Friday night Beaver County football highlights, Week 2

Ellwood City 46, Carlynton 6 — The streak is over!

Behind a dominant performance on both sides of the football, the Ellwood City Wolverines rolled to a streak-busting 46-6 win on the road Friday night in Week 2 action against Carlynton, snapping a losing streak that dates back to Oct. 26, 2018 for the program.

Just three games into the Dan Bradley era, the Wolverines have ended the frustrating streak, which happened to be the longest losing streak in the WPIAL, topping the Cougars in convincing fashion.

Ellwood City jumped out to a 25-6 lead at the half before scoring 21 points in the second half to cap off the thrilling win that set off jubilation within the program and the community. In total, the Wolverines scored 40 unanswered points.

Running back Elijah Palmer-McCaine scored three touchdowns on the ground, finding pay dirt from 14, five and 11 yards out, while quarterback Chris Smiley added a 1-yard touchdown run and a 34-yard touchdown pass to Michael Walters. Daynte Piece added a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the win for the Wolverines.

On the night, Palmer-McCaine rushed 18 times for 109 yards and three scores, Smiley completed 9-of-18 passes for 179 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and Walters hauled in four passes for 118 yards and a score.

Ellwood City (1-2) travels to Freedom Sept. 16 for a non-conference matchup with the Bulldogs.

Top Performances

Carlynton

Jaydin McKnight, RB — three carries, 63 yards, one touchdown; six catches, 29 yards

Ellwood City

Elijah Palmer-McCaine, RB — 18 carries, 109 yards, three touchdowns; one catch, 31 yards

Chris Smiley, QB — 9-of-18 passings, 179 yards, one touchdown, one interception; six carries, 16 yards, one touchdown

Michael Walters, WR — four receptions, 118 yards, one touchdown

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Central Valley 48, Hampton 9 — Talk about passing a big test in WPIAL Class 4A with flying colors.

Taking on the Hampton Talbots Friday night in Allison Park in their first game against a WPIAL Class 4A opponent as a member of the same classification, the Central Valley Warriors cruised to a 48-9 dismantling of the Talbots, thanks to three rushing touchdowns from star running back Bret Fitzsimmons and a pick-6 from star safety Jayvin Thompson.

Central Valley jumped out to a 35-3 lead at the half as Fitzsimmons opened the game with touchdown runs of 18 and eight yards before Hampton responded with an 18-yard field goal from Luke Fiscus. The Warriors answered with three second-quarter touchdowns to turn it into a rout though as Logan Cantwell scored on a 3-yard pass from Antwon Johnson, Fitzsimmons scored from 38 yards out, and Thompson returned an interception 40 yards for the score, giving the Warriors a 35-3 lead at the half.

In the second half, backup running back Mason Dixon scored from two yards out on the ground, and Brandon Singleton added a 5-yard touchdown run. Hampton's Evan Mcaneny scored from two yards out late in the fourth quarter, capping off the scoring.

For Central Valley, Fitzsimmons carried the ball just eight times but ripped off 122 yards and three scores, while Singleton added four carries for 62 yards and a score on the ground. Johnson completed 7-of-13 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. The Warriors held Hampton to just 21 yards rushing on 17 carries in the win.

Sitting at 3-0 on the year, Central Valley opens 4A Parkway Conference play next week as they host Chartiers Valley at 7 p.m.

Top Performances

Central Valley

Bret Fitzsimmons, RB — eight carries, 122 yards, three touchdowns; one catch, 17 yards

Antwon Johnson, QB — 7-for-13 passings, 68 yards, one touchdown

Brandon Singleton, RB — four carries, 62 yards, one touchdown

Hampton

Joey Mayer, QB — 10-of-18 passing, 55 yards, one interception

Benny Haslrig, WR – four catches, 23 yards

Brock Borgo, RB — eight carries, 24 yards; four catches, 16 yards

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Neshannock 40, Ambridge 34 — A late nine-yard rushing touchdown by Neshannock's Matthew Ioanilli gave the Lancers a thrilling 40-34 win over the host Ambridge Bridgers in a back-and-forth shootout at Moe Rubenstein Stadium in Ambridge Friday night in non-conference action.

