ELIZABETH TWP., Pa. — After defeating West Mifflin in the second game of the season, Elizabeth Forward was expecting a tougher challenge in the team’s second matchup of the season but it went just about the same. The Warriors stay alive as they defeated the Titans in the second round of the WPIAL Class-2A playoffs, 42-21.
The game started as well as it could for the Titans as Armand Hill carried the team all the way into Warriors’ territory within the first two plays. Just two plays later, Hill was stripped by the Warriors’ Dominic DeRenzo at the 21-yard line. The senior, DeRenzo, then took the fumble 79 yards the other way for a Warriors’ touchdown.
After a quick three-and-out by the Titans, the Warriors moved down the field quickly in large part because of two big-time throws by Warriors’ quarterback Ryan Messina. On the sixth play of the Warriors’ first offensive drive, Charles Nigut punched in a 1-yard scamper to extend the lead.
The Titans used a 12-yard touchdown run by Hill to get back into the game which capped off a 4-play, 93-yard touchdown drive.
On the next drive, the Warriors drove the ball down the whole field before the Titans forced a fumble at the 1-yard line. One play later, on the first play of the Titans’ drive, the snap was fumbled and the Warriors’ Charles Meehleib dived on it in the endzone for the touchdown.
The Titans tried to use a fierce second-half surge to comeback as they scored twice in the span of four minutes to cut the game down to one possession. Then, it looked as if the Titans were on their way to tie the game but a fourth untimely fumble halted their chances short.
Shortly after the Titans’ fumble, Nigut punched in his second score of the night to re-extend the Warriors lead to 14 points. Then, the Warriors immediately scored again on Meehleib’s pick-six which was the second score of the night for the 6-foot-4, 255-pound lineman.
The Warriors managed to maintain the lead throughout the rest of the game and closed out the second-round victory over the Titans.
With the win, the Warriors will travel to take on No. 2 Avonworth while the Titans’ season ends after the second round with the loss. Avonworth defeated Beaver in the other second-round Class-2A playoff matchup.
It’s class 3A. Absurd mistake