Belle Vernon locks up conference title with win vs. Elizabeth Forward

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, October 27, 2023 | 11:12 PM

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With his future coach in attendance, Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin could see a position change when he heads to Happy Valley next season.

Martin scored four touchdowns in three different ways, helping the Leopards win a second Interstate Conference championship with a 49-28 victory over Elizabeth Forward on The Beach at James Weir Stadium.

Martin had receiving touchdowns of 84 and 44 yards, finishing with four catches for 166 yards. He added a 36-yard touchdown run and a late 11-yard interception return for the Leopards.

“It was a very emotional night, realizing this is my last regular-season game on this field,” Martin said. “It’s kind of an eye-opener. It was nice because (Anthony) Crews came out and set the tone, and I wanted to go out and give everything I got.”

The Leopards scored on the game’s opening drive as Anthony Crews rolled 43 yards to the house on a jet sweep to give the Leopards a 7-0 lead after Preston Rathway’s PAT.

After the defense came up with a fourth-down stop deep in its own territory, quarterback Braden Laux hooked up for that 84-yard touchdown on a slant pass.

“I’m the secondary coach, and those coverages we got beat on are on me,” EF head coach John DeMarco said. “If you’re out of position against a team like this, they make you pay.”

The Warriors (9-1) saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end but didn’t go down without a fight.

Charlie Nigut got his team on the board with a 29-yard run to cut the Belle Vernon lead to 14-7 with 7 minutes, 59 seconds in the second quarter.

After a long Jake Gedekoh return to the 49-yard line, EF’s Isaiah Turner was hit with a blatant pass interference call against Martin.

On the next play, Martin rolled for a 36-yard touchdown run to make it 21-7.

“They have some studs in the middle of that defense, so we wanted to hit and attack the perimeter,” BVA coach Matt Humbert said. “We wanted to go away from them as much as possible.”

The Warriors did a great job of keeping the ball out of the Leopards’ hands through the end of the half, going on a 13-play, 67-yard drive and chewing up over seven minutes of the clock.

Nigut capped off the drive with a plunge into the end zone and making it 21-14 at the break.

“I did things a little different this year. I think last year they looked to this game all season,” DeMarco said. “We didn’t mention Belle Vernon until this week.

“I thought we had some dog in us, and tonight, they proved to me that they do. We never backed down. We respect them, but we wanted them to know tomorrow morning that they were in a fight.”

The Warriors received the second-half kick but couldn’t get points on the board.

After a punt, Martin and Laux connected on another bubble screen for a 44-yard touchdown.

Again, the Warriors punched right back as Ryan Messina dropped back and connected with Turner on a 87-yard touchdown on the first play of the ensuing drive.

Messina finished 11 of 19 for 219 yards with the touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

The Leopards answered with an eight-play, 61-yard drive, ending with Laux connecting with Gedekoh as the Leopards faked the bubble screen, leaving the middle of the field wide open.

“We knew we could exploit hitting the perimeter so much,” Humbert said. “It was a great read by Braden.”

Laux, who played sparingly the last two weeks because of an injury, completed 7 of 9 passes for 119 yards. He threw three interceptions.

The Leopards (8-1, 5-0) failed to capitalize on their next drive, with Laux being picked off by Charlie Nigut in the end zone on a nice grab near the sideline.

The Warriors failed to add points, and Belle Vernon went up another touchdown on a Kole Doppelheuer 30-yard scoring run on the third play of the fourth quarter.

Doppelheuer led the BVA rushing attack with 82 yards on six carries, 71 coming on the scoring drive.

Messina and Laux swapped interceptions on the next two drives, but Krystian Kennedy’s second pick of Laux went to the house for a 71-yard touchdown to make it 42-28.

The Warriors had another chance to cut down the lead, but a Messina fumble was recovered by BVA’s Colton Lee. The Warriors defense held again, but on the first play of the next EF drive, Messina threw a pass to the flat that Martin read from the start and returned for the Leopards’ final touchdown.

“I kind of baited him thinking I was going to go with the vertical route. But in that coverage, I have the flats,” Martin said. “I saw him turn and put my foot on the ground and just broke to the receiver. He threw it right to me.”

The Warriors will wait to see where they fall in the tournament as the WPIAL will release the brackets this afternoon.

“I told the kids that I’m so proud of them. It’s an honor to coach them,” DeMarco said. “As a guy that played for EF, I am so proud of the fight they showed. This is exactly the team I want to coach.”

With the win, the Leopards likely earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A bracket.

“You know, it’s about fine-tuning some things and just getting healthy,” Humbert said. “We’re excited to play another game here, and we’ll see what happens from there.

“I didn’t expect 28 points against our defense, but that’s a real good football team and I’m glad that we were tested tonight. I think we’re trending in the right direction.”

Tags: Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward