GAME SIX B-A Blue Devils: 44 Moshannon Valley Black Knights: 0 Friday,October 3, 2008 • Memorial Field • Bellwood , Pennsylvania
By Bob Miller | Daily Herald Sports Editor
— While the Bellwood-Antis offense was a little sluggish at the start of the game on Friday night at Bellwood Memorial Stadium, the Blue Devil defense, lines on both sides of the ball, and special teams turned in a workmanlike job from the start in a 44-0 B-A victory over previously undefeated Moshannon Valley. — “Everything started, I guess, from the special teams, kickoff team and the defense. We were fortunate to have good field position for the start of our offensive drives,” said Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes. “I think we were on their (Moshannon Valley) side of the 50 or close to it numerous times. We had some blocking concerns early, they had a lot of people at the line of scrimmage, and we had some confusion. It took a little bit of jabbing, trying to figure out whether to go weak or strong. Finally, things got a little better as the game wore on.” — Bellwood-Antis did put a score on the board on Homecoming Night midway through the opening quarter when Tim Collier capped a 10-play drive going around the left side for a four-yard touchdown and Tyler Geis booted the PAT. Nate Gray ran nine yards to pick up one first down and connected on a 12-yard pass play to Geis to move the sticks for another first down to key the march. — Moshannon Valley, which had only four first downs in the game, got one on a 12-yard scramble by quarterback Tyler Neff on the first play of the next series, but ended up losing the ball three plays later when Zach McCaulley intercepted Neff. The two teams exchanged punts before Bellwood-Antis took over at the MV-44 and drove to the Knights-three yard line. Geis kicked a 19-yard field goal to give B-A a 10-0 lead with just under seven minutes in the first half. McCaulley had a gain of 12 yards and Gray completed a 14-yard toss to Geis to highlight the drive. — Bellwood-Antis then scored touchdowns on their next two series to go into the halftime intermission with a 24-0 advantage. First, McCaulley went over the left side and got loose for a 16-yard pickup, then went the same way for 32 yards before finishing the drive with a one-yard blast for the TD. Geis added the PAT from placement. — “Anytime you get behind a district champion caliber team, it is tough,” said Moshannon Valley coach Murray Fetzer. “This was a true test to see if we could play on the field with these guys (Bellwood-Antis). Now the question is, how good can we get over the next three weeks. We have to get better so we can compete at that level. The kids know they got beat tonight by a better team. What’s more important to me is where are we going to be. In three weeks are we able to get better.” — Finally, the Blue Devil defense tipped a Nick Gmerek pass at the line, and Jimmy Watters intercepted it. Gmerek was in at quarterback because Neff was shaken up by the relentless Blue Devil pass rush and never returned to the game. It took just two plays for the score. On the first call, Collier scooted for 12 yards. Then Gray combined with DeGol on a 23-yard TD pass. Geis kicked the extra point, the ball bounding off the right upright and through for the PAT. — Bellwood-Antis got a little careless on two of their first three series in the third quarter losing a fumble and an interception, but scored on the second. Watters recovered a Mo Valley fumble at the 50. Randy Pfahler, back in action for the first time in four weeks, carried four times for 41 yards, including the 21-yard TD. Geis’s PAT try was blocked. Jason Miller intercepted a pass to get the ball back for B-A, but Gray returned the favor throwing his first pick since the Tyrone game. — Moshannon Valley ran one play and fumbled, with Grant Martin recovering for the Blue Devils at the MV-22. Pfahler ran the ball twice for 15 yards and Watters twice for nine before Collier swept left end for a 10-yard TD. Geis’s PAT kick gave the Blue Devils a 37-0 cushion and the score kicked in the Mercy Rule clock for the rest of the game at the 2:02 mark of the third quarter. — The B-A reserves added one final score when Danny Noye went around left end for a 16-yard score with just 36 seconds remaining in the game. Nate Plummer kicked the extra point. — “Defensively we had good containment, good pressure all night long, got some picks, and had a couple tipped passes. They had to throw over our line,” said Hayes. “The kids get excited about defense, they are really playing with a lot of enthusiasm there. Other than one missed tackle on that short pass, Moshannon Valley didn’t have too many big plays. Defensively, that is always your goal—limit the big plays and make them work for everything. We did that tonight. All aspects looked good, but defense made most of it.”
BLUE DEVIL NOTES: Ashley Lechner was crowned 2008 Bellwood-Antis Homecoming Queen at halftime by 2007 Queen Kasey Kowalski… McCaulley rushed 15 times for 116 yards… B-A had four interceptions, one each by McCaulley, Watters, Jason Miller and DeGol, and two fumble recoveries, one each by Watters and Grant Martin… The B-A defense has allowed just a total of 155 yards rushing and 153 passing in their last four wins, all shutouts, while the Blue Devil offense has outscored their opponents 217-0 and rushed for 1,263 yards over the past 16 quarters.
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