Guilfoyle pulls away in 2nd half
JOHNSTOWN — The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School Marauders proved on Friday night that they’re not just a one-trick pony.
With standout junior running back Keegan Myrick sidelined with a leg injury, the Marauders pulled other weapons out of their cache, and used them to rule the second half, break open a close Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game, and defeat Johnstown, 30-6 at Trojan Stadium.
Freshman running back Cooper Rother rushed for 166 yards on 27 carries and a 6-yard, third-quarter touchdown for BG (4-1 overall and in the conference), which also got three short touchdown runs of 1 yard in the first quarter and 8 and 4 yards in the fourth quarter from sophomore quarterback Konnor Kiesewetter to win a penalty-marred game.
Play of the game: Tough to single just one out for BG, but Rother rushed for 72 yards on seven carries during BG’s 81-yard third-quarter scoring drive that gave the Maruders a 14-6 lead and swayed the game’s momentum toward BG.
Player of the game: Rother stepped up big for the Marauders, picking up 113 yards on 14 carries in the second half as BG pulled away.
Unsung heroes: Bishop Guilfoyle’s offensive line of center Evan Himes, guards Colin Butler, Jack Donoughe and Anthony Edwards, and tackles Brady Bithell and Ty Conigy, created running lanes for Rother in the second half.
Most vital statistic: Bishop Guilfoyle rolled up 226 of its 328 total yards in the second half, which the Marauders carried, 22-0.
Bishop Guilfoyle coach Justin Wheeler: “We challenged our guys to play Marauder football, and I felt like we responded after halftime. We showed a lot of poise, and we had a real good second half.”
Johnstown coach Bruce Jordan: “They’ve got a great football team. Whenever they started running and pounding it, there’s not much that you can do about that. Coach Wheeler is a championship-caliber coach, and whenever his team gets going, they’re hard to defend.”
Rother: “I think we came out (in the second half) and stepped up. Our offensive line made some big holes. We just had more energy. That was the key.”
Myrick update: Wheeler said that Myrick, who rushed for over 500 yards in BG’s first four games, is “day-to-day, but close (to returning). We want to make sure that he’s 100 percent. We’ve got to be as cautious as we can.”
Notable: Wheeler lauded both Rother and Kiesewetter in his postgame comments. About Rother: “I thought he played lights out, he’s going to be a great back, and tonight, he rose to the occasion.” About Kiesewetter: “He really showed his leadership skills and maturity in the second half.” … Counting offsetting penalties, both teams were flagged very heavily. Johnstown drew 21 penalties for 160 yards, while BG incurred nine penalties for 90 yards … Johnstown, which hasn’t won a game since 2017, got on the board when senior quarterback Sammy Barber — who threw for 147 yards — hit senior wideout Ty Jones with a 58-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter … Junior J.T. Johnston had an interception for BG, while Anthony Reed and Quasir Stephens picked off passes for Johnstown, and Dominic Elliott recovered a fumble for the Trojans.
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle is 4-1 overall and in the Laurel Highlands Conference. Johnstown is 0-5 overall and in the conference.
Next week: Bishop Guilfoyle hosts Penn Cambria Saturday night, while Johnstown visits cross-town rival Bishop McCort Friday night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Guilfoyle 8 0 6 16 — 30
Johnstown 0 6 0 0 — 6
First Quarter
BG–Kieswetter 1 run (Rother run), 6:52.
Second Quarter
J–Jones 58 pass from Barber (run failed), 10:53.
Third Quarter
BG–Rother 6 run (run failed), 6:05.
Fourth Quarter
BG–Kiesewetter 8 run (Fox pass from Kiesewetter), 9:17.
BG–Kieswetter 4 run (A. Yanoshak run), 6:00.
TEAM STATISTICS BG J
First downs 23 5
Total yards 328 179
Rushes-yards 53-247 27-32
Yards passing 81 147
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 5-10-2 11-31-1
Punts-avg. 2-24 5-30
Fumbles-lost 5-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 9-90 21-160
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Rother 27-166, Johnston 5-40, Kiesewetter 14-32, McCloskey 4-16, Conrad 2-5, TEAM 1-(-12). Johnstown, Barber 18-41, Thomas 1-3, Gunby 7-(-9), Roebuck 1-(-3).
PASSING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Kieswetter 5-10-2-81. Johnstown, Barber 11-31-1-147.
RECEIVING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Fox 2-27, A. Yanoshak 1-30, Rother 1-12, Homan 1-12. Johnstown, Roebuck 4-5, Jones 2-65, Reed 2-48, Sampson 1-16, Thomas 1-10, Stephens 1-3.
COMMENTS