Elizabeth Forward off to best start in 40 years
Mike Collodi makes sure his Elizabeth Forward Warriors strike a balance.
A balance between taking this season game by game and not getting too excited, while also stopping to realize what the team has already accomplished shouldn’t go unnoticed.
“We focus on our opponent and we never look ahead, but we definitely remind them of our recent history and that this is the best start,” Collodi said. “Elizabeth Forward had been a down program for a time.”
With a 5-0 start this year, the school’s best start since 1978, a conference title last year and a three-year starter at quarterback, Elizabeth Forward has become a force in WPIAL Class 3A football.
The Warriors, coming off a big 25-22 win against previously undefeated Derry Area, had three winning seasons since 2000 before Mike Collodi took over in 2015. Elizabeth Forward’s senior class went 3-6 under Collodi in 2015, and has gone 17-7 since then.
“I’m extremely proud of these guys,” Collodi said. “These guys, they’ve been with me, they were my freshman class four years ago, they bought in as ninth graders and trusted the process and everything like that. They’ve just been working and working and this is what they wanted. They wanted to be successful and all that hard work for the last three years is paying off, as we see week to week.”
Several of this season’s starters have been playing varsity since they were sophomores, Collodi said, with that experience factor in the Warriors’ success.
One of those players is three-year starting quarterback Zachary Benedek, who has passed for 628 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 611 yards and eight touchdowns so far.
“Anytime you have a three-year starter at quarterback, you’re probably going to have a good season,” Collodi said. “His work ethic is unbelievable. He has all the intangibles people talk about. He’s a natural leader. He’s the smartest football player I’ve ever been around in my life, it’s unbelievable, 4.5 GPA student, very high SAT scores, and along with that just an absolutely great football player.”
North Catholic (5-1, 3-1 Big East Conference) plays at Elizabeth Forward 7 p.m. Friday.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
As a sophomore and junior, OLSH quarterback Tyler Bradley threw for a combined 5,100 yards. His 1,780 passing yards (110 of 159) so far this season put Bradley at 6,880, which is sixth all time in the WPIAL.
He’s nearing Dillon Buechel, who threw for 6,899 yards at Montour (2009-11), and Christian Brumbaugh, who threw for 7,162 yards at South Fayette (2007-10).
Bradley, who threw for 459 yards in a win against Laurel last Friday, has also limited the turnovers, throwing for 24 touchdowns and just two interceptions this year.
OLSH is 6-0 (5-0 Big Seven Conference) and plays at 7 p.m. Friday at Jeannette in a WPIAL Class 1A showdown.