GAME THREE B-A Blue Devils: 33 Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs: 0 Friday, September 1,, 2008 • Memorial Field • Bellwood, Pennsylvania
By Bob Miller | Daily Herald Sports Editor
— Bellwood-Antis had a first half that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy at Bellwood Memorial Stadium on Friday night. The Blue Devils fumbled the ball seven times and committed three penalties. However employing a stiff defense, which allowed with the exception of three plays just six yards total offense, Bellwood-Antis took a 13-0 lead into the locker room at the half over Claysburg-Kimmel. — Bellwood-Antis then scored the first three times they had the ball on offense in the third quarter to pound out a 33-0 win over the Bulldogs. — “In the first half, we were careless, lost a touchdown we should have had, made a lot of mental errors, lining up in the wrong formation, dropping the ball. It was kind of a comedy of errors,” said Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes. “I was really disappointed, because I thought we would come out and play better.” — Bellwood-Antis lost the TD Hayes was referring to on the Blue Devils first offensive series. Senior quarterback Nate Gray found slotback Nick DeGol behind the Claysburg secondary. It appeared DeGol would score, but when hit at the goal line, fumbled into and out of the end zone, resulting in a touchback with the ball placed at the CK-20, with a first down for the Bulldogs. — B-A forced a three and out and Claysburg sophomore Jordan LeMaster booted a 32-yard punt, which Buddy Shaw returned 27 yards to the CK-24. Zach McCaulley, who led all runners with 92 yards on 19 carries, had his number called on three straight plays, including the three-yard TD. Tyler Geis kicked the first of three extra points to give Bellwood-Antis a 7-0 lead with 5:47 left in the opening quarter. — One series later, Shaw again put the Blue Devils on a short field with a 24-yard punt return and B-A marched 46 yards for a score. Jimmy Watters jump-started the drive with an 11-yard burst up the middle. McCaulley carried five times for 35 yards and Gray connected with Geis for a 12-yard TD pass on a fourth down play and a 13-0 lead at the half. — Claysburg-Kimmel senior quarterback tried to get things started with consecutive first downs, first hitting Matt Dehoff on a 35-yard pass play, then going up the middle on a quarterback keeper for 15 more on the next play. The Bellwood-Antis defense stopped the Bulldogs when Geis sacked Blair for a 12-yard loss on a third down and long. — Seth Dellinger recovered one of the B-A fumbles at the BA-39 and Tyler Walter dashed for 11 yards on the first call but Claysburg stalled when, on successive plays, the B-A defense pushed the Bulldogs back. First Grant Martin limited Walter to one yard, Jeff Novak stopped Daniel Knott for a three-yard loss and finally Martin sacked Blair for an eight-yard loss. — “In the second half, we kind of went back to some of the basic things and ran right at them, doing what is our strength,” said Hayes. “It was a good game to win, we played better in the second half. That gives you a little better feeling. If we had won the way we played the first half, I wouldn’t feel like a win right now.” — The Blue Devils struck paydirt three times in the third quarter and then for much of the fourth stanza, turned the football over to the B-A reserves. — Beginning from inside Claysburg-Kimmel territory on all three scoring drives, Bellwood-Antis came out with a vengeance. Taking the second half kick, which McCaulley returned 30 yards, the Blue Devils quickly put the ball in the end zone. McCaulley picked up 10 on the first play, but was injured. His replacement, sophomore tailback Travis Taylor, made the most of his opportunity racing 34 yards on the first play and adding the five-yard touchdown a play later. Geis kicked the PAT with 11:00 to play in the third quarter. — One series later, Bellwood-Antis took over at the CK-29. Gray scrambled around the left side for 18 yards to move the sticks for a first down and McCaulley burst the final yard for the score. — Finally, Adam Danfelt sacked Blair on third and 10, and Bellwood-Antis got the ball at the CK-30. Gray completed an 11-yard pass to Jason Miller, Tim Collier scooted 13 yards and the Blue Devils overcame a 10-yard penalty when Miller slipped in from three yards out for the TD. Geis added the final point of the game on the PAT kick. — Claysburg-Kimmel mounted their longest and most successful drive of the game at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, keeping the ball for a dozen plays, marching from their own 20 to the Bellwood-Antis-34, before stalling on downs. Daniel Knott picked up 11 yards on the second play of the fourth quarter, but limped over to the sideline following the play and never returned. Knott had rushed for 257 yards coming in to the game, but was held to just seven yards on 10 carries.
BLUE DEVIL NOTES: The 1988 Bellwood-Antis football team was honored at halftime. The ’88 team set the school record for wins (13-1) and set several other marks, both individually and team, some of which are still at the top of the list.
