The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tough road continues for Elyria Catholic
Panthers fall prey to Valley Forge’s running game, lose fourth decision
Elyria Catholic’s struggles continued on Sept. 21 at Byers Field in Parma as the Panthers lost, 19-14, to Valley Forge and dropped to 1-4 overall.
The Panthers couldn’t keep their defense off the field in the second half and only had the ball three times. Valley Forge running Mike Pappas ran for 178 yards and a touchdown.
Elyria Catholic coach Dave Stupka summed up his team’s problems.
“I’ll say this forever ... the team that stops the run and is able to run the ball usually will win unless freak things
happen,” he said. “That’s what happened tonight. We have some soul searching to do on the bus ride home and heading into next week against Parma.”
With 21 seconds left in the third quarter and a 14-13 lead, Elyria Catholic linebacker Luke Costantino blocked a 42yard field goal attempt and it looked like momentum had swung to the Panthers.
But in the fourth quarter, Patriots quarterback John Quinones scrambled for a 15yard gain to Elyria Catholic’s
yard line, setting up Pappas’ 1-yard touchdown to give Valley Forge a 19-14 lead with 5:34 left.
The Panthers didn’t have enough juice. With 2:08 remaining, Valley Forge’s Dylan Magda came up with an interception and the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Leighton Banjoff was one of the few bright spots for Elyria Catholic, rushing for 76 yards and catching a touchdown pass.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers struck early in the second, thanks to a little trickery when they handed off to Banjoff and as he moved to his right side and threw deep to Donovan Warfield for a 54-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.
After Valley Forge responded with a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Nick Kugler, the Panthers picked up a 30-yard pass play from Cameron Engrish to Zach Evans, which set up a 4-yard touchdown rush from Banjoff and a 14-7 lead with two minutes in the half.
Valley Forge had a trick up its sleeve before the half ended, too. After a sweeping handoff to Kugler, he faked Elyria Catholic’s defense into thinking he was running before tossing a 21-yard pass to Chris Mayak, which later set up a 8-yard touchdown pass from Quinones to Kugler. Valley Forge missed the extra point and the Panthers held a 14-13 halftime lead.
The Panthers had 11 first downs to the Patriots’ 22.
After the game, junior lineman Jack Decker was outspoken about the Panthers’ inconsistences and said he wants to see change.
“Right now, I’m a junior and I’ve got to lead by example,” he said. “I know all the seniors do a great job, but we just have to keep our composure and think about what we’re doing.
“At practice, we see the wrong things and we fix them, but when it comes to game time, we lose our heads, After four losses, it’s all about the mindset. Elyria Catholic is all about tradition. That’s why I’m here.”