South Fayette holds off Elizabeth Forward

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Andrew Schaffer | September 13, 2025

In a matchup that involved a 5A and a 3A team, South Fayette was able to hold off Elizabeth Forward in a thrilling 27-24 victory.

South Fayette got the ball to start the game. It didn’t take long for them to strike, on the second play of the drive Drew Welhorsky found Daniel Speca for a 62 yard touchdown pass which made the score 7-o South Fayette with 11:15 in the first quarter.

Elizabeth Forward started their first drive on their own 25 yard line and it was looking like a good drive. On the third play of the drive Ryan Messina had a 50 yard run all the way down to the South Fayette 12 yard line. After that a penalty stalled the drive and Elizabeth Forward settled for a 25 yard field goal by Luke Holdren.

South Fayette started their second drive on their own 20 yard line. On the second play Aayden Wright was off to the races scoring on a 92 yard run. It was the big plays for South Fayette that had them rolling in the first quarter. “Our guys came out, we had been an emphasis for us, we wanted to start fast, we changed a little bit up, and what we did, is what we wanted to do, so we came out fast which I like” said Coach Spieler.

Elizabeth Forward’s second drive was also looking good just like the first drive. After getting inside the South Fayette 10 yard line a personal foul penalty set them back and a pass was picked off and South Fayette got a huge stop.

Towards the end of the quarter it was yet another big play for South Fayette. Drew Welhorsky found Aayden Wright for a 37 yard touchdown pass making the score 20-3 with 1:13 in the first quarter.

Aayden Wright was one of the difference makers for South Fayette he had 145 yards on 8 carries and also had a few catches. “As a Freshman, a 15 year old or maybe even 14, that kid has a lot, a heck of a future in green and white and running and scoring touchdowns for us, he runs hard, he gets his paths down and there’s only more to learn for Aayden” said Coach Spieler. The score at the end of the first quarter was 20-3 South Fayette.

Elizabeth Forward had the ball to start the second quarter and it was a very long drive that took up basically half the quarter. The drive was finished off when Ryan Messina found Anthony St. Angelo for a 12 yard touchdown pass which made the score 20-9 South Fayette with 6:05 in the second quarter.

Toward the end of the half Elizabeth Forward had a chance to get even closer but time ran out and South Fayette led at half 20-9.

Elizabeth Forward got the ball to start the second half and it was yet another good looking drive which got inside the South Fayette 20 yard line. The drive ended on a field goal attempt which was no good.

Later in the third quarter it was certainly looking like Elizabeth Forward was going to score but a fumble at the goal line ended the drive. The score at the end of the third quarter was 20-9 South Fayette.

The fourth quarter is where things got interesting. Elizabeth Forward was finally able to find the end zone for a second time when Ryan Messina scored on a 9 yard run and he also ran in the 2 point conversion which made the score 20-17 South Fayette with 8:16 left in the game.

Ryan Messina was the main player for Elizabeth Forward. He was 26 of 35 for 333 yards and also had 157 yards rushing on 25 carries. “He’s the best quarterback in the state, you know it’s not only his performance on the field, but it’s how he carries this team and the way he leads his team, most quarterback traits, you want somebody’s that’s tough, you know, that knows how to turn it up when their players need to turn up, and the kid just has all those traits, you know, he’s a big strong kid, doesn’t matter if he’s running or throwing, he threw some great balls tonight” said Coach DeMarco.

South Fayette needed to respond after that Elizabeth Forward score and that’s exactly what they did, it was big play after big play and the drive was finished off on a 9 yard run by Drew Welhorsky.

Welhorsky was the second key player for South Fayette. He was 7 of 12 for 138 yards and also had 107 yards rushing on 15 carries. “He’s a competitor, so when those lights turn on, no matter what happens, he’s gonna fight, he’s gonna grind, he’s gonna do all the things that he needs to do to put his team in the best position to win” said Coach Spieler. “It was a rough fight to the end you know, the line really stepped up again, like we needed to” said Welhorsky.

Despite making it a 27-17 lead, the game wasn’t over. Ryan Messina completed several big passes and the drive was finished off when he completed it to Landon Honick for a 29 yard touchdown pass. Honick also had an unbelievable night he had 13 catches for 168 yards.

After making the score 27-24, Elizabeth Forward attempted an onside kick and recovered it. On fourth down in South Fayette territory, Messina completed a pass but fell inches short of a first down which gave South Fayette the ball and a 27-24 win.

Next week South Fayette hosts Belle Vernon and Elizabeth Forward hosts Baldwin.

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