B-A wins thriller over Eagles
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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
BELLWOOD -- Sometimes the big rivalry games don't pan out, become blowouts and aren't interesting.
That wasn't the case on Friday night between Bellwood-Antis and Tyrone in the 19th Backyard Brawl Trophy game before a large crowd at John Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium.
The Blue Devils rallied from a halftime deficit with a punishing running attack and a gutty defense that intercepted four Ashton Walk passes, and held on as the Golden Eagles marched down the field late in the game. Time ran out on the Eagles at the B-A 9, preserving a 28-21 win.
"It feels really good," B-A coach Nick Lovrich said. "Any time you win a Tyrone-Bellwood game...This was one of those classic ones. It came right down to the wire. We feel great about it. Our kids prepared well. We're very happy."
The end of the game did have some controversy, though. Walk, who completed 21 of 30 for 254 yards, two touchdowns, led the Eagles from their 14 to inside the red zone with time winding down. Walk completed a pass to Gayge Miller at the B-A 9 for a first down, and then time expired.
After a long meeting among the officials, they ruled that time did run out instead of Tyrone having a second left on the clock. Tyrone coach John Franco pleaded his case with the referee to no avail.
"I don't agree with what they did," Franco said. "They stopped the clock and set the chains for every first down from where we got the ball (for the drive). We drove all the way down to the 9.
"At the 9, we get the first down and he doesn't stop the clock. He said 'That's our prerogative. We don't have to wait for the chains.' I said you stopped it every other time. He said 'We can do that too.' So you're trying to end the game for one team. That's just not right."
On the other side, Lovrich had to watch the Eagles make the 13-play drive toward the end zone.
"Any time you have a quarterback the caliber of Ashton Walk, he can make plays," Lovrich said. "Last week against Bald Eagle, he brought them back to a win. We were concerned, but we had faith in our guys. We believed they were going to be able to make the stops."
Play of the game: The Blue Devils went ahead with 1:28 left in the third quarter when Collin Gibbons scored on a 7-yard run.
Players of the game: The Bellwood-Antis secondary intercepted Walk four times, including two by Collin Gibbons, and one each by Bradyn Partner and Curtis Shedlock.
"Last year, they kind of took their lumps," Lovrich said. "They were driven to make sure that wasn't going to happen again. I was very impressed with what they did tonight."
"We can't win that way," Franco said of the interceptions. "That's our own fault. We dug ourselves into a hole too deep to pull out of."
Unsung hero: Quarterback Holden Schreier completed 8 of 13 passes for 121 yards in the first half.
"We've always thought Holden is very headsy," Lovrich said. "He kind of takes control of the huddle and he made some big passes tonight when he needed to."
Lovrich on the offense: "I thought we did a really good job. We had a good mix of the run and the pass. Our kids executed. In the second half, our offensive line really took control of the game. Our backs ran hard. It was a total team effort tonight."
Notable: Tyrone's Seth Hoover scored on a 9-yard run in the first quarter. .... Partner, who ran for 89 yards on 16 carries, scored on a 2-yard run and a 24-yard run. ... Walk threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Miller with 7:14 left. ... Tyrone was without Eli Woomer. ... The Eagles were penalized 10 times.
Next week: Tyrone hosts Bishop Guilfoyle. Bellwood-Antis hosts Philipsburg-Osceola.
Records: Tyrone (2-3), Bellwood-Antis (4-1)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 7 7 0 7 -- 21
Bellwood-Antis 0 8 14 6 -- 28
First Quarter
T--Hoover 9 run (Novak kick), :03
Second Quarter
BA--Partner 2 run (Pellegrine pass from Schreier), 6:12
T--Novak 19 pass from A. Walk (Novak kick)
Third Quarter
BA--Partner 24 run (run failed), 6:43
BA--Gibbons 7 run (Partner pass from Schreier), 1:28
Fourth Quarter
T--Miller 4 pass from A. Walk (Novak kick), 7:14
TEAM STATISTICS T BA
First downs 14 21
Total yards 370 344
Rushes-yards 21-116 38-223
Yards passing 254 121
Pass (comp.-att.-int) 21-30-4 8-16-0
Punts-avg 1-40 2-33
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 10-85 5-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Tyrone--Hoover 17-101, Emight 1-9, A. Walk 3-6. Bellwood-Antis--Partner 16-89, Schreier 4-53, Gibbons 10-45, Pellegrine 6-36, Kyle 2-0.
PASSING: Tyrone--A. Walk 21-30-4-254. Bellwood-Antis--Schreier 8-16-0-121.
RECEIVING: Tyrone--Miller 9-139, Moore 5-60, Adams 2-11, Hoover 2-15, Emigh 1-6, Novak 1-9. Bellwood-Antis--Pellegrine 3-73, Partner 1-19, Kyle 1-18, Shawley 1-12, Gibbons 2-0.