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Bad weather no problem for Marauders

By Matt Michelone 4 min read

Thanks to Saturday night's thunderstorms which rolled through the area, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy's Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference matchup with Bellefonte at Mansion Park was delayed by 35 minutes.

Both sides had to dodge the rain drops once the ball was kicked off.

The Red Raider offense started the game moving the ball pretty well into Marauder territory to the 31-yard line before Rocco Cacciotti blew up a fourth-down attempt.

After that, lightning struck twice for the Marauders on the legs of their quarterback and that's all the momentum they would need.

Jay Wheeler, on the ensuing play, found an opening and sprinted 62 yards for the game's first touchdown. He later scored on a 54-yard punt return in the closing seconds of the first half to power BG to 35-0 shutout over the Red Raiders.

"I didn't think I was going to get it, and I saw I got a good bounce," Wheeler said of the punt return. "I saw the edge, and turned on the burners and beat every guy on the edge. I just put on my speed."

His dad, and Marauder head coach Justin Wheeler, couldn't help but compliment his son.

"He had a great game, I'm proud of his effort, I always am," he said. "He loves football, and he's a player. We want to make big plays, in big games. We needed to bounce back.

"I heard half of the coaches yelling for him to not pick that punt up and then it was like 'no, no, no, yes, yes, yes', one of those moments. It was fun to see him have a great game tonight."

Plays of the game: Wheeler's 62-yard run and his punt return.

Player of the game: The Marauder QB grabbed 114 yards on 17 carries on the ground scored three touchdowns -- including the punt return -- and recorded an interception.

Unsung heroes: BG's defense held the Red Raiders to 65 yards of total offense had six first downs. The Red Raiders average less than a yard per carry.

Most vital statistic: The Marauder offense racked up 220 yards on the ground on 35 attempts to Bellefonte's 23 yards on 36.

Coach Wheeler: "Our offensive line has been lights out all year. They have really done a great job. All three games we've played, our offensive line has dominated the line of scrimmage. We have some skill guys that can make some moves and I think we get better as the game goes.''

Bellefonte coach Tony Confer: "I felt good about things on that opening drive, and then we just sputtered out, and didn't finish the drive. Against a team like that, you have to finish the drive, you got to get some kind of points. A lot of miscues. Offensively, we had some dropped passes, lack of execution wotj upfront blocks. Defensively, we had some missed tackles, guys not in position. Any time you play a team the caliber of Bishop Guilfoyle, you can't have those things.''

Jay Wheeler on 62-yard run: "When we got the ball back (after the fourth down stop on the first defensive drive), we knew our assignments. I give all praise to the line. They're unbelievable. They made their blocks, I just had to make one cut, one guy miss, and I was in the end zone.''

Notable: There was a moment of silence in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. ... It was also Bishop Guilfoyle's 12th annual Sideline Cancer game. ... The BG offense outgained Bellefonte on the ground by a staggering 220-23 yard margin. ... The Marauders' stout defense held three Red Raider runners to negative yards rushing.

Records: Bellefonte (1-2), Bishop Guilfoyle (2-1)

Next week: Bellefonte travels to Clearfield while Bishop Guilfoyle heads to Huntingdon on Friday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellefonte 0 0 0 0 - 0

Bishop Guilfoyle 21 0 14 0 - 35

First Quarter

BG--Wheeler 62 run (Boland kick), 7:59.

BG--Hewitt 14 run (Boland kick), 2:11.

BG--Wheeler 54 punt return (Boland kick), :02.

Third Quarter

BG--Wheeler 1 run (Boland kick), 1:20.

BG--Hewitt 16 run (Boland kick), :57.

TEAM STATISTICS B BG

First downs 6 10

Total yards 65 240

Rushes-yards 36-23 35-220

Yards passing 42 20

Pass (comp.-att.-int.) 3-13-1 2-6-0

Punts-avg. 6-29.5 2-39

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 3-15 3-29

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Bellefonte, Hall 11-7, Park 2-(-11), Al. Howell 3-(-8), As. Howell 5-19, Speerstra 4-1, Jasseh 4-(-5), Rogers 3-8, Dickey 4-12. Bishop Guilfoyle, Wheeler 17-114, Hewett 11-91, Gioiosa 3-12, Schimminger 1-0, Himmelwright 3-3.

PASSING--Bellefonte, Al. Howell 3-12-1-42, Park 0-1-0-0. Bishop Guilfoyle, Wheeler 2-6-0-20.

RECEIVING--Bellefonte, Jodon 1-3, Langille 1-35, Park 1-4. Bishop Guilfoyle, Gioiosa 1-14, Okonak 1-6.

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