Bellwood-Antis, Clearfield to play each other for the first time to open high school football season
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When the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference added the teams from the Mountain League and Bellwood-Antis, it opened the possibility of some fresh matchups.
Case in point, tonight when Bellwood-Antis travels to Clearfield to open the 2025 high school football regular season, it will be the first time the schools meet in a game that counts on the gridiron.
According to Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich, the teams used to scrimmage when teams still played two scrimmages, but have not done so for years.
"We know we're going to have our hands full," Lovrich said. "Clearfield has traditionally been a very good football team. Coach (Myles) Caragein has taken over for Coach (Tim) Janocko and kept that going. They were 12-1 last year -- one of the best teams in the state, and they still have guys back. It's definitely going to be a big challenge for us."
The Bison compete in District 9 as a Class 4A school and went undefeated in the regular season last year but missed out on playing in the LHAC championship game on a tiebreaker.
Bellwood-Antis went 7-3 in the LHAC last year before beating River Valley in the District 6 2A quarterfinals and falling to eventual champion Cambria Heights, 15-8, in the semifinals.
"The Laurel Highlands has such good competition," Lovrich said. "We could play eight other teams and it would be just as big of a matchup, so it's definitely going to be exciting. Our kids are excited to get the season started and see what we can do."
Bellwood-Antis has a strong group up front, which includes seniors Jayce Quick and Christian Jennings.
"They have a lot of returning linemen," Caragein said. "They are good up front and have been working together for a long time. They have a good running back and quarterback and a good passing game. It's going to be a challenge for us."
In addition to the players Bellwood-Antis has returning from last year, they have at least two -- Alex McCartney and Chase Plummer -- who missed all or most of last season but will be healthy and ready to go against Clearfield on Friday at 7 p.m.
"I think they got some of the jitters out Saturday at Penns Valley (in Bellwood's scrimmage)," Lovrich said. "But there's nothing like those Friday night lights. They are going to be excited. All of our guys that were injured last year coming back, especially Chase and Alex, are looking forward to this and ready to go."
Clearfield graduated all-everything running back Brady Collins, who was also a star track athlete. But has plenty of good linemen and quarterback Xavier Curry, who is a dual threat returning.
"That's something different that you don't see very often, an athlete like they have that can run the ball and pass the ball," Lovrich said. "We have to make sure we're disciplined, stay in our lanes and don't over pursue and that guys stick to the basics."
Clearfield's new starters are hoping to transition into their new roles much like their coach did when he took over for Janocko.
"They have been doing a great job this summer working with each other," Caragein said. "They have been trying to get a feel for it. We simplified things a little bit to try and make things easier for them. They have been doing a great job and had a great camp. I'm excited to see how they do on Friday."
Despite both teams being picked to win their LHAC divisions in the Blitz magazine by the coaches, Lovrich said the game is just like any other to open the season.
"We have to make sure just like every other first game that we control the things we can control," Lovrich said. "We have to take care of the football and eliminate the mental mistakes like jumping offside, knowing the snap count. We have to eliminate their big plays, and hopefully we can capitalize on some big plays."
Caragein also isn't putting all his eggs into the first-game basket or the focus on just one player.
"We have to just take it one game at a time and play as a team," Caragein said. "We can't rely on one person to make a big play. We all have to focus on our jobs and win as a team."