as Neshannock pulled even at 14 with 7:30 to play in the half.

As the Wolverines received the kickoff and drove to the Neshannock 24-yard line, where they faced a 4th-and-10, the lightning struck, and the players were sent to the locker rooms with 2:23 to play in the first half.

The delay lasted just over 50 minutes, and football got back underway at 8:40 pm.

Due to the delay, the final two minutes of the first half were played, and the game continued right into the third quarter with no additional halftime.

Though the fourth-down pass fell incomplete, a quick 3-and-out forced by their defense gave the ball back to Ellwood City with just over a minute to play.

On their second snap, Chris Smiley connected with Palmer-McCane on a 59-yard touchdown pass down the far sideline with 22 seconds to play in the half, giving the Wolverines a 20-14 lead.

“That was a big play. It was a big play for us,” Bradley said. “If we don’t score, now we’re chasing them. Like I said, it would be tough if we were chasing them.”

In the third stanza, Ellwood City drove 61 yards in seven plays and extended their lead to 28-14 when Smiley scored his second rushing touchdown on a 1-yard run. Palmer-McCane had a 29-yard gain to the 3-yard line to set up the score.

“I have to give the credit to my coach on that play,” Palmer-McCane said. “We practice that a lot. To run that play call at that time was just amazing. An incredible play call.”

Chris Smiley rushed for 25 yards and two touchdowns while completing 5-of-12 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.

After punting on three consecutive drives, the Lancers pulled to within seven when Mozzocio scored his second rushing touchdown on a 9-yard run with 2:43 to play in the third quarter.

Gino Mozzocio led Neshannock with 65 yards rushing on 17 carries while completing 4-of-9 passes for 63 yards with an interception. He did not complete a pass in the second half. Anthony Eakin chipped in with 55 yards on 18 carries.

The Lancers had three opportunities to pull even in the fourth quarter—two of which were set up when they made crucial fourth-down stops when Ellwood City gambled in their territory.

“Those decisions were based on faith in our offensive line, I would say,” Bradley added. “If it’s close enough, we try running it, but we need to improve in some areas.”

Both drives began at the Wolverines’ 30 and 31-yard lines, respectively, while the other started in plus territory at the 48-yard line following a punt. That additional drive ended when Dailonn Currie intercepted Mozzocio with 7:35 remaining.

“I’m proud of those guys on defense; they played very well,” said Bradley. “They’ve improved a lot since last year, made some stops, and I thought we recovered a fumble earlier in the game where they blew it dead. We held them to 21 points despite fumbling a kickoff and giving them a short field. It was an excellent win because it was a quality opponent.”

In the initial drive, Ellwood City turned away Neshannock on downs at their 21-yard line with 11:13 to play.

On their third and final possession of the game, back-to-back sacks led to a punt that went into the end zone, with Ellwood City taking over at their 20-yard line with 3:52 to play.

The Lancers never saw the football again, as the Wolverines ran out the clock with a clutch fourth-down conversion when Palmer-McCane gained four yards and 4th-and-4 from their 37-yard line.

One final measurement ended the game for the Wolverines, who now improve to 2-0 and will play Mohawk during their home opener next Friday night.

“I don’t know if this has anything to do with Mohawk because I was a little worried about how we’d come out after a week off,” concluded Bradley. “We have to take things one at a time. This was a quality win, but in the grand scheme of things, it has no barring on the playoffs. We’ll take it.”

Neshannock will look to bounce back when they host Rochester next Friday.

Game Highlights:

Ellwood City 28 Neshannock 21

Score by Quarters

Ellwood City – 7 13 8 0 – 28

Neshannock – 0 14 7 0 – 21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

EC – Chris Smiley 11 yd run, (Caitlin Kreitzer pat), 7:36 – 10-69

Second Quarter

EC – Elijah Palmer-McCane 6 yd run, (Kreitzer pat), 11:06 – 11-84

N – Anthony Eakin 35 yd run, (Nicholas Bender pat), 10:13 – 3-65

N – Gino Mozzocio 1 yd run, (Bender pat), 7:30 – 5-12

EC – Palmer-McCane 59 yd pass from Smiley, (kick failed), 0:22 – 2-60

Third Quarter

EC – Smiley 1 yd run, (Palmer-McCane rush), 8:33 – 7-61

N – Mozzocio 9 yd run, (Bender pat), 2:43 – 6-49

Individual Stats

Rushing: EC – Palmer-McCane 29-187, Dayntae Pierce 7-18, Smiley 10-25, Gagric 2-2, Team 3-0. Totals: 51-232. N – Eakin 18-55, Mozzocio 17-65, Brady Frasso 1-(-11). Totals: 36-109.

Receiving: EC – Dailonn Currie 1-0, Luciano Gagric 2-12, Dominik Hogue 1-8, Palmer-McCane 1-59. N – Brady Frasso 1-27, Ethan Beaman 1-9, Eakin 1-10, Dominik Bulisco 1-17.

Passing: EC – Smiley 5-for-12, 79 yards, 1 TD. N – Mozzocio 4-for-9, 63 yards, 1 INT.

Interceptions: EC – Currie.

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