No. 2 Avonworth takes down Elizabeth Forward, earns return trip to finals

By: Liam Belan
Friday, November 17, 2023 | 11:37 PM

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Avonworth will return to the WPIAL championship to face a familiar foe after earning a 21-10 victory over No. 3 Elizabeth Forward in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Friday night at Gateway.

The No. 2 Lopes (12-0) will get a rematch next Friday with top-seeded Belle Vernon a year after the Leopards defeated Avonworth, 24-7, in the title game at Acrisure Stadium.

“We’re just excited to be there,” Avonworth coach Duke Johncour said of his team’s second straight district championship appearance. “We’re going to look at the tape and put a game plan together to defend Belle Vernon, but we’re excited to be down there again.”

Andrew Kuban carried the brunt of the work for Avonworth, finishing with 139 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while also throwing a touchdown to Benjamin Barnes on a trick play.

Behind him, Dimitri Velsarsis posted 47 rushing yards on 15 carries, and Brandon Biagiarelli scored on a 3-yard carry.

With a new head coach, a new quarterback and little preseason buzz, Elizabeth Forward (10-2) made a run to the WPIAL semifinals, a success in the eyes of first-year coach John DeMarco.

“We didn’t lose, we just fell short,” he said. “That’s not in my vocabulary, to say that I lost. We just fell short, and that’s what I told the kids. I’m proud of them all, I love them all, and our coaching staff did a great job. Nobody thought we’d get here, but we played our hearts out.”

For the Warriors, Charlie Nigut accumulated 47 rushing yards on 19 carries and 26 receiving yards on three receptions, while Isaiah Turner caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Messina on a goal line fade.

A series of negative plays and punts encompassed the opening quarter. Both defensive units gave strong efforts, limiting big plays until early in the second quarter when Avonworth received the ball and Kuban broke two massive runs to set up Vitai-Biagiarelli’s touchdown. Kuban had a 42-yarder and a 40-yard run back to back to bring the Lopes to Elizabeth Forward’s 3.

After the score, the Lopes took a 7-0 lead that would stand until right before halftime.

The Warriors pieced together a solid drive on the legs of Nigut, but eventually stalled as Avonworth’s defense stood tall.

Elizabeth Forward trotted out Will Sinay for a 34-yard field goal with 30 seconds before halftime, and he drilled the kick, making the score 7-3.

Out of the half, it was the Warriors that were opportunistic off of a turnover.

Elizabeth Forward’s Joel Surdyn recovered a Kuban fumble, and the Warriors capitalized on Messina’s 2-yard pass to Turner, giving EF a 10-7 lead with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

Avonworth, however, forced two fourth-quarter turnovers from Messina and used them to secure the victory.

“We had no fear,” Johncour said. “Our kids have been behind in four games this year, and they’ve responded every single time. We know we have confidence in our guys, we know we have confidence in our line, our running backs. It was just like, ‘All right, they’re up 10-7, let’s just go about our business and not make mistakes and get this thing going,’ and we did.”

First came an early touchdown drive to regain a 14-10 lead as Kuban took his first carry after the fumble into the end zone from 3 yards out.

Then came the interception from Luke Garda with 10:15 left that set the Lopes up in favorable field position.

“They threw a route that we practiced all week,” Johncour said of the out route. “We played trail coverage on it, (Garza) broke on it, and it was a beautiful interception.”

That led to the final scoring drive of the game when Kuban connected with Barnes from 8 yards out to make the score 21-10.

And with 4:38 remaining, pressure was put on Messina and he lost the football. It was recovered by Mason Metz, effectively ending the game.

Messina had a stellar sophomore year, and DeMarco made sure that he knew that the loss wasn’t on him.

“It was a big game, and he hasn’t been there before, and he got rattled a little bit,” DeMarco said. “That’s what happens with a young quarterback. I’m proud of him. He’s had a great season from where he was to where he’s at now. Trust me, Ryan Messina didn’t lose us that football game. When we win, it’s as a team, and when we lose, it’s on my back.”

Both coaches shared praise for their opposition in what was a hard-fought semifinal. For the Lopes, they’ll be looking forward to another trip to the North Shore on Friday.

Tags: Avonworth, Elizabeth Forward