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Fireworks night: Leopards win Interstate showdown over EF, 49-28, in battle of big plays

By Bill Hughes for The Herald-Standard 4 min read
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Ed Thompson

Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin (25) stiff arms Elizabeth Forward’s Isaiah Turner on his way to a touchdown Friday night at James Weird Stadium.

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Ed Thompson

Elizabeth Forward’s Charles Nigut (1) finds some running room against Belle Vernon during Friday night’s game at James Weir Stadium.

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Belle Vernon's Anthony Crews (5) finds some great blocking and sprints to the end zone on a 38-yard touchdown run against Elizabeth Forward on Friday night at James Weir Stadium.

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Belle Vernon's Jake Gedekoh (10) picks up a good gain against Elizabeth Forward Friday night at James Weir Stadium.

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Penn State football coach James Franklin (left) roams the sidelines during Belle Vernon's game against Elizabeth Forward at James Weir Stadium Friday night. Franklin visited with Nittany Lions recruit Quinton Martin of the Leopards on Friday morning.

BELLE VERNON — Big plays were a plenty in Friday night’s Class 3A Interstate Conference showdown for first place, and Belle Vernon and Elizabeth Forward Warriors each produced several.

The teams combined for 11 plays of 29 yards or more, and the Leopards made enough to pull out a 49-28 win in the slugfest.

Quinton Martin came up biggest as he scored four touchdowns, including runs of 36 and 44 yards, an 84-yard reception from Branden Laux, and a 12-yard interception return to close out the scoring late.

The five-star Penn State commit spoke about celebrating Senior Night with Nittany Lions coach James Franklin being in attendance and the team doing what needed to be done.

“It was Senior Night, coach Franklin was here, and the whole community showed up to support us,” said Martin, who also scored four touchdowns in last year’s first-place showdown against EF. “All of our players made plays tonight, and a shoutout to everyone as we all did our part.

“It is a team win, and we won the conference championship.”

Martin finished with 94 yards rushing on six carries and 122 yards receiving on three receptions.

BV coach Matt Humbert spoke about the splash plays and how giving up so many points, which is not the norm for the Leopards, could actually be a good thing.

“The splash plays were the narrative of the game, on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We knew we had to limit them, and we countered theirs.

“It wasn’t a bad thing to be in a game where they score this much and see how our players react.”

EF coach John DeMarco shared the pride he has in his team.

“We stuck around and it showed we have resilience,” he said. “This showed that we have that dog in us. We respect everyone but fear no one.”

The lone score of the opening quarter took place on the initial drive of the game as BV’s Anthony Crews raced 38 yards to give the hosts the early advantage.

With the Leps leading 7-0 early in the second, BV’s Division I tandem of Braden Laux and Martin doubled the host’s lead.

Laux, an Eastern Michigan commit, hit Martin on an 84-yard scoring strike with 10:16 to go in the half.

The play ignited a run of touchdowns on four straight drives by both teams.

Charlie Nigut got the Warriors on the board with a 29-yard touchdown jaunt on a third-and-three with 7:59 to go, but the 14-7 score lasted 22 seconds.

After Jake Gedekoh returned the ensuing kickoff to BV’s 49, the Warriors were called for pass interference.

On the next play, Martin raced 36 yards to give BV a 21-7 lead with 7:37 to play in the half.

The Warriors countered with a clock-eating, 13-play drive that saw Nigut cap the 67-yard possession from two yards out with 15 seconds left in the half to make the halftime score 21-14.

In the first half, BV gained 234 yards on only 16 plays while EF gained 165 yards on 28 plays.

The third quarter was sloppy, with nine penalties accepted and several more declined.

Infractions aside in the third, splash plays again proved effective.

Belle Vernon sandwiched a Martin 44-yard rushing touchdown on a lateral throw and a Gedekoh 26-yard touchdown pass from Laux around an 87-yard EF touchdown pass from Ryan Messina to Isaiah Turner.

The big plays continued in the fourth.

On the second play of the quarter, Kole Doppelheuer raced 30 yards to give BV a 42-21 lead, but after a Warrior punt, Krystian Kennedy intercepted a Laux pass and raced 66 yards for a score.

This set the stage for Martin’s pick-six with 5:44 to go, and neither team scored the rest of the way.

The Leps (5-0, 8-1) finished with 438 yards on 37 plays while the Warriors (4-1, 9-1) had 303 yards on 53 plays.

BV is expected to be the top seed in the WPIAL Class 3A playoff bracket, and EF could finish as high as third.

Both teams are expected to have byes next week and both could host playoff games on Nov. 3.

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