By BOB MILLER
Daily Herald Sports Editor
— Bellwood-Antis combined big plays with a very stingy defensive effort to crunch Williamsburg 46-0 on September 24, 1999.
— Junior fullback Dave Miller led all rushers with 169 yards on 13 carries and tailback Matt Garner added 76 yards on 15 carries for the Blue Devils and each scored three touchdowns.
— Chris Miller, Brad Kirk, Andy Parks and Steve Cogan led the way for the defense, which held the Blue Pirates to just one first down and only 20 yards total offense.
— The Blue Devils started slowly on their first series on offense, but quarterback Travis Martin tossed a 15-yard connection to tight end Cogan on a third down-and-14 play to move the sticks for a first down and Chris Miller followed with runs of 20 and 16, the second scamper for the TD.
— Williamsburg completed their only pass of the game later in the first quarter, but it was intercepted by junior safety Jeff Hostler, who returned the pick 26 yards across midfield to the W-43.
— Garner gobbled up 14 yards on the first play following the interception, Miller pounded the middle for 23 more and Garner capped the quick march with a six-yard TD.
— One series later, Miller slammed over the left side for 15 yards and wingback Joel Focht added seven more. The Martin to Cogan tandem teamed up for a pass completion of 22 yards and Miller took it from there with a pair of three-yard gains, the second for the score. Dave’s twin brother Chris, booted the PAT for a 19-0 lead.
— Chris Miller smothered the Williamsburg quarterback for two sacks in a row totaling 25 yards in losses, and on fourth down the snap from center sailed over the Pirate punter and out of the end zone for a B-A safety.
— Garner carried three times for 16 yards and completed the first-half fireworks with a 10-yard touchdown and Critter added his second PAT kick.
— B-A scored twice in the third quarter and once in the fourth, to get plenty of playing time for the reserves.
— Dave Miller cruised 36 yards for his third TD on the first series and after he dashed 28 yards on his final carry of the night, a series later, Garner capped the march with his second 10-yard TD and third overall of the game.
— Tyson Weiand put the final score of the night in the end zone on a five-yard pop after B-A took over at the W-34. Weiand began the march by going 10 yards, Eric Kustaborder carried twice for 13 yards and Duane Ehredt had his number called twice for six tough yards.
— Facing an undefeated opponent for the third straight week, Bellwood-Antis used the old adage “The third time is the charm,” on September 24, 1982. The Blue Devils toppled Williamsburg from the ranks of the undefeated 19-8 to even their record at 2-2 for head coach John Hayes.
— The Blue Devil defense held Williamsburg, which had scored 72 points in their first three games to just a single fourth-quarter score with B-A holding a 19-0 advantage. Along the way, Bellwood-Antis intercepted four Pirate passes and kept constant pressure on the quarterback.
— Dave Buck recovered a fumble to end a promising Williamsburg drive early and Rick Paradis stopped the Pirates with the first pick on Williamsburg’s first two offensive tries.
— Following the interception at the W-26, Jerry Potts plunged the final yard for a TD and Tim KovacÕs perfect placement gave B-A a 7-0 lead.
— Williamsburg returned a punt 60 yards with B-A defensive stalwart Joe Keller making a TD-saving tackle. Keller then sacked the Blue Pirate runner for a loss of four yards and Paradis knocked down an apparent fourth-down catch to stop the march short without any points.
— On the following possession, B-A quarterback Bob Gill scored on a 50-yard sneak.
— Bill Capouillez intercepted a pair of Williamsburg passes near the end of the half within the span of a few plays to thwart the Pirates passing attack.
— In the fourth quarter, Paradis’ second interception set up the final Blue Devil score. Steve Miller capped the 56-yard march by taking a screen pass on a fourth down-and-six pass from Gill for 12 yards and the touchdown.
— Bellwood-Antis junior halfback Robin Houser romped for 136 yards on 21 carries and the B-A defense held West Branch’s ground attack to a paltry 10 net yards on September 24, 1971 in winning the Blue Devils first game of the year 20-12, for coach Mike Hoffer.
— It wasn’t an easy win for the Blue Devils, who got outscored 74-7 in season-opening losses to Tyrone and Penn Cambria. Visiting West Branch filled the Bellwood Memorial Stadium sky with 32 passes, completing 11 for 173 yards.
— The Warriors came back to tie the game at 6-6 and then again to draw to within 14-12 midway through the third quarter, before Bellwood-Antis finally pulled the game out of the fire with a late third-period score. B-A scored first when senior fullback Bob Garland smashed in from three yards out for the TD.
— Then following the second half kickoff, the Blue Devils struck quickly, when Houser exploded for a 62-yard touchdown jaunt and quarterback Jim Campbell passed to Denny Vandevander for the two-point conversion and a 14-6 advantage.
— West Branch hit on a big play of their own, a 61-yard pass completion to come back to within two points, but Houser and Vandevander teamed up to stop West Branch’s attempt to tie the score with a two-point PAT of their own.
— The clincher came minutes later with Kenny Cassaday on the receiving end of a 10-yard scoring toss from Campbell, capping a 52-yard drive.
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