EF plays its ‘best game’ in rout of South Park

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

Elizabeth Forward head coach Mike Collodi called Friday’s Interstate Conference matchup with South Park “the best game” his team has played in his tenure leading the Warriors.

The Eagles have no argument with that.

Elizabeth Forward, behind its fast and physical style, ran over South Park straight to the top of the conference standings with a 35-0 win at Eagle Stadium.

“I’m kind of disappointed we couldn’t have a lot of fans here because this place would have been packed,” Collodi said. “I think a lot wanted to see a battle between the two unbeatens.”

What the EF faithful missed the most was the Evan Lewis show.

The senior quarterback accounted for all five of his team’s touchdowns, with three coming on the ground and two through the air.

“Evan had a really great game,” Collodi said. “He made all the right reads tonight and we threw in a couple wrinkles that we didn’t show on film and they worked out great for us.”

Lewis finished with 175 yards on the ground with only 10 carries. He opened the game with a 63-yard touchdown run on the Warriors’ (3-0, 2-0) first possession.

“Any time you run for that many yards, that means those big guys up front are doing a great job,” Collodi said. “He had some big runs and they were opening some huge holes for him to run through.”

DaVontay Brownfield and Nico Mrvos each ran for 54 yards as the Warriors outgained the Eagles, 281-110, on the ground.

“Our defensive line was awesome today. Their quarterback (Harper Conroy) is a great athlete. He has a great arm and he can run it. So those guys had to work on getting pressure and keeping contain on him,” Collodi said. “Our defensive ends and our outside linebackers did a fantastic job tonight.”

The Warriors held a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter after Lewis connected with Zach Boyd on a 21-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down.

“Even with Evan doing so much, we have a ton of athletes that made contributions tonight,” Collodi said. “Zach made a great play on that ball for the touchdown. 

“I think it shows that if you try to take out one of our best players, we have plenty more that can make things happen. This is, by far, the deepest team I’ve ever had here.”

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