Photo for the Mirror by Ed Lee Bishop Guilfoyle’s Ben McCloskey wraps up Chestnut Ridge’s Logan Pfister.

It was senior night, and what better night to play your best game of the season.

That’s what the Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic Marauders did Friday when they knocked off previously-unbeaten Chestnut Ridge, 12-0, in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game at Mansion Park.

“We felt like we’ve been playing better lately,” BG coach Justin Wheeler said, “but we hadn’t played our best game, and we challenged our guys.

“This time of the year has been our time, and we played with some emotion tonight, which we’ve been missing.”

Now 6-3 overall, BG closes its regular season next Friday at Bishop McCort and has put itself in position to finish in the top four in District 6 Class 1A. The top four teams will receive first-round byes.

Chestnut Ridge, which will compete in the District 5 playoffs, lost for the first time in nine games. The Lions host unbeaten Richland next Friday with the LHAC title at stake.

Ridge entered Friday’s game averaging 28.9 points a game but was shut out by an opportunistic Guilfoyle defense that forced six turnovers — four fumbles and two interceptions — while limiting the Lions to 219 total yards.

“Obviously, turnovers were the key,” Ridge veteran coach Max Shoemaker said. “We made repeated mistakes, and you can’t expect to win that way.

“We were thankful to be down only 10-zip at halftime,” he said.

Ridge turned the ball over four times on its first four possessions. The first one came on a mishandled punt which BG’s Caleb Trexler recovered at the Lion 15. Five plays later, Keegan Myrick scored from the 3 and Kolton McGhee added the PAT.

Early in the second quarter, BG’s Brady Bithell pounced on a Ridge fumble at the visitors’ 19 setting up a 24-yard field goal by West Virginia-bound kicker McGhee. That made it 10-0 at intermission.

“We had to win the second half,” Shoemaker offered, “but we turned the ball over a couple more times. We had three, four or five errant snaps, and we haven’t had that all year. It’s an issue we’ve got to address.

“Credit coach Wheeler and BG,” Shoemaker added. “They were the more hungry team tonight.”

The BG offense used a solid running game to chew up the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Although the Marauders didn’t score, they advanced to the CR 13 before turning the ball over on downs.

BG’s defense then pressured Ridge sophomore quarterback Logan Pfister into a fourth-quarter safety with C.J. Abraham making the tackle in the end zone with only 3:36 to play.

“We hadn’t played our best this season,” Abraham said, “and with it being senior night, we wanted it to happen.

“I knew it was a passing situation and I saw him roll to the right,” Abraham offered. “I went after him, was able to run by the fullback and made the tackle. It was big for us.”

Wheeler agreed.

“A.J. Abraham is one of the best kids I’ve ever been around,” Wheeler said. “His leadership, his commitment … everything. He’s team captain, a true leader. He’s the long snapper and never leaves the field.

“He’s an inspiration for the team and I was excited to see him make that big play (safety). It was a huge play when we needed it.”

The Marauders didn’t have much offense either, but the defense proved to be more than enough. Daniel Potopa had a pair of interceptions to lead the way.

“The last couple of games we didn’t come out with the intensity we needed,” Potopa said. “This was our last regular-season game at Mansion so we wanted to play with intensity and have fun.

“The interceptions came from a little film work,” Potopa said. “I recognized some of the plays, found my receivers and was able to make the plays.”

“Our defensive backs have 16 interceptions,” Wheeler noted. “We trust those guys and Daniel Potopa showed why he’s a three-year starter back there.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Chestnut Ridge 0 0 0 0 — 0

Bishop Guilfoyle 7 3 0 2 — 12

First Quarter

BG–Myrick 3 run (McGhee kick), 4:00.

Second Quarter

BG–McGhee 24 FG, 6:08.

Fourth Quarter

BG–Safety, Abraham tackled Pfister in end zone, 3:36.

TEAM STATISTICS CR BG

First downs 13 8

Total yards 219 129

Rushes-yards 28-112 43-78

Yards passing 107 51

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 13-22-2 6-11-1

Punts-avg. 2-35 3-43

Fumbles-lost 5-4 1-1

Penalties-yards 5-43 5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Chestnut Ridge, Pfister 14-66, McGill 8-51, Mowry 2-10, Whysong 1-8, Holderbaum 1-3, TEAM 2-(-26). Bishop Guilfoyle, Myrick 20-61, Liebal 7-20, Carrieri 6-18, McCall 6-3, Potopa 2-(-2), TEAM 2-(-2).

PASSING–Chestnut Ridge, Pfister 13-22-2-107. Bishop Guilfoyle, Carrieri 6-11-1-51.

RECEIVING–Chestnut Ridge, Whysong 3-20, McGill 2-25, Crocker 2-25, Holderbaum 2-20, Mowry 3-11, Bowser 1-6. Bishop Guilfoyle, Potopa 4-33, Yanoshak 1-9, McCloskey 1-9.