High School Football

Bellwood-Antis rolls over Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties

BELLWOOD -- Football coaches will talk about their team imposing their will from the moment the ball is kicked off.

Bellwood-Antis did that from the opening kickoff as the Blue Devils went down the field and scored on

12 plays, ending in the game's first touchdown

Following a Bradyn Partner interception, which set up another Blue Devil touchdown, on the next drive a scoop and score showed the floodgates had indeed opened for the Blue Devils.

Alex McCartney returned that fumble as he went on to rush for 103 yards on

17 carries with two additional scores on offense. That lifted the Blue Devils to a 33-0 shutout over Philipsburg-Osceola on homecoming at John R. Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

"(Defensive lineman Thad) Norton jarred it loose," McCartney said. "We do a drill in practice, we call it country scoop drill. I scooped it in open field and took off."

Play of the game: McCartney's fumble return in the first quarter which helped put the Blue Devils up 20-0.

Player of the game: McCartney.

Unsung heroes: The Blue Devil defense helped preserve the shutout.

Most vital statistics: That stout Blue Devil defense helped create three turnovers, which resulted in 14 points. Bellwood-Antis never punted and recorded 10 of its first downs in the first half alone while holding P-O to four.

Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich: "(McCartney) said he picked it up off the ground and took it. That just shows his explosiveness, the speed he has to be able to get it so quickly, and get it in the end zone. He'd be the first to tell you the penetration that the D-line got helped make that play happen.''

Philipsburg-Osceola coach Jeff Vroman: "We fumbled, they returned it for a touchdown, then we threw an interception at the 20-yard line. We didn't match their intensity. I just didn't see the intensity from our kids. (Bellwood) played a great football team. The third-and-longs have killed us. We get people into third-and-long, and they're making plays..''

Lovrich on protecting the shutout: "That was something we talked about halftime. We wanted to keep that shutout. We had to make sure to keep the intensity up. Our guys did a great job the whole way through getting that shutout. Our guys take pride in moving the football, we play physical football. Our guys played pretty well the last two weeks and we wanted to keep that going.''

Notable: A moment of silence was held for ninth grade Bellwood-Antis student Ian Ulrich, who passed away recently in an accident. The BA Quarterback Club donated its portion of the 50-50 to Ian's family. The winner also donated back their winnings, which helped raise $3,295 for the family. ... Julie Kraft was crowned homecoming queen. ... It was Bellwood-Antis' annual Sideline Cancer game, which helped raise $6,700 for beneficiary Lora Strayer of Bellwood.

Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (4-2), Bellwood-Antis (5-1).

Next week: Philipsburg-Osceola travels to Bellefonte next Friday, while Bellwood-Antis will travel to Bishop Guilfoyle next Saturday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Philipsburg-Osceola 0 0 0 0 - 0

Bellwood-Antis 20 7 6 0 - 33

First Quarter

BA--McCartney 2 run (kick failed), 5:46.

BA--Ch. Plummer 6 run (kick failed), 2:27.

BA--McCartney 20 fumble return (Ca. Plummer run), 2:13.

Second Quarter

BA--McCartney 7 run (Smearman kick), 3:16.

Third Quarter

BA--Partner 13 run (kick failed), 5:49.

TEAM STATISTICS PO BA

First downs 11 15

Total yards 162 273

Rushes-yards 26-91 34-214

Yards passing 71 59

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 10-16-1 5-9-0

Punts-avg. 2-19.5 0-0

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties-yards 1-15 6-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Law 10-17, Davis 6-24, Baughman 3-19, Vaughn 2-7, Cope 2-14, McClenahan 1-4, Guenot 2-6. Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 17-103, Partner 7-63, Ch. Plummer 6-27, Crist 1-2, Stoltzfus 0-5, Dorminy 2-34, Blose 1-4.

PASSING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Baughman 8-14-1-50, Rafferty 2-2-0-21. Bellwood-Antis, Partner 6-9-0-59.

RECEIVING--Philipsburg-Osceola, Law 1-2, Cope 2-7, McClenahan 3-31, Davis 1-2, Guenot 3-29. Bellwood-Antis, Waite 2-18, Shawley 1-8, Ch. Plummer 1-28, Partner 1-(-5), Dorminy 1-10.