Devils rise up in 2nd half
BELLWOOD — Top-seeded Bellwood-Antis found itself in a tied game against eighth-seeded Bald Eagle Area on Friday night in the first round of the District 6 Class 2A quarterfinals at John Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium.
But then 6-2, 195-pound senior running back Zach Mallon reeled off two huge touchdowns runs, including the 65-yard game-sealer with 1:20 remaining in the game, to lift the Blue Devils to a 35-21 win.
Mallon finished with 192 yards rushing on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns. He also caught an 11-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Zach Pellegrine. Pellegrine completed 11 of his 14 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
The 6-0 Blue Devils withstood the passing of BEA quarterback Garrett Burns, who threw for 202 yards, trick plays and a fake punt.
“Any time you get a win in the playoffs, it always feels good,” B-A coach Nick Lovrich said. “We’ve talked all season about how weird this year is. To be able to win a playoff game with everything that’s been going on is outstanding. I’m really proud of our kids and the effort they put out there.”
Play of the game: With B-A facing a fourth-and-one late in the game, Mallon got the handoff and raced 65 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 left.
“We felt all year our line was pretty good,” Lovrich said. “Our guys wanted it. As a coach, you want to give your kids that opportunity. All 11 guys did their job on that play.”
Player of the game: Mallon had seven runs of 10 or more yards. He also caught two passes for 27 yards and intercepted a pass.
Unsung hero(es): Cooper Guyer, a 6-0, 225-pound middle linebacker for B-A, intercepted two passes. Ty Noonan blocked a field goal in the third quarter.
“Cooper Guyer was a back when he was a freshman, and then we moved him to guard,” Lovrich said. “He did a great job getting out there in space. He’s one of those guys who’s always catching the football in flag football.”
Most vital statistic(s): The Blue Devils ran for 227 yards and picked up five turnovers on defense.
Bald Eagle Area coach Jesse Nagle on Mallon: “That No. 20 is a good running back. We knew that coming in. I thought we handled him pretty well all game, and then he busted that big one.”
Notable: The teams hadn’t played each other since 2007. … The game was delayed by about 20 minutes when most of the lights went out in the third quarter. … Bald Eagle Area was penalized 12 times for 108 yards. … BEA recovered an onsides kick.
Next week: Bald Eagle Area plays a makeup regular season game against Penns Valley. Bellwood-Antis plays the winner of tonight’s game between No. 5 Central Cambria and No. 4 Richland in the District 6 Class 2A semifinals.
Records: Bald Eagle Area (2-4); Bellwood-Antis (6-0)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bald Eagle Area 7 7 7 0 — 21
Bellwood-Antis 7 14 6 8 — 35
First Quarter
BA–Mallon 15 run (Wilson kick), 3:28
BEA–Burns 1 run (Stere kick), 1:03
Second Quarter
BA–Keen 8 pass from Pellegrine (kick failed), 10:03
BA–Mallon 11 pass from Pellegrine (Keen pass from Pellegrine), :25
BEA–Irvin 41 pass from Burns (Stere kick), :00
Third Quarter
BEA–Eckley 38 run (Stere kick), 7:32
BA–Mallon 18 run (kick failed), 2:52
Fourth Quarter
BA–Mallon 65 run (Mallon run), 1:20
TEAM STATISTICS BEA BA
First downs 13 20
Total yards 313 334
Rushes-yards 17-82 45-227
Yards passing 231 107
Passing (comp.-att.-int) 17-31-3 11-14-1
Punts-avg. 2-37.5 2-40.0
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1
Penalties-yards 12-108 5-42
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Bald Eagle Area, Eckley 6-58, Burns 6-28, Vaughn 4-5, Irvin 1-(-9). Bellwood-Antis, Mallon 25-192, Plank 12-37, Dorminy 1-2, Noonan 2-(-1), TEAM 1-(-1), Pellegrine 4-(-2).
PASSING–Bald Eagle Area, Burns 16-28-2-202, Irvin 1-1-0-29, Fry 0-1-0-0, Eckley 0-1-1-0. Bellwood-Antis, Pellegrine 11-14-1-107.
RECEIVING–Bald Eagle Area, Irvin 6-86, Vaughn 4-60, Eckley 3-44, Cunningham 2-32, Watkins 2-26. Bellwood-Antis, Keen 4-39, Noonan 3-35, Mallon 2-27, Shedlock 1-9, Plank 1-(-3).