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Bishop Guilfoyle gets it done in trenches to spring Jake Kissell, beat Forest Hills Rangers

By John Hartsock 5 min read

SIDMAN -- Bishop Guilfoyle Academy senior Jake Kissell is capable of playing a variety of offensive positions very well.

Kissell has played tight end and halfback, and, due to an injury situation on the Marauders, has spent the past couple weeks at quarterback.

It also helps Kissell that he plays behind a fabulous offensive line and has some good receivers at his disposal.

On Friday night, Kissell ran for three touchdowns and threw a 24-yard fourth-quarter scoring pass to senior wideout Ryan Lestochi for another, as BG improved to 7-1 with a 28-14 win over Forest Hills at G.H. Miller Stadium.

"We have a great offensive line,'' said Kissell, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 171 yards. "A lot of the guys on our line are back this season after playing on last year's (PIAA Class 1A) state championship team. My success doesn't happen without them.''

Lestochi played a big hand in BG's latest victory, catching seven passes for 138 yards. Along with his 24-yard TD reception from Kissell with 2:02 left in the game that gave BG a 28-7 lead, Lestochi made a 38-yard catch of a perfectly-thrown Kissell pass in the third quarter that gave BG a first down at the Forest Hills 1.

Kissell scored on a right end sweep on the very next play, capping off a 64-yard, six-play drive to help BG to a 21-7 lead and enable the Marauders to take command in the game.

"We made some adjustments at halftime and put together a really good drive in the third quarter,'' BG coach Justin Wheeler said. "Jake made a big throw when we needed it, and Tyson made some great catches tonight.

"It's nice to see Jake show off his arm and transition so well from tight end to running back to now quarterback,'' Wheeler said. "He's bounced all around on offense for us, and he's a kid who succeeds at everything.''

Play of the game: Lestochi's 38-yard reception that gave BG the first down at the Forest Hills 1 and set up Kissell's third-quarter touchdown run. "I got one of their defenders to bite on an inside route, and Jake threw a great ball there,'' Lestochi said of the catch that he made in 1-on-1 coverage.

Player of the game: Along with passing for 171 yards and a touchdown, Kissell rushed for 75 yards on 23 carries, including TD runs of 1 yard in the first quarter and 6 in the second quarter.

Unsung hero: Lestochi's seven-catch night certainly earns him this recognition.

Most vital statistic: The total yardage totals were nearly even, with BG having a slight 286-272 edge, but the Marauders had the edge in making key plays throughout the night, especially through the air.

Wheeler: "We made plays tonight -- our entire group of 11 on defense played really well and our offense scored 28 points, which was enough to win this game.''

Forest Hills coach Justin Myers: "They put the ball in the end zone to start the second half, and we told our players at halftime that we couldn't let them score there. Both teams played good defense, but we had a lot of third downs on which our offense couldn't execute.''

Notable: BG took a 7-0 lead by moving 58 yards in 15 plays on a masterful first possession of the game, highlighted by 12-yard pass completions from Kissell to Lestochi and senior wideout Evan Schimminger ... After Forest Hills responded with a 52-yard second-quarter scoring drive capped off by a 5-yard TD pass from quarterback Justin Myers to wideout Koy McGough, BG moved ahead, 14-7 with 3:09 left in the half on Kissell's second TD run of the night, ending a 66-yard drive that was highlighted by a spectacular 26-yard pass connection from Kissell to a diving Lestochi ... Lestochi also had an interception on defense for BG, while Logan Moss recovered a fumble for Forest Hills, which closed the scoring on a 44-yard TD pass from Justin Myers to McGough with 34 seconds left in the game.

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (7-1); Forest Hills (6-2).

Next week: Bishop Guilfoyle hosts Clearfield Friday night, while Forest Hills travels to McCort-Carroll.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 7 7 7 7--28

Forest Hills 0 7 0 7--14

First Quarter

BG--Kissell 1 run (Boland kick), 1:54.

Second Quarter

FH--McGough 5 pass from J. Myers (Singer kick), 6:32.

BG--Kissell 6 run (Boland kick), 3:09.

Third Quarter

BG--Kissell 1 run (Boland kick), 8:40.

Fourth Quarter

BG--Lestochi 24 pass from Kissell (Boland kick), 2:02.

FH--McGough 44 pass from J. Myers (Singer kick), 0:34.

TEAM STATISTICS BG FH

First downs 13 14

Total yards 286 272

Rushes-yards 34-105 30-118

Yards passing 181 154

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 12-16-0 15-23-1

Punts/avg. 3-34.7 2-37

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 7-67 3-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 23-75, Hewitt 4-11, Schimminger 4-10, Gioiosa 3-9. Forest Hills, Richardson 18-87, E. Raptosh 7-46, Custer 1-2, J. Myers 4-(minus 17).

PASSING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 11-15-0-171, Wheeler 1-1-0-10. Forest Hills, J. Myers 14-21-1-154, Richardson 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Lestochi 7-138, Schimminger 4-33, Kissell 1-10. Forest Hills, Richardson 4-36, McGough 3-78, Custer 3-19, Vitez 3-18, Scott 1-3.

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