Football

Blue Devils squeak by Crushers

JOHNSTOWN -- The Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils survived a 34-33 thriller over McCort-Carroll Catholic at Sargent's Stadium at the Point on Friday night to finish the regular season with a 7-3 record. Bellwood-Antis built up a 34-21 lead on the very first play of the fourth quarter thanks to one of three touchdown runs from senior Cayden Pellegrine.

From there, Bellwood-Antis had to withstand a McCort-Caroll comeback bid, which included stuffing a two-point conversion try which would have given the Crimson Crushers the lead. The Blue Devils' defense also ended the game with a sack of McCort-Caroll quarterback Angelo Gallucci on the final drive to seal the victory.

Play of the game: With Bellwood-Antis trailing McCort-Carroll 21-16 in the third quarter, the Blue Devils yielded a 30-yard gain to the Crushers on a pass play from Gallucci to wide receiver Bentley Bainey, but he fumbled the ball, which set Bellwood-Antis up in Crushers' territory. On the second play of the next possession, Bellwood-Antis quarterback Holden Schreier found Jeffrey Waite uncovered for a 55-yard touchdown. That sequence put the Blue Devils up a point, and it was a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Player of the game: Holden Schreier has to take this distinction. Bellwood-Antis came into Friday night's game averaging only 118 yards passing per game, but Schrier exploded for 355 passing yards on 16-of-25 attempts. The senior quarterback threw for one touchdown, and ran for another.

Unsung hero: Cayden Pellegrine had the task of running into a stout McCort-Carroll defensive front all game. It took him 26 carries, but he got to 110 yards and also provided three touchdowns. The senior back had a workmanlike effort, and was also a key player on defense for the Blue Devils.

Most vital statistic: It has to be the 355 passing yards from the Bellwood

-Antis offense. The Blue Devils have not shown that kind of passing display all season, but found cracks in the McCort-Carroll defense on quick slants that turned for big gains.

Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich: "Our kids, they've been battling all season. It's been good to see that they've been battle tested. Bishop McCort is a very good football team and it was a classic high school football game. This is what they dreamed about when they talked about the Laurel Highlands crossover. It was two good teams playing against each other, so it was good to see our kids step up and make some plays at the end to come out victorious."

McCort-Carroll coach Tom Smith: "At the end of the day, I want to congratulate these guys. They played really tough tonight and came on the road to get a big win here at the Point, so congratulations to (Bellwood). I just didn't do enough to prepare our team tonight."

Bellwood-Antis running back Cayden Pellegrine: "Bishop McCort, they're a team that we could see in the playoffs. They're AA, District Six, and we could see them in the playoffs, really good team. That just shows we can compete with the good teams in District 6 2A and that we can go all the way if we just get the right momentum, make the right plays, and play the way we can.

Records: Bellwood-Antis (7-3); McCort-Carroll (5-5)

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellwood-Antis 8 8 12 6 -- 34

McCort-Carroll 7 8 6 12 -- 33

First quarter

BM -- Gallucci 26 run (Conner kick)

BA -- Pellegrine 4 run (Pellegrine run)

Second quarter

BM -- Delia 56 run (Gallucci run)

BA -- Schreier 2 run (Shawley pass from Schreier)

Third quarter

BM -- Delia 24 run (pass failed)

BA -- Waite 55 pass from Schreier (run failed)

BA -- Pellegrine 33 run (run failed)

Fourth quarter

BA -- Pellegrine 5 run (pass failed)

BM -- Farabaugh 29 pass from Gallucci (kick failed)

BM -- Delia 1 run (run failed)

TEAM STATISTICS BA BM

First downs 11 11

Total yards 501 453

Rushes-yards 42-145 33-226

Yards passing 355 227

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 16-24-0 14-27-1

Penalties-yards 4-30 7-55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Bellwood, Pellegrine 26-110, Schreier 12-39, Gibbons 3 -4, Kyle 1-1. McCort-Carroll, Gallucci 14-77, Farabaugh 2-9, Delia 14-126, Spontak 1-9, Page 1-5

PASSING--Bellwood-Antis, Schreier 16-24-0-355; McCort-Carroll, Gallucci 14-27-1-227.

RECEIVING--Bellwood-Antis, Gibbons 6-94, Shawley 6-130, Pellegrine 3-76, Waite: 1-55. McCort-Carroll, Dressick 5-81, Delia 3-36, Page 1-10, Bainey 3-50, Spontak 1-21, Farabaugh 1-29.