Oct 21, 2017 By John Tiech for The 4 min read

FORWARD TWP. — While Elizabeth Forward is guaranteed at least a share of its first conference title since 1985, the Warriors lost a tough Interstate Conference game at home Friday night against South Park, 18-14.

“Obviously, it was a tough game, and my hat goes off to their coach and to all of the players for South Park,” said Elizabeth Forward head coach Mike Collodi. “They played an outstanding game and came in prepared, and they capitalized on some of our mistakes. My hat goes off to Damon Smith, who is an excellent quarterback, and Isaiah Mack, who ran the ball well on us tonight.”

After a scoreless first quarter, South Park (5-3, 5-1) finally broke the ice 1:30 into the second quarter when Smith connected with receiver Devin Turner for a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 6-0 after kicker Michael Mehalic missed the extra point.

A little over two minutes later, Elizabeth Forward (6-2, 6-1) quickly responded with a 4-yard touchdown run by Seth Andres to tie the game 6-6 after extra point attempt failed.

However, the Eagles dealt a fierce blow to the Warriors only 15 second later when Rudy Mihoces returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to make it 12-6 after South Park failed to convert on a two-point conversion attempt.

After a quick four-and-out, it wasn’t looking good for the Warriors, who had to punt the ball away from their 9-yard line, giving the Eagles the ball on Elizabeth Forward’s 45-yard line. But, Elizabeth Forward’s Gavin Martik intercepted Smith in the end zone, giving the Warriors the ball back on the 20-yard line.

Elizabeth Forward made the most out of the interception and engineered an 81-yard drive on three plays that ended with Zachary Benedek connecting with Gavin Martik for a beautiful 81-yard touchdown pass, giving the Warriors a 14-12 lead after Benedek converted the two-point conversion on a quarterback sneak.

Both teams held the other scoreless for the remaining four minutes of the second quarter with the Warriors still on top 14-12 at the half.

The Eagles received the opening kickoff in third quarter and made it a productive possession by taking 5:56 off the clock, driving the ball 74 yards, and ending with a 12-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Mack, but once again, South Park failed the pass attempt for a two-point conversion, making it an 18-14 game.

However, South Park’s inability to convert any extra points and two-point conversions after touchdowns didn’t matter because they were able to hold a good Elizabeth Forward offense scoreless in the second half to hold on for the win.

South Park head coach Marty Rieck said, “We’ve had some bumps in the road, but it’s been our belief and our assistant coaches on both sides of the ball, who have been drawing up schemes to give our kids something good to work with.

“Our running game is certainly coming along, and we’re bringing balance to our offense. I know our defense has been really good all year too, but it just feels great to get a win against an unbelievably good team like Elizabeth Forward.”

Elizabeth Forward looks to close out the 2017 regular season Friday night, hosting a non-section game against Burgettstown (6-2, 5-2).

“Burgettstown has got a heck of a team, so even though we’re down, we’re looking to get back up and take tonight’s loss as a wake up call,” said Collodi.

Meanwhile, South Park battles Yough (2-7, 2-4) on Friday and, with a win, can share first place with Elizabeth Forward, so without a doubt, the Warriors will be interested in the outcome of that game.

Interstate Conference

South Park           0-12-6-0 — 18

Elizabeth Forward 0-14-0-0 — 14

Second Quarter

SP: Devin Turner 9 pass from Damon Smith (kick failed)

EF: Seth Andres 4 run (kick failed)

SP: Rudy Mihoces 91 kickoff return (run failed)

EF: Gavin Martik 81 pass from Zachary Benedek (Benedek run)

Third Quarter

SP – Isaiah Mack 12 run (pass failed)