Despite three touchdown passes from Deaven Ivory to Trent McKnight, and a 50-yard punt return by Grant Uvodich, the Bridgers couldn't come up with one final stop against the Lancers Friday night, falling to 1-2 on the season.

Ivory found McKnight on touchdown throws of 17, 18 and 19 yards and even added a 1-yard rushing touchdown of his own in a big night. But, the Lancers received rushing touchdowns of 30 and 70 yards from Jonny Huff, and 2, 9, 31, and 9 yards from Ioanilli, leading to the win.

Sitting at 1-2, the Bridgers travel to Blackhawk Sept. 16 for a matchup with the Cougars.

Top Performances

Ambridge

Deaven Ivory, QB — 12-of-24 passing, 158 yards, three touchdowns, one interception; seven carries, 10 yards, one touchdown

Trent McKnight, WR — six receptions, 96 yards, three touchdowns

Carlito Chandler, RB — 13 carries, 57 yards

Neshannock

Matthew Ioanilli, RB — 12 carries, 117 yards, four touchdowns

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Mt. Lebanon 40, Moon 9 — A pair of turnovers that resulted directly in touchdowns for Mt. Lebanon ended a valiant effort in disappointing fashion for the Moon Tigers under head coach Ryan Linn in a 40-9 loss.

Taking on the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 6A champion Blue Devils, the Tigers found themselves trailing at the half 17-0 as Mt. Lebanon sophomore quarterback David Shields found senior JP Walters from 25 yards out, and senior Michael Beiersdorf from three yards out, while junior Ben McAuley tacked on a 34-yard field goal for the three-score lead at the half.

Coming out of the locker room, the Tigers found their footing, cutting the Mt. Lebanon lead to 17-9 as Nazir Brookins — following a 70-yard completion from quarterback Ethan Konieczka to Jared Moyer — scored from six yards out. Then, kicker Hayden Boland nailed a 24-yard field goal to make it a tight contest between the Tigers and Blue Devils.

From there, Mt. Lebanon turned it on though as Shields found Walters for the second time on the night, this time from four yards out, to make it 23-9. Beiersdorf then recorded an interception and returned it for a score before then scooping and scoring on a fumble one possession later to make it 37-9.

McAuley later added a 21-yard field goal to cap off the 40-9 win over Moon, dropping the Tigers to 0-3 on the season.

In the loss, Brookins rushed seven times for 61 yards and the score, while Kardin Nguyen hauled in three passes for 14 yards. Konieczka finished 8-of-13 through the air for 116 yards.

Moon (0-3) hosts Penn Hills Sept. 16 in a non-conference matchup, which happened to be a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal matchup last season at North Allegheny High School.

Top Performances

Mt. Lebanon

No stats available

Moon

Nazir Brookins, RB — seven carries, 61 yards, one touchdown

Ethan Konieczka, QB — 8-for-13, 116 yards

Jared Moyer, WR — one catch, 70 yards

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South Side 38, Burgettstown 14 — Just like that, the South Side Rams are 3-0.

Traveling to Burgettstown Friday night for a non-conference matchup with the Blue Devils, the Rams raced out to a 26-14 lead at the half and scored 12 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to the 38-14 win, moving to 3-0 under head coach Luke Travelpiece.

South Side quickly took a 12-0 lead in the matchup as standout quarterback Brody Almashy scored on a 1-yard run, before then finding Matae Pavlovich on a 30-yard strike to give the Rams the early two-score lead. Burgettstown answered back quickly with a 72-yard run by Rudy Brown and the extra point from Pedro Gimaraes to make it a 12-7 game.

In the second quarter, Almashy found AC Corfield for a 7-yard touchdown through the air before Pavlovich added the extra point, making it 19-7 South Side. Brodie Kuzior responded with a 10-yard rushing touchdown for the Blue Devils and another extra point from Gimaraes to make it a 19-14 game. South Side's Ryan Navarra extended the Rams' lead late in the first half with a 1-yard rushing touchdown, sending the Rams into the half with the 26-14 lead.

In the second half, Almashy scored from 11 yards out on the ground, and found Clayton Langham from 14 yards out through the air, capping off the convincing win for the Rams.

