With an offense that was compromised by injuries sustained by several key skill players, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy turned to its ace in the hole — do-it-all senior Jake Kissell, who took over the Marauders’ game offensively in the fourth quarter Friday night, leading BG to a 21-14 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over Bellwood-Antis on John R. Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium.

BG, which improved to 6-1 overall, moved 65 yards in nine plays late in the fourth quarter to snap a 14-14 tie, with Kissell — who accounted for all 65 of the yards on the drive while carrying the ball on all eight running plays — bolting off right tackle from 4 yards out for the game-winning touchown with 2:17 left.

Kissell, who lined up in the Wildcat formation at quarterback during the game, rushed for 171 yards on 29 carries, and, along with scoring the winning touchdown, completed eight passes for 96 yards — including first-half touchdown throws of 12 yards to Connor Okonak in the first quarter and 19 yards to Tyson Lestochi in the second quarter.

But after BG survived a sloppy third quarter in which Bellwood took advantage of Marauders’ mistakes to score two touchdowns on short runs by junior back Alex McCartney and tie the game, Kissell started the game-winning drive for BG with a 30-yard run to the Bellwood 35 with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Photo for the Mirror by Jeremy Boland Bellwood-Antis quarterback Bradyn Partner looks for a receiver while being pursued by BG’s Hayden Hosgood.

“Most of the second half did not go our way, but in that championship drive that lasted five minutes, we ran the ball down their throats,” said the 6-foot-3, 219-pound Kissell, who is being recruited by several FCS Division I college football programs. “I give all the credit to my O-line on that last drive. I wanted the ball, and I was able to run hard.”

BG coach Justin Wheeler said that with the score tied late in the game, the only logical thing to do was to call Kissell’s number repeatedly.

“When the game is on the line, the right thing to do is to put the ball in a Division I kid’s hands, and let him run behind the best offensive line in the area,” Wheeler said. “It would be stupid to do anything else.

“He’s the best player on the field every week — it’s incredible what he can do. This league is tough, but we’re playing some great football right now.”

Play of the game: Kissell’s big 30-yard run ignited the game-winning drive for BG.

Player of the game: Kissell.

Unsung heroes: BG’s offensive line of tackles Nicky Georgiana and Declan Peterson, guards Rocco Cacciotti and Jesse Georgiana, and center Trent Murphy, helped Kissell get plenty of running room — particularly on the decisive last drive.

Most vital statistic: BG racked up a 293-101 yards advantage in total offense, including a 197-55 advantage on the ground.

Lestochi on his touchdown catch: “They were running a Cover-2 defense, and I faked to the post and ran to the flag. Jake dropped in a good throw.”

BG junior wideout Evan Schimminger, who made an acrobatic catch to set up Lestochi’s touchdown: “It feels great to win this game. We got the job done tonight when we needed to do it.”

Bellwood coach Nick Lovrich: “BG is a very good team, and Kissell made some big plays for them. He can do a little bit of everything.”

Notable: Down 14-0, Bellwood took the opening drive of the second half for a touchdown, putting together a 71-yard drive that was fueled by two 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called against BG on the same play that gave the Blue Devils a first down at the BG 20. McCartney capped off the drive with a 2-yard TD run, and also scored on a 4-yard run with 39 seconds left in the third quarter, following a BG fumble that was recovered by Bellwood’s Jackson Dorminy … Schimminger recovered a fumble for BG, which welcomed back senior defensive end Hayden Hosgood after a two-week absence due to an arm injury. “I thought that Hayden made a difference on defense for us tonight,” Wheeler said.

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (6-1); Bellwood-Antis (3-4).

Next week: Bishop Guilfoyle visits Forest Hills on Friday night, while Bellwood-Antis travels to Chestnut Ridge.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 7 7 0 7–21

Bellwood-Antis 0 0 14 0–14

First Quarter

BG–Okonak 12 pass from Kissell (Boland kick), 4:35.

Second Quarter

BG–Lestochi 19 pass from Kissell (Boland kick), :28.

Third Quarter

BA–McCartney 2 run (Smearman kick), 8:07.

BA–McCartney 4 run (Smearman kick), :39.

Fourth Quarter

BG–Kissell 4 run (Boland kick), 2:17.

TEAM STATISTICS BG BA

First downs 15 6

Total yards 293 101

Rushes-yards 39-197 29-55

Yards passing 96 46

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-18-0 7-12-0

Punts/avg. 2-30 4-34.7

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1

Penalties-yards 7-60 5-30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 29-171, Gioiosa 9-23, Okonak 1-3. Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 13-48, Gibbons 1-9, Plummer 4-0, Partner 11-(-2).

PASSING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 8-17-0-96, Gioiosa 0-1-0-0. Bellwood-Antis, Partner 6-11-0-46.

RECEIVING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Schimminger 3-44, Lestochi 2-31, Okonak 1-12, Gioiosa 1-7, Hewitt 1-2. Bellwood-Antis, Shawley 4-22, Plummer 1-15, Shedlock 1-5, Gibbons 1-4.