Central Valley runs winning streak to 24, earns 3rd straight trip to WPIAL finals

By: Mitch Montani
Friday, November 19, 2021 | 12:01 AM

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Central Valley punched its third straight ticket to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game Friday night with a 51-0 victory over Elizabeth Forward, extending its two-year win streak to 24 games.

Despite a slow start — Central Valley led just 3-0 after the first quarter — the Warriors offense came to life before halftime, led by senior Matt Merritt. Though he had only seven carries, he totaled 157 yards and scored three touchdowns in the second quarter.

“Matt Meritt has been a stalwart in our program for four years,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. “He works so hard. He wanted to come out his senior year and put a stamp on it.”

Elizabeth Forward had been expecting big plays to come primarily from senior running back Landon Alexander. Though he still scored two touchdowns and ran for 200 yards in an impressive showing, Merritt’s night caught Elizabeth Forward off guard.

“They ran Merritt a lot,” Elizabeth Forward coach Mike Collodi said. “It was a lot of Alexander on film. My hat goes off to them. We were trying to key in on Alexander.”

Though Merritt has had several injuries during the season, he has proven that he can provide assistance down the stretch.

“We finally got No. 6 healthy,” Lyons said. “It’s just another weapon for us. It’ll take a little bit of the load off of Landon. I’m happy for Matt. He does everything you want to represent our program.”

In addition to the offensive outburst, Central Valley was dominant defensively. Elizabeth Forward was held to 86 total yards and didn’t get above the 25-yard threshold until the fourth quarter.

“Their defense is phenomenal,” Collodi said. “There’s a reason they’re the state champs. There’s a reason they’re No. 1 in the state with the longest winning streak. It is what it is. They’re a great team.”

Lyons believes that his team’s defensive success starts with its line.

“If you win the line of scrimmage battle, you have a good chance of winning,” he said. “That’s a front four that really gets after it.”

With another shutout loss in the playoffs to Central Valley, Elizabeth Forward’s season ends the same way the last one did. But the Warriors have found a lot of recent success, including this season’s trip to the semifinals. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak.

“I’m proud of our guys,” Collodi said. “This senior class has only lost nine games in four years. These seniors took us to the next level at EF. I’m proud of every one of them.”

For Central Valley, it’s more of the same. The Warriors will play for their fifth WPIAL championship at noon next Saturday. They’ll also take a lengthy win streak into the contest.

“We’ve never addressed it,” Lyons said of his team’s 24 straight wins. “Our guys live in the moment. That’s how we approach it. Our guys are just excited that they get to practice on Thanksgiving morning.”

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: Central Valley, Elizabeth Forward