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Stopped in their tracks: McCort-Carroll Crushers prevent Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils from building momentum

By John Hartsock 5 min read

BELLWOOD -- This season's Bishop McCort-Carroll football squad is an experienced, veteran unit with returning starters at just about every position on the field.

That has created somewhat of an embarrassment of riches for the Crushers, who, like Bellwood-Antis, are contenders for the District 6 Class 2A football championship that will be decided in November.

The two Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference heavyweights met in a showdown Friday night on John R. Hayes Field at Bellwood-Antis High School's Memorial Stadium, and Carroll parlayed its experience into executing big plays at key moments of the game en route to posting a 21-6 victory.

"It was an unbelievable game played by both sides,'' said McCort-Carroll coach Tom Smith, whose team improved to 2-0. "That team (Bellwood) is an extremely good, physical team that played very hard tonight, and I am extremely proud of our kids, who played well in all three phases of the game.''

Senior quarterback Bentley Bainey's light shined the brightest for McCort-Carroll. Bainey completed 11 of 19 passes for 102 yards, while rushing for a team-high 59 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. With the game in the balance and his team clinging to a 14-6 lead late in the fourth quarter, the 6-foot-4 Bainey came up with a tide-turning interception near midfield from his defensive back position that paved the way for his game-clinching 7-yard touchdown run with 6:14 left.

"We were confident in our coverage, and I knew that I had to step up and make a play for the team there,'' Bainey said of his big interception.

Smith tipped his cap to his defense, which shut out Bellwood (1-1, 1-1) after spotting the Blue Devils a 6-0 lead on junior running back Alex McCartney's 10-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

"I thought Bentley's pick was big, but we also had a couple big stops on fourth down tonight,'' Smith said. "Bellwood has a bunch of tough running backs that move well downhill, and a good offense, but we were able to hold them at bay a little bit tonight.''

Offensive play of the game: Bainey registered a dramatic second-effort run on McCort-Carroll's first scoring drive in the second quarter. Fighting through a bevy of Bellwood tacklers on the first defensive wave by the Blue Devils, and plowing ahead for an eventual 27-yard gain before another group of defenders finally brought him down at the Blue Devils' 14, Bainey set the stage for his eventual 1-yard touchdown run that helped McCort-Carroll pull in front to stay, 7-6.

Defensive plays of the game: Along with Bainey's big interception, senior middle linebacker Luke Stevens stopped McCartney -- who rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries in the game -- short of the sticks with Bellwood operating on a fourth down-and-3 situation at the McCort-Carroll 6 early in the fourth quarter. "That was huge,'' Smith said of the Stevens stop.

Player of the game: Bainey.

Unsung heroes: McCort-Carroll's defense pitched a shutout after McCartney's early second-quarter TD run.

Most vital statistic: The total yardage accumulated by both teams -- 254 by McCort-Carroll and 195 by Bellwood-Antis -- was nearly equal, but the Crushers made more key plays.

Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich: "We knew coming in that (McCort-Carroll) was a good team. They're very well-coached, and they played very well tonight. Their line is good, and so are their skill guys. All around, they're a very good football team. We just need to get back to the drawing board and fix a few little mistakes. It was just a matter of (McCort-Carroll) making a few more plays than we did tonight.''

Notable: Senior back Jon Delia scored McCort-Carroll's other touchdown by bouncing outside to reach the end zone on a 4-yard scoring run with 43 seconds left in the first half, giving the Crushers a 14-6 lead at halftime .... Bellwood's Chase Plummer blocked a 30-yard McCort-Carroll field goal try late in the third quarter, and Cooper Lovrich -- the coach's nephew -- scooped up the ball and ran it back to the McCort 39, but the Blue Devils' drive eventually stalled on the big fourth-down stop by Stevens ... McCartney had an interception for Bellwood, and Donnie Rozier recovered a fumble for McCort-Carroll, which also blocked a Bellwood field goal attempt.

Records: McCort-Carroll (2-0); Bellwood-Antis (1-1).

Next week: McCort-Carroll visits Chestnut Ridge, while Bellwood-Antis travels to Huntingdon.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

McCort-Carroll 0 14 0 7--21

Bellwood-Antis 0 6 0 0--6

Second Quarter

BA--McCartney 10 run (run failed), 11:49.

MC--Bainey 1 run (Conner kick), 5:02.

MC--Delia 4 run (Conner kick), 0:43.

Fourth Quarter

MC--Bainey 7 run (Conner kick), 6:14.

TEAM STATISTICS MC BA

First downs 16 10

Total yards 254 195

Rushes-yards 35-152 33-115

Yards passing 102 80

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 11-21-1 7-16-1

Punts/avg. 1-38 1-30

Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 6-65 5-47 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--McCort-Carroll, Bainey 9-59, Delia 15-57, Gallucci 11-36. Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 20-97, Plummer 8-27, Gibbons 1-16, Partner 4-(-25).

PASSING--McCort-Carroll, Bainey 11-19-1-102, Gallucci 0-2-0-0. Bellwood-Antis, Partner 7-16-1-80.

RECEIVING--McCort-Carroll, Dressick 3-47, Delia 2-33, Gallucci 2-12, Spontak 2-9, Taylor 1-9, Rozier 1-(-8). Bellwood-Antis, Gibbons 2-35, Shawley 2-27, Waite 2-13, Plummer 1-5.

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