Ellwood City Knocks Out Keystone Oaks 35-13 In WPIAL Class 2A First Round

Ellwood City scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter Friday night to knock out Keystone Oaks 35-13 in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 2A Playoffs.

The receiving duo of Dom Hogue and DaiLonn Currie each posted impressive lines as the Wolverines offense went to the air to the tune of 36 pass attempts by Senior quarterback Tyler Smiley.

Currie hauled in 11 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown while Hogue collected 10 catches for 148 yards and a score for the Ellwood City offense. Their efforts move each into a tie for most career pass receptions in school history with 94.

Smiley connected with Currie on an 18-yard touchdown strike with a minute remaining in the first half to get Ellwood City on the scoreboard and draw the game to a 7-7 tie at halftime.

Richard Cureton plowed in from one yard out midway through the third quarter to give the host Wolverines a 14-7 advantage.

Keystone Oaks (4-7 Overall) quarterback Owen Gearhart responded with a 5-yard touchdown run later in the quarter to draw the Golden Eagles within a point at 14-13 before the Wolverines provided its knockout punch in the final quarter.

Guilian Frisk scampered in from 30 yards out and Cureton found the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the game, a six-yard effort, to push the Ellwood City advantage to 28-13 before Smiley capped his passing performance with a 44-yard touchdown strike to Hogue to round out the scoring for the Wolverines.

Smiley finished 24-36 passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Smiley was intercepted twice as the offense was mistake-riddled with five total turnovers in the contest.

The Ellwood City defense helped overcome the turnovers as they limited the Golden Eagles to only six first downs and 87 total net yards.

Gearhart accounted for both Keystone Oak touchdowns with rushing efforts but did not complete a pass in the loss and was intercepted three times.

Defensively for the Wolverines, Colton Gullo finished with a game-high 13 tackles and a sack. Hogue, Smiley, and Tyler Amicone each collected an interception.

Ellwood City (7-4 Overall) advances and will next travel to face #3 Steel Valley in the Class 2A quarterfinals on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Steel Valley. [VIEW FULL CLASS 2A BRACKET]

APOLLO RIDGE 28 RIVERSIDE 7

10-seeded Riverside was stymied by #7 Apollo-Ridge and fell in its Class 2A opening round contest. Panthers quarterback Aidan Gaydosz connected with wide receiver Hunter Garcia on a 52-yard scoring strike in the third quarter for Riverside’s lone score of the contest. Running back Mason Holler was bottled up and finished with 28 yards on 11 carries. Riverside, who trailed 14-0 at halftime, was limited to 114 of total offense by the host Apollo Ridge Vikings.