Quinton Martin scores 5 TDs as Belle Vernon dominates Elizabeth Forward

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, October 28, 2022 | 11:51 PM

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It’s the season for trick or treat, and Friday night it was Belle Vernon reaping the treats and causing Elizabeth Forward nightmares days before Halloween.

The Leopards scored three touchdowns on their first six offensive plays, and five-star recruit Quinton Martin made the Warrior faithful believers in the hype with five touchdowns as Belle Vernon captured the Interstate Conference crown with a dominant 48-14 win over EF at Warriors Stadium.

Martin finished with 182 yards on 13 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns on runs of 80, 1, 47. He also caught a pair of touchdowns (36 and 28 yards) to lead the way for the Leopards (7-2, 5-0).

“We prepared like it was just another game,” Martin said proudly after the game. “We treated them like every other opponent we have all year. We knew there was a lot of hype, there was all kinds of talk about how their defense was great and they were going to be able to slow us down … all the stuff on social media.

“It just feels amazing to come in here and win the conference title on their field.”

The Warriors (9-1, 4-1) had a disastrous start from the opening kickoff, flagged for kick-catch interference and giving the Leopards the ball on the EF 36.

It took one play, a short hitch route on the outside from quarterback Braden Laux to Martin that turned into a 36-yard catch and run.

After two straight false start penalties helped lead to an EF punt, it was only four plays later it became 14-0 after Martin tore off his 80-yard touchdown.

“It’s obviously not what we expected, but Belle Vernon is a great team with great athletes,” EF coach Mike Collodi said. “They were the better team in all three phases tonight. They were great defensively, offensively and on special teams.

“And Quinton, we haven’t seen an athlete like him all year. The kid’s legit.”

EF tried a fake punt on their own 38 on a fourth-and-2, and Charlie Nigut was met immediately by BVA’s Adam LaCarte for a 1-yard gain.

Sensing blood in the water, the Leopards struck quickly on a perfectly placed ball from Laux into the hands of Jake Gedekoh on a wheel route to make it 21-0.

“We knew we wanted to come in and match their quick-strike style,” BVA coach Matt Humbert said. “We wanted to take our shots down the field early and hit on a couple splash plays, and we did that. Braden threw some really nice passes tonight.”

Laux finished 5 of 10 for 104 yards and the two scores. He was 5 for 5 in the first half.

The Warriors finally made some noise as Keilly Rush caught a 5-yard touchdown from Zion White with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. It followed a 27-yard connection for the two on a big third-down conversion.

White was under duress most of the night, and while he wasn’t sacked, the BVA defensive line kept him contained the majority of the game.

The teams exchanged possessions until the 5:55 mark of the second quarter when the Leopards took great field position at the EF 25 and cashed in with an eight-play drive that ended with a Martin 1-yard run.

It was the first of three touchdowns in the final minutes of the half as EF was able to answer on a connection from White to Zach Boyd from 28 yards out.

After a short kickoff from the Warriors, BVA’s Kole Doppelheuer had a great return of nearly 40 yards down to the EF 30 to give his team another short field.

Laux and Martin connected on a nice fade route in the corner of the end zone that Boyd slipped down on in coverage, allowing BVA to make it 35-14.

Back-to-back opportunities were squandered by the Warriors, as White was picked off by Chase Ruokonen at the 1-yard line as time expired in the first half.

Then on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, White hit Boyd for a 13-yard gain, but Ruokonen and Parker Jewell jarred the ball out and the Leopards recovered the fumble.

“That was a huge turning point with those two plays,” Collodi said. “We put 14 points on the board on those two possessions, we’re in a one-possession game.”

From there, the BVA defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way and Martin added his 47-yarder after the fumble and Doppelheuer, who ran for 65 yards on nine carries in the late going, added a 9-yard touchdown in the fourth.

“How about our defense tonight?” Humbert said. “Man, they were hitting hard. There was a point were I thought we actually needed to tone down the aggression a bit because we were getting banged up out there.

“But at this point in the season and heading to the playoffs, you need to be physical. That’s what we preach.”

The Leopards are expected to be the No. 1 seed when the WPIAL playoff brackets are released this afternoon.

“Their defensive line, heck their team speed altogether, was impressive,” Collodi said. “I hope we see them again down the road. For now, we’re still going to go one game at a time and hopefully we get that rematch.”

Tags: Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward