BELLWOOD - Southern Huntingdon came into Memorial Stadium hoping to upset Bellwood-Antis for the first time since coach Ryan Garlock could remember the teams playing.
It didn't take long for Garlock to figure out it wasn't going to happen. The Rockets fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and Travis Taylor capped a 38-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that started the Blue Devils' 47-10 romp.
Taylor finished the game with 214 yards on 18 carries and found the end zone three times.
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Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes discusses his team's win over Southern Huntington
"It's such a plus to get a turnover so early," Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes said. "The team who gives up the turnover is so deflated. To start in that situation is real tough for them.
"It was a big start for us, and it got things going. I thought we played pretty well in the first half and made some plays."
Those big plays weren't all from Taylor, though he did have a 73-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. The Blue Devils' quarterback, Luke Evans, showed an accurate arm, tossing for 126 yards on 8-for-11 passing.
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Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec
B-A’s Tyler Beech avoids Daniel Goshorn.
"Our receivers have matured over the years," Hayes said. "They have worked for three years, and we're comfortable now that whoever we throw the ball to is going to make a play with it.
"Luke has done a good job getting the ball to them and has made the plays. It's made our offense much better. We're not one dimensional, and it's a really good situation."
Though Southern Huntingdon allowed 372 total yards rushing, it was the passing yardage that had Garlock most upset after the game.
"We struggled hard against their passing game," Garlock said. "I don't think our defensive backs could cover my mother. We're bad. We're just bad in the secondary for some reason. We work on it every week, but for some reason we're just not good in the secondary."
After fumbling on its first possession, Southern Huntingdon drove 59 yards to the Bellwood-Antis 27, but Adam Davensizer intercepted a Daniel Goshorn pass in the end zone, and the Blue Devils drove 80 yards for a touchdown.
The Rockets got a 26-yard field goal from Lane Doyle but never got closer. Andrew DeGol ran for a 48-yard touchdown on his first carry of the night, and Taylor scored from 5 yards out just before the half to make the score 28-3.
"You need some big plays from time to time," Hayes said. "It's nice to be able to drive the ball play after play after play to wear down a defense, but chances are you are going to eventually make a mistake. So it's nice when you hit that home run.
"Andrew was fresh when he went in there, and he hit the hole quick."
The Rockets scored first in the second half when Goshorn connected with Anthony Marino on a 13-yard touchdown pass, but Bellwood scored three unanswered touchdowns to close the scoring, including Keith Shawley's fumble recovery in the end zone with 35 seconds left in the game.
"They kept ripping off a 40- or 60-yard run or pass play, and it's just very frustrating," Garlock said. "Sometimes we had guys in position, but we just missed the tackle. We'll try to fix that. We have to go back to work Monday and see what happens."
Game notes: Bellwood-Antis won its fourth straight after dropping its opener to Tyrone to improve to 4-1. ... Southern Huntingdon is now 3-2. ... Evans completed a pass to five different receivers. ... The Blue Devils had 20 first downs, 12 in the first half. ... Bellwood-Antis will host Moshannon Valley next Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Southern Huntingdon0 3 7 0 - 10
Bellwood-Antis7 21 7 12 - 47
First quarter
BA-Taylor 2 run (Campbell kick), 8:03.
Second quarter
BA-Beech 1 run (Campbell kick), 11:36.
SH-Doyle 26 FG, 6:37.
BA-DeGol 48 run (Campbell kick), 5:25.
BA-Taylor 5 run (Campbell kick), 0:59.
Third quarter
SH-Marino 13 pass from Goshorn (Doyle kick), 3:47.
BA-Taylor 73 run (Campbell kick), 2:13.
Fourth quarter
BA-DeGol 13 run (kick failed), 11:15.
BA-Shawley rec. fumble in end zone (kick failed), 0:35.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Southern Huntingdon-Goshorn 15-61, Reed 15-42, Hoover 3-7, Patterson 4-12, TEAM 1-(-1). Bellwood-Antis-Taylor 18-214, DeGol 3-72, Gray 4-52, Campbell 3-15, Beech 6-14, Shaw 2-1, Brunner 2-2, Noye 1-6, Evans 1-(-4).
PASSING: Southern Huntingdon-Goshorn 6-15-2-84, Reed 0-1-0-0. Bellwood-Antis-Evans 8-11-0-126.
RECEIVING: Southern Huntingdon-Marino 3-49, Dean 2-24, Reed 1-11. Bellwood-Antis-Davensizer 2-55, Minori 2-39, Shaw 1-17, Beech 1-12, Taylor 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS: Bellwood-Antis-Davensizer, Shaw.
TEAM STATISTICSSHBA
First downs920
Yards rushing38-12140-372
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)6-16-28-11-0
Yards passing84126
Total yards205456
Fumbles lost2-14-2
Penalties-yards2-155-45
Punts-avg.3-35.32-32
