High school football: Elyria Catholic has that rundown feeling after giving up 515 yards on the ground in loss to Valley Forge

PARMA — Elyria Catholic had no answer for Valley Forge's rushing attack Thursday night. The Patriots used seven running backs to pile up 515 yards on 39 carries with two of the backs eclipsing the 100-yard mark in handing the Panthers a 55-21 loss in Great Lakes Conference play. "This was a pretty rough one," said Hayden Gerhart, a starter on the offensive and defensive lines for the Panthers. "We'll probably bounce back from it. They have a pretty good offense, the Wing-T, we were trying to fill it, but we couldn't make it there. We just have to practice hard and bounce back." Valley Forge (3-1, 3-1 GLC) only attempted two passes, completing one for 8 yards, with its running attack in full force. Trell Marks led the way with 240 yards on 13 carries and four touchdowns, including runs of 88 and 54 yards. Eddie Starks added 167 yards on 14 carries, scoring from 62 yards out on Valley Forge's final offensive snap of the game. Antwan Torres also had a 42-yard touchdown run. He and Julius Sebille finished with 44 yards rushing each. Elyria Catholic (3-2, 3-1) finished with 92 yards rushing. Levi Ellis rushed for 114 yards, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion on 30 carries, but his night was offset by 56 yards of losses, most of that coming on the five sacks of Steven Navalinsky took. "They brought a lot of pressure when they were blitzing seven guys," EC coach Brian Fox said. "We had things we had to do protection-wise that we weren't good enough at, and that's something we've got to work on. But at the end of the day we were just holding onto the ball a little longer than we were going to be able to. We just have to get the ball out quicker and win our matchups quicker." Ellis also ran into some tough downs, getting tackled for a loss seven times for 30 yards. Valley Forge wasted no time capitalizing on good field position as its first drive was set up by a fumble on EC's opening play. Anthony Janowksi gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead with a 2-yard run four players later. The Patriots started their first three drives in EC territory in jumping out to a 14-0 lead. The Panthers offense looked its best on its fifth drive, which began at the Valley Forge 37 after a fumble. Seven plays later, Navalinsky found Jaret Frantz for a 12-yard touchdown. The Panthers got some help, too, when the Patriots handed them a first down by jumping offsides on third-and-4. If there was one blemish for the Patriots, it was in the penalty department, as they committed 12 for 105 yards, four of them 15-yard fouls. The teams combined for nine fumbles, six by Elyria Catholic. The Panthers lost two fumbles and threw an interception while the Patriots had just one turnover. "We allowed (the rain) to be too big of a factor," Fox said. "I know they did, too, but we didn't do a good enough job. It went both ways and they clearly took advantage of it better." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeneyCT on Twitter. Valley Forge 55, Elyria Catholic 21 Elyria Catholic &emsp;&emsp;0 13 0 7 — 21 Valley Forge &emsp;&emsp;14 7 13 21 — 55 Scoring VF — Anthony Janowksi, 2 run (Nick Marchese kick) VF — Trell Marks, 27 run (Marchese kick) EC — Jaret Frantz, 12 pass from Steven Navalinsky (Ian Woodyard kick) VF — Marks, 4 run (Marchese kick) EC — Levi Ellis, 5 run (kick failed) VF — Eddie Starks, 28 run (kick failed) VF — Marks, 54 run (Marchese kick) VF — Marks, 88 run (Marchese kick) EC — Alex Carandang, 24 pass from Navalinsky (Ellis run) VF — Antwan Torres, 42 run (Marchese kick) VF — Starks, 62 run (Marchese kick) Team statistics &emsp;&emsp;EC &emsp;&emsp;VF First downs &emsp;&emsp;17 &emsp;&emsp;18 — by rushing &emsp;&emsp;9 &emsp;&emsp;16 — by passing &emsp;&emsp;5 &emsp;&emsp;2 — by penalty &emsp;&emsp;3 &emsp;&emsp;0 Yards rushing &emsp;&emsp;92 &emsp;&emsp;515 Yards passing &emsp;&emsp;150 &emsp;&emsp;8 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;242 &emsp;&emsp;523 Passes att./comp. 22/9 &emsp;&emsp;2/1 Intercepted by &emsp;&emsp;0 &emsp;&emsp;1 Fumbles/lost &emsp;&emsp;6/2 &emsp;&emsp;3/1 Penalties/yards &emsp;&emsp;5/65 &emsp;&emsp;12/105 Individual statistics RUSHING — (EC) Levi Ellis 30-114, Dominic Stevenson 1-7, Tavion Thomas 3-17, Brady Cook 1-(-8), Steven Navalinsky 5-(-48). (VF) Trell Marks 13-240, Eddie Starks 14-167, Julius Sebille 4-44, Antwan Torres 2-44, Anthony Janowski 3-15, Josh Engel 1-3, Zach Ansbro 2-2. PASSING — (EC) Navalinsky 9-22-150-2-1. (VF) Ansbro 0-1-0-0-0, Torres 1-1-8-0-0. RECEIVING — (EC) Jaret Frantz 4-67, Alex Carandang 3-47, Jack Kenneally 1-27, Ellis 1-9. (VF) Marks 1-8.