Ellwood City looks to continue its momentum after first playoff birth in 13 years

ELLWOOD CITY — For the past several seasons before Ellwood City head coach Dan Bradley took over the program, the Wolverines struggled mightily finishing near or at the bottom of their conference year after year.

Two years ago, seniors on this Ellwood City squad were planning on how it could potentially win a game. Now the Wolverines are preparing to once again punch their ticket to the postseason and push to make a run in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.

After not making the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons , Bradley’s squad made it back to the postseason last year before falling to Washington.

Signs continue to point up for Elwood City as most of the breakthrough roster was back earlier this month at Helling Stadium for heat acclimation week ahead of the 2024 season.

Last season the Wolverines had several offensive weapons at their disposal in their receivers and running backs. With a promising offense returning, Bradley knows that to succeed at the level he wants, his team needs to shore up defensively.

“We have to do a better job of not giving up the big play on defense," Bradley said. "Offensively we have a pretty solid unit, but defensively we have to get better.”

Bradley’s team graduated just five players from last season, most notably receiver Michael Walters who led the team with 35 receptions going for 537 yards and reaching the end zone on seven occasions.

Still, Elwood City returns second leading receiver DaiLonn Currie along with Domenik Houge and Gavin Partridge. Bradley believes that his team can be an even more explosive unit with the receivers that the team returns.

“Those three," Bradley explained, "have all grown as sophomores and juniors and should have outstanding years.”

More: Beaver County Times' 2024 High School football preview

Elijah Palmer-McCane quietly became one of the most productive running backs in the WPIAL, rushing for over 1,500 yards with 16 touchdowns as a junior.

With the senior expected to be the focal point of the Wolverines offense, Bradley wants the running back to stay within himself and continue to produce the way that he has over the past several seasons.

“He is a great player, runs the ball hard and can do a little bit of everything when he steps onto the field," Bradley said. "We just want him to continue what he is doing and contribute where he can and make big players on the offensive side of the ball.”

Elwood City football preview quick glance

Head coach: Dan Bradley (Third season, 7-14 overall)

2023 record: (5-6, 3-4 Midwestern)

Top players lost: Michael Walters

Top players returning: Chris Smiley, Elijah Palmer-McCane, Gavin Partridge, DaiLonn Currie, Maddox Singer, Evan Tweddell, Kaden Docchio, Lucian Gagric

Offensive outlook: The Wolverines bring back several starters on the offensive side of the ball including their quarterback senior Chris Smiley who put together a breakout junior season last year throwing for 1,689 yards and 17 touchdowns while only throwing eight interceptions a season ago. Along with Smiley the team also returns Palmer-McCane who was an all-conference selection last season along with a stout offensive line in all-conference lineman Evan Tweddell. The team also returns a trio of receivers that all hope to make a big impact this year with Smiley having another year under his belt.

Defensive outlook: Ellwood City did not lose that many players on this side of the ball. Defensive anchor Kaden Docchio returns after compiling 87 tackles, eight sacks and one forced fumble. Along with Docchio, Tweddell also had success on the defensive line along with his play on the offensive line as he recorded 42 tackles with 10 of those tackles going for a loss. Though this is an area that Bradley wants the team to improve upon, it returns many of the team's key pieces from a year ago so Ellwood City already has a strong foundation to build upon as the regular season draws closer.

Classification: 2A

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: 2023

Last WPIAL title: 1925

WPIAL titles: 1

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Ellwood City looks to continue its momentum after first playoff birth in 13 years