Community pride evident at Elizabeth Forward

By Jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

To get a sense of what high school football means to communities within the Mon Valley, all you had to do was be on the field at North Allegheny following last week’s WPIAL Class 3A championship game.

Elizabeth Forward had just suffered a 35-0 loss to Central Valley and there was evident heartbreak along its sideline.

The players gathered in their usual postgame huddle as tears flowed and season-ending embraces were shared. Then, Warriors head coach Mike Collodi stood in front of his group and, albeit disappointed, expressed how proud he was of their efforts.

As Collodi spoke and the Warriors reflected on the tough end to their season, I couldn’t help but notice the amount of people – friends, family members, faculty members and residents in the community – who elected to stay and embrace the team.

They were the same people who supported the program through an undefeated regular season, an outright Interstate Conference title, the end to a 20-year playoff losing streak and a first WPIAL championship game appearance in program history.

What made it even more remarkable, though, was the fact that they all stayed on the field with the team long after the celebration on the Central Valley sideline had come to an end.

That is how much football means to communities in our area, especially one that hadn’t seen its program ever play for a WPIAL championship.

I could say that I was surprised by it all, but I wasn’t.

The support is nothing new to the football program at EF.

All season long, fans did everything they could to watch games at Warrior Stadium, whether it was in the stands or through the fence along Weigles Hill Road.

Local fire departments showed their community spirit in support of the Warriors, while EF’s administration, local businesses and residents in the community put their pride on display as well.

In recent weeks, former EF players, including Zach Benedek, Gavin Martik, Steve Mayernik and AJ Ackerman, shared videos explaining what EF’s first title shot meant to them.

And we can’t forget the pregame send-off the Warriors received hours before the big game against Central Valley. Fans flooded the parking lot at the high school last week to show the players and coaches just how proud they were of their hard work and efforts during an unpredictable season.

The support doesn’t go unnoticed by those within the program.

Collodi alluded to it during his appearance on a recent episode of the Valley Sports Guys Podcast.

“I couldn’t ask for any better place to be. It’s amazing to see the way the stadium looked six seasons ago to the way it looks now,” Collodi said. “The atmosphere has been amazing. I’m so happy for the kids to experience this and I’m so happy the community has been able to be a part of this.”

EF was one of three local teams to play in a WPIAL championship game this year, but I don’t think there was a community or a group that appreciated the opportunity more.

The support shown toward Collodi and his bunch seemed to ease the heartbreak associated with Friday’s loss and, because of that,  I’m not entirely convinced Elizabeth Forward left North Allegheny with a defeat under its belt.

Yes, according to the scoreboard, the Warriors were on the losing end of a lopsided shutout.

But based on the public embrace I witnessed following the big game, I’d say EF, along with its community-wide support system, still won in a big way.