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Bisons knock Scarlet Dragons out of playoffs

11/06/20 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Bedford's Steven Ressler celebrates his TD reception with Spencer Ebersole.

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Bedford came up with a big play on offense and an equally big play on defense in the second half Friday night to stave off Central, 28-13 at Hollidaysburg’s Tiger Stadium in a PIAA Class 3A first-round playoff game that featured a matchup of two unbeaten teams.

Bedford (9-0) advances to the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs next weekend at a site and time to be determined against the winner of tonight’s Grove City at Hickory PIAA first-round game.

With the score tied, 7-7, Bedford senior quarterback Mercury Swaim broke off a 62-yard run up the middle just 16 seconds into the third quarter to give Bedford the lead for good, 14-7.

“It was awesome to get that TD,” said Swaim, who also ran for another touchdown and threw for a third for Bedford. “It really gave the team momentum and we rode that through the whole second half.”

Bedford was clinging to a 21-13 lead with just over three minutes left to play in the game when senior linebacker Connor Clarke intercepted a Rylan Daugherty pass at the Bedford 33 and returned it to midfield, setting up a late Bedford scoring drive that culminated with senior fullback Elijah Cook’s 10-yard touchdown run with 1:51 left that sealed the outcome for Bedford.

“We were preparing for a waggle play, and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time to make it happen,” was how Clarke described his key interception.

Bedford prevailed despite turning the ball over four times, two on interceptions and two on fumbles.

“We beat a good football team tonight that had been undefeated,” Bedford coach Kevin Steele said of the District 6 champion Scarlet Dragons (8-1). “We had a bunch of turnovers, but we were able to make enough plays to win.”

Play(s) of the game: Swaim’s big third-quarter touchdown run and Clarke’s fourth-quarter interception.

Player of the game: Swaim rushed for 96 yards on 12 carries and touchdown runs of 62 and 3 yards in the third quarter, helping Bedford build a 21-7 lead. Swaim also hit senior wideout Steven Ressler with a 32-yard scoring pass in the second quarter for Bedford’s first touchdown of the night.

Unsung hero: With standout sophomore quarterback Jeff Hoenstine sidelined with a broken leg suffered in last week’s District 6 Class 3A championship win over Tyrone, junior running back Parker Gregg stepped up big in a workhorse role for the Scarlet Dragons, rushing for 110 yards on 33 carries and a 7-yard third-quarter touchdown run.

Most vital statistic(s): Bedford won despite the four turnovers, but Central was penalized nine times for 68 yards, including two costly penalties — for a sideline unsportsmanlike conduct and a personal foul — that silver-plattered Swaim’s 3-yard third-quarter touchdown run.

Steele: “Central has good players. I thought they were physical tonight on both sides of the ball.”

Central coach Dave Baker: “Our players could be proud of their effort tonight. (Bedford) was just a little bit better than we were tonight. That’s just the way it was.”

Swaim: “It was a tough, physical win. We did a great job on defense. We had four turnovers, that’s not a good thing. We need to improve on that. But even when we were going through adversity, we stuck it out.”

Gregg: “We knew coming into this game that we could do something pretty big tonight, and we gave it our all. I couldn’t ask for anything more from my teammates. We’re more like a family than a team. We’re a great team.”

Notable: Hoenstine, who required surgery for his leg injury, was on the Central sideline watching the game from a stretcher … Central opened the scoring on a perfectly-thrown 12-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass from freshman fullback Hunter Smith out of the wildcat formation to senior wideout Hunter Klotz in the second quarter … A fumble recovery by senior defensive back Spencer Ebersole at the Central 25, plus the two costly penalties assessed to the Scarlet Dragons on Bedford’s ensuing drive, paved the way for Swaim’s 3-yard touchdown run and the 21-7 Bedford lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter … Central responded after Jacob Detwiler recovered a fumbled punt at the Bedford 31, giving Central the opportunity to mount a drive to the end zone that Gregg capped off with his 7-yard TD run. Central opted for a 2-point conversion run, but Bedford’s defense stopped Gregg short … Klotz and junior Devon Boyles intercepted passes and Austin Keith recovered a fumble on defense for Central … In a confusing set of circumstances, Central received the benefit of an extra down during a drive late in the first half. The evaluator of officials at the game said that an inadvertent whistle had resulted in one down being run and stopped, yet the ball continued to change position during each play on the entire course of the drive. Fortunately, the sequence had no impact on the game’s final outcome.

Next week: Bedford advances to the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal round against the winner of tonight’s Grove City at Hickory PIAA first-round game. Central may or may not be playing a regular-season game against an opponent to be determined.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central 0 7 6 0 — 13

Bedford 0 7 14 7 — 28

Second Quarter

C–Klotz 12 pass from Smith (Keith kick), 11:56.

B–S. Ressler 32 pass from Swaim (Martz kick), 8:19.

Third Quarter

B–Swaim 62 run (Martz kick), 11:44.

B–Swaim 3 run (Martz kick), 8:56.

C–Gregg 7 run (run failed), 5:42.

Fourth quarter

B–Cook 1 run (Martz kick), 1:51.

TEAM STATISTICS C B

First downs 10 12

Total yards 161 198

Rushes-yards 45-102 29-153

Yards passing 59 45

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 5-15-1 5-8-2

Punts-avg. 6-33 3-40.3

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-2

Penalties-yards 9-68 2-17

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Central, Gregg 33-110, Smith 4-10, Rhule 1-2, Lingenfelter 1-1, Williams 1-(-3), Daugherty 5-(-18), Bedford, Swaim 12-96, Cook 9-58, Price 3-5, S. Ressler 2-2, Ebersole 1-(-6), TEAM 2-(2).

PASSING–Central, Daugherty 4-13-1-47, Smith 1-1-0-12, Boyles 0-1-0-0. Bedford, Swaim 5-8-2-45.

RECEIVING–Central, Klotz 2-20, Lingenfelter 1-20, Harbaugh 1-14, Boyles 1-5. Bedford, S. Ressler 4-44, Edwards 1-1.

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