TRIB TOTAL MEDIA • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 • 71
ELIZABETH FORWARD • INTERSTATE
CHASE WHATTON
SPENCER ROSS
SCHEDULE
Coach: Mike Collodi
2019 record: 7-3, 6-2
All-time record: 411-499-36
Date Opponent Time
9.11 at Yough* PPD
9.18 Brownsville* 7
9.25 at Beth-Center 7
10.2 at South Park* 7
10.9 South Allegheny* 7
10.16 at Mt. Pleasant* 7
10.23 Southmoreland* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Nico Mrvos
34-92, 575 yards, 9 TDs
Receiving Chase Whatton
20-296 yards, 5 TDs
Rushing Nico Mrvos
78-497 yards, 1 TD
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• Elizabeth Forward will play
against South Park in the
new-look Interstate Conference
(Brownsville, Mt. Pleasant,
South Allegheny, Southmoreland,
Yough). Collodi has been
a physical education teacher at
South Park for 13 years.
• The Warriors usually don’t
play a Week Zero game but
had decided to schedule one
in 2020, against Ringgold.
Instead, they will open Sept. 11
against Yough.
• A 12.3 points-allowed
average in 2019 ranked third
in Class 3A behind Aliquippa
(9.6) and Central Valley (11.2).
• EF started offseason
workouts earlier than a lot of
teams. The program was six
weeks into workouts by the
end of July.
WHATTON SET TO POWER
WARRIORS ATTACK
by BILL BECKNER JR.
While he can’t quite predict the future,
Chase Whatton has a promise for Elizabeth
Forward football fans.
“Our 2020 season is going to be one to remember,”
he said. “We have insane athletes.
We’re very strong. A lot of our players dedicated
themselves to the weight room during
quarantine. We may not be the biggest team,
but we will be the most physical and strongest.
I say that with no doubts.”
Fair enough.
An all-state defensive end, the 6-foot-4,
235-pound Whatton began
the summer of his senior
season with more than 30
Division I offers to play at
the college level and his
work ethic has rubbed off
on his teammates.
The Warriors will follow
his lead.
“He is going to get so
much attention on both
sides of the football,” Warriors
coach Mike Collodi
said. “He is a leader. He’s going to do a lot
for us.”
Whatton will be a tight end and H-back on
offense and will once again look to wreak
havoc at defensive end for Elizabeth Forward,
which moves into the new-look Class 3A Interstate
Conference after finishing 7-3 (6-3 Big
East) and falling to Aliquippa in the playoffs.
The Warriors led the Big East in defensive
points allowed at just 12.3 a game. They posted
two shutouts and allowed single digits in
two other games.
Whatton had 69 tackles, 29 for loss, plus
12 sacks, five blocked punts and five forced
fumbles.
“This is year six for me and I have always
preached that we play fast and physical,”
Collodi said. “That’s the way it’s been. I’m a
defensive-minded coach; that’s what I played
in college (at Muskingum). My coaches joke
with me and say I favor the defense.”
Senior Evan Lewis returns to the backfield
and will be a fourth-year starter. Collodi calls
him the quarterback of the defense.
Senior Nico Mrvos will again handle the
quarterback duties after playing eight games
under center as a junior and throwing for 575
yards while also leading the team in rushing
with 497 yards. He is expected to draw some
college attention as well.
“Nico is electric … so athletic,” Collodi
said.
Lewis also played quarterback last year
and threw for 334 yards while rushing for
415 and six touchdowns.
Another up-and-coming talent is sophomore
Zach Boyd, a sophomore who intercepted
five passes and returned two for
touchdowns as a freshman.
A pair of linemen to keep an eye on are
junior Nick Murphy (6-3, 280) and senior
Jared Prah.
Collodi said Kyle Flournoy is another
candidate to carry the ball and share attempts
with Lewis.
Junior Davontay Brownfield returns at linebacker
after making a team-high 92 tackles.
Mrvos also intercepted five passes in the
secondary.
The coach would not commit to an offensive
take for the Warriors — run over pass.
“We’re going to try to be balanced,” he said.
Kicker and punter Andrew Smith, one of the
better legs in Class 3A, will be a senior and a
valuable weapon.
“He’s a four-year starter,” Collodi said. “I
hate to see him go. We put a lot of emphasis on
special teams. A lot of coaches take that part of
the game for granted.”
“He is going
to get so
much
attention on
both sides of
the football.”
MIKE COLLODI
EF COACH ON
CHASE WHATTON