Hornets give unbeaten Devils a scare

ALEXANDRIA - Just as Bellwood-Antis began to see its undefeated season slipping away, Nate Plummer reached into the air amidst a group of Blue Devil and Juniata Valley players and grasped an interception that sealed a 24-20 victory over the Green Hornets Friday at A.R. Simkins Field.

"I was just hoping for better results than the last one," said Plummer, who dropped an interception one drive earlier. "The ball made it into my hands, and I just felt a sense of relief and went to the ground."

The interception ended what had been a back-and-forth battle between a pair of team used to high profile games between each other.

The Blue Devils entered the game 7-0, breezing through their competition since a season-opening win against Tyrone and many expected Bellwood to cruise right through 4-3 Juniata Valley.

Instead, the Blue Devils sputtered past what was nearly a roadblock.

Leading by four with a little less than 5 minutes remaining, Bellwood-Antis was forced to punt after Shawn McCrum stuffed Zach McCaulley behind the line of scrimmage on third down. The Green Hornets got the ball back at their own 12-yard line and drove to the Bellwood-Antis 46-yard line before running out of time and being forced into passing the ball.

Juniata Valley finished just 1-for-7 through the air and threw two interceptions, including the final pass of the game which found its way into Plummer's hands.

"You never know what would have happened [if Juniata Valley had more time]," Juniata Valley coach Mike Smith said. "We had to do something to try and get some field position in a hurry, so we had to pass.

"We're not a passing team as it is, and in these conditions it's even harder to pass. It was either that or just run the clock out by running the ball."

Running the ball was something neither team had much difficulty doing. The Green Hornets finished with 180 yards on the ground, led by Aaron Wagner, who rushed for 100 yards on 25 carries.

Not to be outdone, the Blue Devils carried the ball 46 times for 233 yards. Zach McCaulley got the bulk of that yardage, rushing 34 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

"Juniata Valley has always presented some problems for us, and I can't say enough about their desire," Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes said. "I've got to give our kids a lot of credit too. They hung in there under very tough weather conditions.

"A win is a win. It wasn't as pretty as some people thought it might be, but like I said, those kids played their hearts out over there, and our kids answered the call when they had to."

For the second straight week, Bellwood-Antis found itself trailing early. Taylor Boyd, who also scored on a 25-yard touchdown run and caught a key 10-yard pass on Juniata Valley's last drive, blocked a Blue Devil punt. Nick Watson returned it to the Bellwood 11-yard line. Four plays later, Wagner found the end zone from 4 yards out to give the Green Hornets a lead.

"The blocked punt early on was exactly what they needed," Hayes said. "They got sky high, they got field positions and they got a score. Our kids were wondering what the heck was going on, but we were able to answer which was good."

It didn't take long for the Blue Devils to answer either. Buddy Shaw returned the kickoff to the Bellwood 48, and less than 3 minutes later, McCaulley ran in his first touchdown from 11 yards out.

The difference in the game turned out to be on extra-point conversions. Juniata Valley failed on its first attempt after a bad snap on an attempted kick, had a successful run on its second try and failed on a run after its third score. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were successful on their first attempt after a wild series of laterals ended with Nick DeGol finding Jared Minori in the end zone. On the second conversion, Plummer passed to Minori, and on the third, fullback Tyler Beech rumbled in.

"I thought this was definitely a moral victory," Smith said. "These kids understand that this is the closest anyone has played with Bellwood this year, and this gives the kids an idea that they can play with the top teams."

Juniata Valley finishes its regular season by hosting Williamsburg next Friday while Bellwood-Antis travels to Mount Union.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis8 8 8 0 - 24

Juniata Valley6 8 0 6 - 20

First quarter

JV-Wagner 4 run (kick failed), 5:13.

BA-Z. McCaulley 11 run (Minori pass from N. DeGol), 2:39.

Second quarter

BA-Z. McCaulley 1 run (Minori pass from Plummer), 8:33.

JV-Boyd 25 run (Wagner run), 4:59.

Third quarter

BA-Z. McCaulley 1 run (Beech), 6:14.

Fourth quarter

JV-Wagner 14 run (run failed), 11:54.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Bellwood-Antis-Z. McCaulley 34-181, Beech 4-24, N. DeGol 3-18, TEAM 2-(-2), Noye 1-12, Shaw 1-5, Plummer 1-(-5). Juniata Valley-Wagner 25-100, McCrum 8-45, Boyd 3-28, Harnish 1-7.

PASSING: Bellwood-Antis-Plummer 2-5-0-20. Juniata Valley-Harnish 1-4-0-10, Carper 0-3-2-0.

RECEIVING: Bellwood-Antis-N. DeGol 2-20. Juniata Valley-Boyd 1-10.

INTERCEPTIONS: Bellwood-Antis-Campbell, Plummer. Juniata Valley-None.

TEAM STATISTICSBAJV

First downs1511

Rushes-yards46-23332-180

Passing (comp.-att.-int.)2-5-01-7-2

Yards passing2010

Total yards253190

Fumbles-lost2-01-0

Penalties-yards5-356-59

Punts-avg.3-31.33-28