Football

Experience pays off for Bellwood-Antis against Clearfield

BELLWOOD -- Friday night's matchup between Bellwood-Antis and Clearfield at John Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium was veterans versus youth.

The Blue Devils' experience outweighed the Bison's learning curve in a 26-14 win to open its season. Bellwood trailed, 7-6, at the half but outgained Clearfield, 206-36, in the first half.

The Devils also relied heavily on their ground game, which was led by senior running back Alex McCartney.

Play of the game: Bellwood's Jackson Dorminy had a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third quarter to give his team a 12-7 lead.

Player of the game: McCartney rushed for 158 yards on 24 carries and recorded two touchdowns on the ground. His second score of the night gave the Blue Devils a two-score lead with 2:09 left in the third quarter. He also had one reception for 24 yards.

Unsung hero: Bellwood quarterback Brendan McNelis only tallied one passing score on the night, but he was consistent and made important throws when he needed to, to keep drives alive. McNelis finished 14-of-21 passing for 162 yards.

Most vital statistics: The Blue Devils nearly doubled up the Bison on offense with 328 yards to 168. Defensively, Bellwood limited Clearfield to just six rushing yards on 19 carries.

Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich: "Clearfield's a very good team. They're young. They're going to get better as the year goes on. I thought our kids stepped up and made some plays when they needed to. We have a pretty veteran group. They were pretty good at halftime being down. They knew what we could do. And that second half, we really came out and did that. We were really impressed with the way they stepped up, and they got physical."

Clearfield coach Myles Caragein: "They're a good team. They make plays. We have some young guys in some new positions that didn't start last year. They're getting their first reps tonight. These guys (his team) did a great job. They kept fighting. It's just they got to gain the experience. But I'm very proud of how they played."

McCartney: "We lost our whole line last year. They stepped up tonight, opened huge holes, and came out with the dub. It feels great. I'm just ready for next week, focused on that, and hopefully we can move on to 2-0."

Notable: Bellwood had nine penalities for 95 yards, giving up three personal foul penalities during Clearfield's drive that gave the Bison a halftime lead … The Blue Devils didn't give up a rushing first down until the third quarter. … McCartney outgained the entire Bison's offense by himself, 182-168.

Records: Clearfield (0-1), Bellwood-Antis (1-0).

Next week: Bedford at Clearfield, Friday, 7 p.m.; Bellwood-Antis at Bishop McCort, Friday, 7 p.m.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Clearfield 0 7 0 7 -- 14

Bellwood-Antis 6 0 13 7 -- 26

First Quarter

BA--McCartney 3 run (kick blocked), 2:00

Second Quarter

C--Glunt 16 pass from Aveni (Scott kick), 0:21

Third Quarter

BA--Dorminy 55 punt return (run failed), 10:53

BA--McCartney 10 run (Smearman kick), 2:09

Fourth Quarter

C--Glunt 25 pass from Aveni (Scott kick), 10:48

BA--Waite 14 pass from McNelis (Smearman kick), 5:08

TEAM STATISTICS C BA

First downs 10 17

Total yards 168 328

Rushes-yards 19-6 29-166

Yards passing 162 162

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 15-28-1 14-21-1

Punts-avg. 5-33.4 1-40

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-yards 5-45 9-95

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Clearfield, Ludwig 5-10, Brothers 3-8, Fletcher 1-1, Troxel 2-(-3), Aveni 8-(-10). Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 24-158, Dorminy 1-17, Partner 5-15, Plummer 1-2, McNelis 1-(-2), Team 1-(-2), Shedlock 1-(-3).

PASSING--Clearfield, Aveni 15-28-1-162. Bellwood-Antis, McNelis 14-21-1-162.

RECEIVING--Clearfield, Glunt 7-79, Ludwig 3-34, Rosinsky 2-28, Manguson 2-15, Putt 1-6. Bellwood-Antis, Shawley 1-56, Plummer 5-37, Waite 3-25, McCartney 1-24, Partner 3-14, Schreier 1-6.