High School Football

Rams edge Blue Devils in classic

District 6 Class 2A semifinal

JOHNSTOWN -- Collectively and individually, the Bellwood-Antis football players, coaches and their fans went from the joy of experiencing a last-minute victory to the agony of a soul crushing loss in what seemed like an instant on Friday night on Richland High School's snow-flecked Herlinger Field.

In a District 6 Class 2A semifinal playoff classic in which both teams played their hearts out, Bellwood dominated play over the entire second half, polishing off a 19-point rally on senior quarterback Bradyn Partner's 8-yard touchdown run off right end that gave the Blue Devils a 19-14 lead with just 1:02 left in the game.

Defending District 6 champion Richland, however, marched 65 yards in blustery conditions that featured snow squalls over the entire second half, scoring the game-winning touchdown on junior quarterback Jake Regan's 6-yard rollout touchdown pass to Jackson Feichtel with 26 seconds left, giving the Rams a 20-19 lead and what would prove to be their final margin of victory.

Bellwood-Antis, which finished the season with an 8-4 record, had one last gasp, driving to the Rams' 17 with six seconds left before Richland senior Dom Shank broke through the line and blocked sophomore Miles Smearman's 34-yard field goal attempt to end the Blue Devils' season.

After the Blue Devils had taken the 19-14 lead, Regan found senior wideout and NCAA Division I recruit Arnold Mugerwa down the middle of the field and hit him with a pass that covered 58 yards to the Bellwood 7, setting up Regan's touchdown pass to Feichtel moments later.

"We were trying to call that play all night, and they finally gave us what we were looking for,'' Mugerwa said. "Jake threw the ball in the air, and just made a play.

"It feels amazing to win what is the last game for our seniors here at Herlinger Field,'' said Mugerwa, who will join his Richland teammates in the District 6 Class 2A championship game against Mount Union next Friday night at Mansion Park. Top-seeded Mount Union advanced by winning its semifinal game, 47-7 over Marion Center last night.

Richland coach Brandon Bailey summed the game up best as one that neither team deserved to lose.

"There were so many great plays made, and it was such a gutsy performance by both teams,'' said Bailey, whose second-seeded Rams improved to 10-2 with the victory over third-seeded Bellwood. "It was a great high school football game, and Bellwood is a great football team.

"We work on that last-minute drive every Tuesday in practice, and our kids had faith that they were going to make those plays to win the game at the end,'' Bailey added.

Shank, who missed his entire junior season with a leg injury and joined the Rams' team early in his senior season this fall, recovered two fumbles on defense before making the game-saving block on the Bellwood field goal attempt.

"Arnold (Mugerwa) came in off the edge and freed up the middle for me to come through,'' Shank said. "It was as much his block as it was mine.''

Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich said that he couldn't have been more proud of his team, which controlled time of possession in the third and fourth quarters and capped off a 50-yard drive on Partner's touchdown run with just over a minute left.

"Everybody knows that Richland is a really good football team, but I'm extremely proud of my young men for the way they fought and the way that they handled themselves tonight,'' Lovrich said. "Our kids had a pretty physical mindset and Richland was able to match that. I thought we moved the ball well in the second half tonight, and that we played

excellent defense.

"Three years ago, when these current seniors were freshmen and our program joined the Laurel Highlands Conference, we were 2-8 in that first season,'' Lovrich said. "But led by the nine seniors on this year's roster, we've made such a great turnaround over the last three years. Our community should be proud of all of the young men on this football team.''

Star senior running back Alex McCartney, who rushed for 195 yards on 38 carries and a touchdown for Bellwood-Antis, was able to put a very heart-wrenching night in perspective.

"Sometimes things don't go the way that you want them to go in life -- that's life to a T,'' McCartney said. "One more play here or there and who is to say that we don't win tonight. They're a heck of a team but we went toe-to-toe with them.''

Play of the game: The 58-yard pass play from Regan to Mugerwa put Richland on the doorstep to score its go-ahead touchdown.

Players of the game: In a game that Bellwood statistically dominated, McCartney and Regan share this honor. McCartney was his typical workhorse self while running for nearly 200 yards, while Regan threw for 190 yards and threw for three touchdowns. He hit wideout Alex Bond with a 73-yard scoring pass in the first quarter, and all-state senior wideout Jamere Christian with a 35-yard scoring throw in the second quarter as Richland took an early 14-0 lead before Bellwood got up off the deck.

Unsung hero: Shank came up big on defense and special teams for Richland.

Most vital statistics: Bellwood had sizeable advantages in total yardage (350 to 265) and first downs (20-5), while running off 27 offensive plays to Richland's 15 in the second half. But Richland made its hay with its signature big passing plays.

Records: Bellwood-Antis (8-4); Richland (10-2).

Next week: The season is complete for Bellwood-Antis. Richland faces Mount Union next Friday night in the District 6 Class 2A championship game at Mansion Park.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 0 7 6 6--19

Richland 7 7 0 6--20

First Quarter

R--Bond 73 pass from Regan (Smith kick), 11:01.

Second Quarter

R--Christian 35 pass from Regan (Smith kick), 6:55.

BA--Partner 27 run (Smearman kick), 4:15.

Third Quarter

BA--McCartney 3 run (pass failed), 7:44.

Fourth Quarter

BA--Partner 8 run (run failed), 7:44.

R--Feichtel 6 pass from Regan (pass failed), 0:26.

TEAM STATISTICS BA R

First downs 20 5

Total yards 350 265

Rushes-yards 55-271 21-75

Yards passing 79 190

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 4-6-0 7-18-0

Punts/avg. 2-42 3-33.3

Fumbles-lost 4-3 0-0

Penalties-yards 4-20 5-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 38-195, Partner 6-46, Ch. Plummer 10-33, McNelis 1-(-3). Richland, Regan 11-53, Mahla 9-20, Mugerwa 1-2.

PASSING--Bellwood-Antis, Partner 2-2-0-46, McNelis 2-4-0-33. Richland, Regan 7-18-0-190.

RECEIVING--Bellwood-Antis, Waite 3-80, Partner 1-(-1). Richland, Bond 2-79, Mugerwa 2-61, Feichtel 2-15, Christian 1-35.