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GAME FOUR
B-A Blue Devils: 26
Mount Union Trojans: 6
Thursday, September 18, 2003 • Bellwood-Antis Memorial Field • Bellwood, Pennsylvania
(Game Photos)

Blue Devils defeat Mount Union
with big second half

By BOB MILLER
Daily Herald Sports Editor

— The rain that preceded Hurricane Isabel fell for much of the ballgame at Bellwood Memorial Stadium on a rare Thursday night date. What hit Mount Union in the second half was what Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes called “enthusiasm.” The Blue Devils scored on three consecutive possessions to turn a close 7-0 game into a 26-0 runaway. Mount Union scored their only TD on a long run by junior tailback Trey Rogers with the B-A reserves in the game with under two minutes to go in the 26-6 Bellwood-Antis Homecoming win.
— B-A evens their record at 2-2, while Mount Union drops to 1-3. With the Blue Devil defense forcing Mount Union to punt on seven of their first eight offensive series and stopping the Trojans on downs near midfield on the other, the B-A offense pecked away, grinding out yardage and consuming time, even when they didn’t put the pigskin in the end zone.
— B-A punted on their first possession of the third quarter before getting going.
—“We talked about it (in the locker room at halftime),” said Coach Hayes. “We needed to be a little more energetic or enthusiastic. We were playing as if we were afraid to make a mistake. As a result, we were tentative, we weren’t as aggressive as we should have been. The idea was that we were going to run, to punch and jab and find a hole and we did. They stopped us sometimes, but we found some big plays. Derrick Hoffer made some big runs on third downs. Danny (Houser) got us some. Matt (Sneath) got us a big play up the middle.”
— The B-A defense forced a punt, which Shawn Weiand fielded and picked his way with the help of some teammates’ blocks for a 23-yard runback to set up the Blue Devils in great field position at the MU-38. Then after Dan Houser picked up 10 yards and Matt Sneath moved the sticks for a first down bulling five yards, Houser got clear down the right sideline, waited for a block from offensive lineman Derek Reimer, cut back to the left and raced untouched for a 25-yard TD. Troy Brunner’s PAT kick gave B-A a 14-0 advantage.
— On the next series for Bellwood-Antis, Sneath got loose up the middle for a big 39 yard scamper and Derrick Hoffer ran a counter over the left side for the six-yard TD.
— Hoffer intercepted a Trojan pass to stop Mount Union on the following series and returned the pick 14 yards into Trojan territory at the MU-42. Hoffer slanted off tackle on a counter to pick up 13 yards on a third and long situation for a key first down. Weiand then kept the ball on the option, rolling to his right and picking up 22 yards to move the sticks again. Houser, who led B-A with 95 yards on 22 carries, carried twice to cover the final six yards, including the one-yard TD.
— “The slippery field affected Danny tonight a bit,” said Hayes. “He’s a little better on a fast track. He’s more of a scat back than a power back, but he still made some big plays.”
— Bellwood-Antis moved the ball well in the first half, but was able to get just one score.
— The Blue Devils drove to the MU-10 on the first series of the game, with Sneath, who finished with 87 yards on 14 carries, getting three runs for 24 yards, a 16-yard gain for Houser and Weiand completing two passes to Hoffer for 15 more. Weiand was intercepted in the end zone by the Trojans’ Isaiah Helton to thwart the march.
— The second series for Bellwood-Antis found Houser running four times for 19 yards and two carries by Sneath for nine yards to move the ball to the MU-16. The drive stalled there and a 33-yard field goal attempt by sophomore troy Brunner was well short.
— B-A finally was able to put it all together to score with 1:49 left in the half to take the lead.
— The Blue Devils drove 69 yards in eight plays with Sneath blasting in for the one-yard TD and Brunner booting the PAT. Weiand, who completed 10 of 17 passes for 85 yards, connected with Sneath for 12 yards and senior tight end Matt Plummer for 10, and Houser scooted for 14 before Sneath put the ball at the one-yard line with a gain of seven, then added the six-pointer.
— The Bellwood-Antis defense limited Mount Union to 134 yards rushing and another 21 passing for just 155 yards total offense. Half of the Trojans rushing total came on one play when Rogers got to the corner and outran the B-A reserves for a 67-yard TD. Rogers finished with 116 yards on 24 carries, but had just 49 yards on his first 23 totes.
— “We’re trying to stay balanced and move the ball around,” explained Hayes. “We threw the ball maybe more than is our style in the first half. We thought we could and we are going to have to do that later on. It was nice to see the guys up front pick it up a little bit in the second half. We want to try to improve our game, get better every week and do what we practice. Trying all that stuff in the game is the only way we are going to develop confidence in doing them.”
— The members and coaches of the 2003 state championship Bellwood-Antis baseball team received their championship rings prior to the football game.
— During ceremonies at halftime, Johanna Seminario was crowned 2003 Homecoming Queen. Katie Cherry was the first runner-up and Liz Walker the second runner-up.
— Bellwood-Antis goes on the road for the next three games, after spending all of the first four weeks at home. Next Friday, the Blue Devils travel to Southern Huntingdon (2-1). The Rockets game at Williamsburg has been postponed to Monday night at 7 p.m.

Bellwood-Antis 26, Mount Union 6

Score by quarter:

Scoring summary:

Second Quarter
B-A: Sneath 1 run (Brunner kick) 1:49.

Third Quarter
B-A: Houser 25 run (Brunner kick) 1:14.

Fourth Quarter
B-A: Hoffer 6 run (kick blocked) 9:37.
B-A: Houser 1 run (kick failed) 3:39.
MU: T. Rogers 67 run (run failed) 3:21.

Team Statistics

Individual Statistics

Rushing:
B-A: Houser 22-95 (2 TDs), Sneath 14-87 (1TD), Weiand 3-28, Hoffer 2-19, M. Rogers 3-14, Harris 1-5, Tomchick 1-(-1).
MU: T. Rogers 24-116 (1 TD), Morgan 5-8, Helton 1-5, Kylor 1-3, McClain 3-2.
Passing:
B-A: Weiand 10-17, 85 yards, 0 TD, 1 Int, Hoffer 0-1, 0 yards, 0 TDs, 1 Int.
MU: Morgan 4-13, 21 yards, 0 TDs, 1 Int.
Receiving:
B-A: Hoffer 3-37, Sneath 3-24, Plummer 2-14, Geis 1-5, Houser 1-5.
MU: Helton 4-21.

Click here for Mount Union Snapshots (this is one large image that may take a moment to load)

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