On the night, Almashy finished 8-of-9 through the air for 120 yards and three touchdowns. The senior added 44 yards and two scores on the ground on nine attempts. Navarra led the way for the Rams with 121 yards and a score on 17 carries, while Alex Arrigo rushed nine times for 53 yards.

Corfield led South Side with three receptions for 27 yards and a score, while Langham added two catches for 25 yards and a score.

South Side (3-0) hosts Northgate on Sept. 16 in a non-conference matchup in Hookstown.

Top Performances

South Side

Brody Almashy, QB — 8-of-9 passing, 120 yards, three touchdowns; nine carries, 44 yards, two scores

Ryan Navarra, RB — 17 carries, 121 yards, one touchdown

AC Corfield, WR — three catches, 27 yards, one touchdown

Burgettstown

Rudy Brown, RB — seven carries, 136 yards, one touchdown

Brodie Kuzior, RB — 10 carries, 60 yards, one touchdown

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Rochester 60, New Brighton 13 — One week after dropping a frustrating 16-8 decision to the rival OLSH Chargers, the Rochester Rams took that frustration out on the New Brighton Lions in Week 2 action, rolling to a 60-13 win in non-conference action behind 505 total yards of offense.

Standout running back Antonio Laure carried the ball 17 times for 143 yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground, while senior quarterback Parker Lyons completed 6-of-10 passes for 129 yards, one touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

Carter Mason added a 55-yard rushing touchdown for the Rams, Thomas Henry scored from 20 yards out on the ground, and Amaree Curry added a 22-yard touchdown run as the Rams ran roughshod on the young Lions.

Kevin Williams and Trevon Williams scored in the second quarter for the Lions on identical 7-yard touchdown catches from quarterback Brian Taylor Jr.

Top Performances

Rochester

Antonio Laure, RB — 17 carries, 143 yards, three touchdowns

Parker Lyons, QB – 6-of-10 passing, 120 yards, one touchdown; one rushing touchdown

New Brighton

Brian Taylor Jr., QB — 6-of-12 passing, 68 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

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Beaver Falls 44, Knoch 6 — Well, the Beaver Falls Tigers certainly bounced back in a big way.

On the road in Saxonburg Friday night for a non-conference battle with the Knoch Knights, the Tigers found their stride offensively and dominated from start to finish in a 44-6 win Friday night.

It was a night of explosive plays for the Tigers as Trey Singleton opened the scoring with a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown, which was then followed up by a 41-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jaren Brickner in the first quarter, staking the Tigers to a 16-0 lead thanks to two successful 2-point conversions.

In the second quarter, Drey Hall scored from 1 yard out, and Michael Blacksher sprinted home from 93 yards out on the ground, giving the Tigers a 28-0 lead before the Knights got on the board thanks to a 2-yard run from Sam Skurka before the half. In the second half, Brixx Rawl scored from 5 yards out and Kash Edwards added a 49-yard rushing touchdown, capping the scoring.

Sitting at 2-1 on the season, Beaver Falls hosts New Brighton next Friday in WPIAL 2A Midwestern Conference action.

Top Performances

Beaver Falls

Jaren Bricker, QB — 2-for-12 passing, 111 yards; 14 carries, 131 yards, one touchdown

Drey Hall, RB – nine carries, 70 yards, one touchdown

Da'Sean Anderson, WR — two catches, 111 yards

Knoch

Sam Skurka, RB — 14 carries, 60 yards, one touchdown; three catches, 25 yards

Codi Mullen, QB — 15-of-35 passing, 186 yards, one interception; 12 carries, 30 yards

Jake Murphy, WR — seven catches, 113 yards

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West Allegheny 49, Ringgold 7

Riverside 27, Shenango 6

Blackhawk 15, Mars 14

Union 30, Cornell 21

Freeport 61, Quaker Valley 7

Aliquippa 26, North Catholic 0

Beaver Area 28, Freedom Area 18

Hopewell at Western Beaver (Saturday afternoon)

Clairton at OLSH (Saturday night)

More:Photos from Week 2 of the WPIAL Football Season

Contact Joshua Carney at jcarney@gannett.com or 724-681-9136. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @ByJoshCarney

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Friday night Beaver County football highlights, Week 2