The Bellwood-Antis football team was plagued by uncharacteristic mistakes that may have cost them the game Friday in Roaring Spring against Central.
But the Dragons also made some plays, and none were bigger than a decision to go for broke with time winding down.
Typically, when games are close, they can come down to a play of inches. With Central up 28-26 with less than 2 minutes left, they had the ball on a 3rd and 7. Central decided to take the risk of throwing the ball. If the pass is incomplete, the clock stops, and Bellwood gets one last chance to go down the field and score. If the pass is complete, Central gets the first down and they will be able to run the clock down.
Quarterback Jesse Muthler dropped back and fired a quick pass to his receiver Bentley Dickson. Junior defensive back Brady Crist sprinted towards the ball, with nothing but open field leading him to the end zone. Everyone in the crowd jumped up thinking that Crist’s interception attempt was successful and that he was running towards the goal line with the ball. However, that excitement in the crowd died down once they realized that Crist was just a split second too late, and Dickson had caught the ball for the go-ahead first down.
Thanks to that play, Central was able to take down the Blue Devils 28-26.
Despite the 2-point loss for Bellwood, the game did not go back and forth as the score may have appeared. Early in the game, Bellwood had thrown 2 pick-sixes, fumbled, and gave up a touchdown, which gave Central an early 21-0 lead. Despite the early mistakes Bellwood had made, they really responded well, slowly bringing the score to a closer and closer range. Eventually, it got to a point where the crowd realized that the game wasn’t over just yet.
"I'm really happy with how we responded, usually when you're down 21-6 you usually see a lot of heads start going down, but our guys fought the whole time, we went the whole 15 rounds, Central just got a couple more hits in," said Coach Nick Lovrich.
Key contributors to the game were Bradyn Partner, Chase Plummer, Alex McCartney, Ethan Shawley, and Brady Crist. Partner went 9-for-17 for 71 yards and a touchdown and killed the dragons on the ground, rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown. Plummer rushed for 39 yards and a another score.
Shawley caught 4 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown and McCartney was the Devils’ top runner, rushing for 131 yards, a touchdown. He even managed to get a sack on Central’s quarterback Jesse Muthler.
Brady Crist showed heart the whole game, getting 2 solo tackles, 2 assisted tackles, and 2 passes defended, while just missing a game-changing interception.
"I thought Brady had a great game, when he went in they kind of picked on him a little, but he held his own. He had a lot of great plays on defense, and I thought he just had a very good performance," Coach Lovrich said.
The Blue Devils will look to get back on track this Friday in the Backyard Brawl against the Tyrone Golden Eagles.
"I think this game will serve as a wake-up call for us when we play good teams," said senior Ethan Shawley. "It could help motivate us to play better against Tyrone."