Long weekend not a bother for Ridge
By John Dixon
For the Mirror
BELLEFONTE –Apparently the two days off due to heavy rain in central Pennsylvania wasn’t in Chestnut Ridge’s favor as the Lions journeyed over the mountains to face Bellefonte in a game that nearly got away for the visitors.
The Lions’ defense came through in the end, however, as Chestnut Ridge managed to hold on for a hard-fought 30-22 win at Bellefonte’s Rodgers Stadium.
“We lost our concentration there for a while,” quipped Chestnut Ridge’s coach Max Shoemaker of Bellefonte’s second-half comeback effort when the Red Raiders outscored the Lions 21-7.
“We lacked the intensity that we needed to win the game, and that was due to the not playing Friday. We weren’t really ready the first half,” added Shoemaker. “We did managed to settle down and were able to capitalized on Bellefonte mistakes that enabled us to take a 23-0 halftime lead.”
On the Red Raiders first possession following a Lions’ punt, Bellefonte made a pair of mistakes that enabled the Lions field position. The Red Raiders were called for offsides once and motion twice forcing a Bellefonte punt that was poorly managed due to a bad snap that gave the Lions the ball at the Bellefonte’s 15 yard line.
Four plays later junior Noah Dillow bulled into the end zone from a yard out for the touchdown. Nicholas Knoster’s conversion gave Chestnut Ridge a 7-0 lead 3:26 to play in the first period.
Bellefonte managed to run seven plays and get deep into Chestnut Ridge territory only to have the Lions’ Harbaugh Seth grab an interception to end the Red Raiders threath.
Following an exchange of punts, the Lions marched only 36 yards before ending the drive with Knoster booting a 32-yard field goal for a 10-0 Chestnut Ridge lead.
The Red Raiders went four and out late in the second period and the Lions responded with a gut-wrenching punch that gave Chestnut Ridge a 23-0 halftime lead. Bellefonte’s punt to Dull, who wasn’t Friday evening at Rodgers Stadium, at the Lions 30 was returned 70 yards for a touchdown an a big halftime lead.
“We made to many early mistakes,” stated Bellefonte’s coach Shanon Manning. “They took us to school on a couple of plays and we turned around and shot ourselves in the foot. We had a personal foul that cost us and those are the kind of mistakes we haven’t been making and those kind of mistakes really hurt in this game.
“There is no excuses for the way we played in this game,” added Manning. “We need to clean up our mistakes. We had a turnover inside the 10-yard line and we had a wide-open throw for a would-be score that would have made it a 23-20 game.
“But we played hard but give Chestnut Ridge credit, they make the plays and did a great job. I guess we just weren’t ready after not playing Friday and that’s on me. Right now we have a sickly feeling and we will improve with effort.”
The Red Raiders ended the shutout on the opening drive of the second half going 93 yards in nine plays capped by Tyler Kreger’s 5-yard run. Kreger ran the ball three times for 41 yards, the last carry for five yards and a touchdown in a 9-play, 62-yard drive.
Chestnut Ridge hosts Tyrone this Friday night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Chestnut Ridge 7 16 0 7 — 30
Bellefonte 0 0 7 15 — 22
First quarter
CR — Dillow 1 run (Knoster kick), 3:26.
Second quarter
CR — Knoster 32 FG 3:56.
CR – Dull 70 punt return (kick failed), 3:56.
CR – Hauck 15 run (Knoster kick), :44.
Third quarter
B – Kreger 5 run (Persiko kick), 8:01.
Fourth quarter
CR – Dull 24 pass from Hauck (Knoster kick), 11:49.
B – Danneker blocked punt 10 return (kick failed), 5:49
B – Persiko 25 field goal, 3:59.
B – Fortney 60 pass from Kreger (kick failed), 1:08
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Chestnut Ridge–McCoy 2-2, Hauck 15-87, Dillow 10-26, Dull 4-10, McGill 1-5, Team 2-2. Bellefonte–Kreger 13-52, Funk 5-32, Danneker 2-10, Kutches 1-0, Lipscomb 4-30, Gardner 3-3, Deitrich 1-25.
PASSING: Chestnut Ridge–Hauck 10-13-0-113. Bellefonte– Gardner 3-9-2-18; Kreger 1-5-0-7.
RECEIVING: Chestnut Ridge–McCoy 1-3, Dull 6-58, Crocker 2-39, McGill 1-13. Bellefonte–Fortney 2-14, Deitrich 1-4, Lipscomb 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS: Chestnut Ridge–Seth, Weaver. Bellefonte– None.
TEAM STATISTICS CR B
First downs 13 13
Rushes-yards 34-132 30-182
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 10-13-0 5-14-2
Yards passing 113 25
Total yards 245 207
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-50 6-60
Punts-avg. 3-44.0 5-40.0
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