High school football team of the week for Oct. 7, 2024

Trib HSSN football team of the week – Ellwood City Wolverines

Coach: Dan Bradley (third season)

Result: Ellwood City 26, Western Beaver 20

Record: 4-0 in Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference, 6-0 overall

#Earned: The growth of a program continued on a brilliant Saturday afternoon in Industry. After turning Our Lady of the Sacred Heart into a championship program, Dan Bradley took over at Ellwood City and guided the Wolverines to a 2-8 record in 2022. Last fall, the team finished 5-6, including a WPIAL playoff berth. Now the blue and white continue to roll as they sit all alone in first place in the Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference following a big win on the road at Western Beaver. The Wolverines scored seven points in the second quarter, 13 in the third and six more in the fourth, and then held off a Golden Beaver rally to win, 26-20. The victory breaks a tie for first in the MAC and keeps Ellwood City undefeated for the season.

Statistical standouts: It was a lethal one-two punch for Ellwood City on offense as senior quarterback Chris Smiley did the damage early and senior running back Elijah Palmer-McCane late. Smiley scored the only touchdown of the first half on a short run, then ran into a pile on a QB sneak in the third quarter, never hit the ground, bounced off the pile and rambled 22 yards for a score. Then Palmer-McCane took over with scoring runs of 38 yards in the third quarter and 2 yards in the fourth. Palmer-McCane finished with 121 yards on 26 carries. Kudos to the Wolverines defense as well, as the Wolverines held the explosive Golden Beavers offense to 10 points under their season average and their second-lowest point total of the season.

Last year: Having won a total of five football games in the five seasons between 2018-2022, there was great excitement when the Ellwood City began the season winning three of its first four games. The joyous emotion took a hit when the Wolverines dropped four of their next five, including five losses in the Midwestern Athletic Conference. However, the boys from Lincoln High School shut out rival Riverside in Week 9, 42-0, to finish the regular season at 5-5, earn fifth place in the MAC and a berth in the WPIAL 2A playoffs. Ellwood City was given the No. 14 seed in the 14-team postseason and lost in the opening round at Washington, 48-6. With so many young players contributing to the team’s success in 2023, the groundwork was set for great success thus far in 2024.

Remember when: The Bruce Springsteen hit song “Glory Days” must be a song being played in heavy rotation throughout Ellwood City because this year’s Wolverines team is having the kind of success not seen in that school district since that song was a smash hit in the mid-1980s. The last time Ellwood City started the season 6-0 was in 1986. The following year was the Wolverines’ most recent trip to a WPIAL football championship game. EC lost in the 1987 Class 2A finals to Sto-Rox, 19-0. If Ellwood City beats Riverside this week, it will be the first time in 80 years the program won its first seven games in a season. The Wolverines lost in the Class 3A 1944 championship game that season to Donora, 13-0. The one and only time Ellwood City won a district football crown was 99 years ago when it was declared champion in 1925.

Week 6 honorable mention

Seneca Valley Raiders

It has been a see-saw start to the Class 6A schedule for Seneca Valley this fall. The Raiders began by winning their first game of the season in Week 3 by three touchdowns at Norwin. Two weeks ago against winless Mt. Lebanon, the Raiders fell big on the road again, 32-8. This teeter-totter season was on the upswing Friday, though, with a comeback victory at home over Canon-McMillan. Junior running back Chase Mazenek rushed for 156 yards and junior Cayden Parker had 118 yards on the ground and a touchdown as the Raiders erased a 17-point deficit to improve to 2-1 in 6A with a thrilling win over the Big Macs, 31-30.

Kiski Area Cavaliers

For the Kiski Area football team, this season has been a lot of close but no cigars for the Cavs. They lost to 6A teams Norwin and Hempfield by a combined 14 points, and then had designs on a big upset in Week 5, leading Franklin Regional by 17 points before they lost to the 5A Big East front-running Panthers, 35-30. However, those losses were a distant memory after Kiski Area delivered a haymaker at Latrobe. Senior quarterback Carson Heinle was 7 of 9 for 137 yards with two touchdown passes as the Cavaliers rolled past the Wildcats, 36-13.

Freeport Yellowjackets

Highlands had been snakebit coming into Week 6, having lost back-to-back Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference games to Imani Christian and Deer Lakes by a total of three points. On Friday, Freeport made sure a third straight close loss was not in the cards. Junior quarterback Drew Ross was 9 of 12 passing for 75 yards and a touchdown toss of 30 yards to junior wide receiver Madden Wisniewski, plus he scored on a 10-yard run as the Yellowjackets beat the Golden Rams, 28-7, to improve to 3-1 in the conference, one game behind both Imani Christian and Deer Lakes.

2024 Trib HSSN teams of the week

Week 5 – Central Catholic Vikings

Week 4 – Central Valley Warriors

Week 3 – South Allegheny Gladiators

Week 2 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets

Week 1 – Bethel Park Black Hawks

Week Zero – Blackhawk Cougars

Tags: Ellwood City