Central Valley wallops Elizabeth Forward
By JOSE NEGRON
jnegron@yourmvi.com
Third-seeded Elizabeth Forward’s quest for its first ever WPIAL championship came to an end Friday with a 35-0 loss to top-seeded Central Valley in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game at North Allegheny.
The Warriors in red and black suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Warriors in navy and Carolina blue, a team that posted its 10th consecutive mercy-rule win en route to its second straight WPIAL title.
“They’ve accomplished things that have never been done in school history, so they should keep their heads up,” EF head coach Mike Collodi said. “Obviously it’s not the way we wanted the night to turn out, but that’s a great team over there. They’re the number one team in the state for a reason and the defending WPIAL champs for a reason.”
Junior running back Landon Alexander played a monumental role for Central Valley (10-0), rushing for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Stephon Hall, a Pitt recruit, and senior quarterback Ameer Dudley also found their way into the end zone for rushing scores.
“We haven’t seen a back like (Alexander) all year,” Collodi said of the 5-11, 181-pound back, who entered the game having rushed for 947 yards and nine touchdowns on the year.
“They have a bunch of weapons, so you can’t just key in on one guy. Usually we can take away a team’s best option, but when you have five of them, it makes it a bit difficult.”
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