By BOB MILLER
Daily Herald Sports Editor
— Bellwood-Antis jumped out to a 2-0 first-quarter lead against Moshannon Joint High School on September 15, 1951, on the way to a 40-0 triumph.
— Running from a halfback slot in the Blue Devils offense, Don Roth scored three touchdowns and figured in two more scores for Bellwood-Antis.
— Roth fielded the opening kickoff and sprinted all the way to the MJ-18 to begin the contest. Three carries later, all by Roth, Bellwood-Antis had their first touchdown.
— The Blue Devils got the ball back quickly when John Rutledge intercepted a Moshannon pass on the Green Raiders first series, returning it to the Moshannon-24. Roth took just one play this time, smacking off tackle for the 24-yard TD.
— The B-A defense limited Moshannon Joint to just 83 yards total offense and recovered a pair of MJ fumbles, in addition to the pick by Rutledge. One of those fumbles occurred at the Moshannon Joint-15. Again, it took Roth just one play for the score.
— The fourth TD came in the second quarter, when Roth fired a 20-yard strike to senior left end Don Garman for a TD. Garman and Roth combined again for a 65-yard gain before Wayne Corey bulled over for a short-range TD. The final score came when freshman Albert “Chub” Dillen circled left end in the fourth quarter for the sixth and final TD. Pat Benedetto kicked four extra points to round out the scoring for head coach Earl Strohm and assistant Wally Fields.
— Bellwood-Antis snapped a 12-game losing streak on September 15, 1961 with a stunning 21-7 upset of Cresson High School at Bellwood Memorial Stadium for second-year head coach Chet Dillen and assistant Bob Fowler. Before the game, many people probably thought Cresson would have as easy a time as their 41-0 victory last year.
— Midway through the opening quarter, Blue Devil defensive lineman Ed Heuston fell on a Cresson fumble at the Indians-40. Four plays later, just after the first quarter ended, Rick Benner found senior halfback Fred Svoboda all alone for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Johnny Moffa rushed for the extra point and a 7-0 start for B-A.
— Led by the diminutive Moffa at 126 pounds, who would become the first Blue Devil to rush for 1,000 yards that surviving records can document, Bellwood-Antis took the second half kick and marched for another score.
— Moffa tallied the touchdown on an eight-yard run in addition to a key 20-yard scamper earlier in the drive and then ran the PAT in as well.
— Cresson came back after the Blue Devils’ second score with a TD and extra point to slice the B-A lead in half, 14-7.
— The Indians then kicked off, with Benner gathering in the pigskin at the BA-15 and promptly racing 85 yards for an insurance score for the Blue Devils. Moffa rushed for his third extra point of the game.
— Moffa rushed 23 times for 110 yards and Benner had 11 carries for 38 yards. The TD toss to the fleet-footed Svoboda was the only completion of four pass attempts on the evening.
— After losing his first 12 decisions as a head coach at Bellwood-Antis, Dillen would then compile a 59-25-3 record for the remainder of his career at Bellwood. Moffa rushed 235 times in 1961 for 1,177 yards and led the Blue Devils in scoring with 16 TDs and 13 extra points for a total of 109 points.
— On September 15, 2000 at Bellwood Memorial Stadium, the Blue Devils smashed Glendale 42-0 for their second shutout win of the year. B-A had white-washed Tyrone 19-0 in the season opener for both teams and then humbled Penns Valley 57-14 in week two.
— The Blue Devils dashed out to a 22-0 first-quarter lead for head coach John Hayes. Bellwood-Antis, a team known under coach Hayes for their smash-mouth-run-the-football-at-all-times-except-third-and-long, actually scored twice on passes and once on special teams against the Vikings.
— After taking the kick to begin the game, Bellwood-Antis struck quickly. Fullback Dave Miller burst over the middle, broke several tackles and scampered 60 yards for the first score, and brother Chris Miller booted the PAT with just under a minute played.
— The B-A defense, which would hold Glendale to just 48 yards rushing and 34 passing, forced a punt after yielding just two yards on three plays. Tyson Weiand turned the punt into gold, sprinting 64 yards for a TD. When the snap on the PAT try was high, holder Matt Garner ran the ball around left end for the two points and a 15-0 advantage.
— A series later, Garner carried three times for 21 yards from his tailback position, and Miller grabbed a pass from junior quarterback Chuck Benton for 15 more. Garner went over the right side behind B-A linemen Roger Hamer and Todd McCartney for 23 yards and the TD. Chris Miller’s PAT kick gave the Blue Devils a 22-0 lead.
— In the second quarter, Bellwood-Antis put two more TDs on the scoreboard. First the B-A defense got the ball following a Tom Kovac quarterback sack and Glendale penalty. Dave Miller bulled through the line and raced 42 yards for a TD. Then, Benton threw a 30-yard completion to Garner and later in the same series hit Troy Beaver with an 11-yard pass for the touchdown.
— The final score came in the third quarter. After two rushes gained nothing, Benton connected with Weiand for a 30-yard gain and Garner ran 27 yards for the TD. Chris Miller completed the scoring with his fourth PAT boot of the evening. Garner had nine carries for 96 yards, D. Miller carried eight times for 86 yards and Benton completed six of nine passes for 120 yards.
Comments