Elizabeth Forward slides by Quaker Valley in shortened game

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 21, 2018 | 11:18 PM

As a three-year starting quarterback for Elizabeth Forward, there is very little that can rattle Zachary Benedek in a game situation.

However, he admits he may have been looking for a little redemption after an early miscue in a nonconference showdown against defending PIAA champion Quaker Valley on Friday night.

Benedek put his team in a hole when he badly overthrew his intended receiver at the start of the second quarter, only to have the Quakers’ Ryan Jackovic return the ensuing interception for a touchdown. Benedek redeemed himself almost immediately, driving Elizabeth Forward down the field with both his arm and legs on its next possession, the final 26 yards being a perfectly thrown TD pass to Nathan Alberts that gave the Warriors a lead they would not relinquish in a 7-6 win over Quaker Valley.

The game was called after two quarters due to heavy rain and lightning that hit the area on Friday. Elizabeth Forward remained unbeaten at 4-0, while Quaker Valley fell to 1-3.

“I’ve been playing long enough to know that when something bad happens, you’ve got to keep going,” Benedek said. “But I still felt like I needed to do something to make up for it. I made a bad throw there, and I didn’t want my mistake to get our offense down. You have to bounce back after plays like that.”

Elizabeth Forward coach Mike Collodi had little doubt his senior quarterback would respond.

“What can I say about Zach — he’s resilient,” Collodi said. “He’s started for three years, and he’s seen every situation imaginable, so that wasn’t going to rattle him. He has the keys to the offense, and we trust him to make it go.”

Trailing 6-0 after Jackovic’s pick-6, Elizabeth Forward took over at its 39. Eight consecutive running plays took the ball to the Quakers’ 26, where Elizabeth Forward faced a third-and-8. Benedek then hit Alberts in stride along the right sideline to tie the game before Andrew Smith’s extra point gave the Warriors the lead.

“I think that says a lot about our team,” Benedek said. “We faced some adversity early against a good team and responded.”

“They’re the defending state champions, so we knew we were going to be in for a dog fight,” Collodi said. “We fell into a hole and we battled back, so we’re tremendously pleased with that. Obviously, we would have liked to have played the entire 48 minutes, and I’m sure they would have too, but to make the trip that we did and to come out with a win is a good thing for our team.”

Quaker Valley coach Ron Balog, while disappointed, wanted to keep the loss in perspective. In fact, Quaker Valley had a successful 2-point conversion called back by penalty after its touchdown, so the Quakers could very well have had the lead when the rains came rather than been down a point.

But Balog knows one can’t fight Mother Nature.

“The weather was something that was completely out of our control, and I told our kids that,” Balog said. “We had a good week of practice, and we played well in the first half. Who knows what would have happened if we play the entire game. But the key to every situation is the way you respond. I told them they could respond positively, or they could have a negative response. A positive response will be us going out and playing well next week against Keystone Oaks.”

Jim Equels is a freelance writer.

Tags: Elizabeth Forward, Quaker Valley