Seniors making strides for Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils
Alex McCartney
Bradyn Partner
Alex McCartney
Bradyn Partner
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BELLWOOD -- Bellwood-Antis celebrated its senior night with a 35-6 victory over Chestnut Ridge Friday night at John R. Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium and the fact that it almost seemed a ho-hum victory was a testament to how far the Blue Devils have come in the careers of those seniors.
This group is the first to play their entire high school careers in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. A couple of the players who have played big roles for most of that time had big nights Friday.
Alex McCartney had 128 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, and Bradyn Partner had 116 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
"I thought our seniors did a really great job," Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich said. "They were freshmen our first year in the Laurel Highlands. They went through the 2-8 season and have gotten better every year. They changed a lot about how we work and what we do, and I'm really proud of all their efforts tonight."
When Bellwood-Antis pulled its starters midway through the fourth quarter, Partner came off the field and gave backup quarterback Bryson Guyer a jumping hip-bump and pumped his fists as he made his way to the sideline.
"Going 2-8 our freshman year, we definitely had something to prove," Partner said. "We were about at the bottom of the Laurel Highlands when we came in, but we have been working our way up. We're going to keep building off this win."
With the victory, Bellwood-Antis remained in position to host a first round playoff game in the District 6 Class 2A playoff field on a night where top-seeded Richland fell to Bellefonte, the team the Blue Devils play next week.
Play of the game: McCartney ran 42 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to make it 21-6 after Chestnut Ridge played a competitive first two quarters.
"They did a nice job adjusting," Chestnut Ridge coach Max Shoemaker said. "They controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half."
Player of the game: McCartney and Partner share the honors for Bellwood-Antis on senior night. Partner added a 69-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage after Chestnut Ridge had made it a 7-6 game midway through the second quarter. McCartney, along with a push from Cayden Grager, blocked Ridge's extra point.
For Chestnut Ridge, junior Garrett Weyandt stood out with 135 yards rushing on 12 carries and a touchdown.
"He has that (big-play potential)," Shoemaker said. "He's returned over the course of the year three kickoff returns. He has that quickness and that burst that can get him in open space. We try to get him the ball as much as we can in open space and let him do his thing."
Unsung hero: Bellwood-Antis got a long kickoff return to open the second half by Brady Crist, setting up McCartney's touchdown one play later. Crist carried the ball six times for 48 yards and had a 13-yard touchdown run and made some nice moves and showed some explosiveness.
"Brady has done some nice things for us," Lovrich said. "Unfortunately he's got all those guys in front of him, but when it was his turn tonight, he did a great job. I'm really proud of what he did."
Most vital statistic: The Blue Devils held the Lions to just two first downs in the second half.
Lovrich: "We woke up in the second half. Chestnut Ridge made some plays in the first half, and we struggled a little bit. In the second half, we picked it up. I thought we did a great job blocking. We executed well, and defensively we really stepped up, especially in the second half."
Shoemaker, who led the Lions to a District 5 championship last season: "It's going to come down to the kids (how the rest of the year goes). They are the ones who have to deliver. We have Westmont next week. Westmont is a much-improved team, and we have them at home and then the crossover in Week 10. I just got done telling the kids that this year is really no different than last year. We ended up with four wins. We have the opportunity to win four games in the regular season again and enter the playoffs and anything can happen."
Partner: "It's always nice to bounce back from a loss like we had last week. Our offense was clicking in the second half. We have so many athletes. Our seniors are a great group, and we played amazing."
Notable: Senior Chase Plummer did not dress for the game, but Lovrich said he is expected back on the field soon. ... Wyatt Evans, Reid Schreier and Curtis Shedlock had interceptions for the Blue Devils, and Shedlock added a touchdown run in the third quarter. ... Miles Smearman made all five of his extra points. ... Dexter Ward and Brier Bisbing had interceptions for Chestnut Ridge. ... Neither team fumbled.
Records: Chestnut Ridge (2-6); Bellwood-Antis (6-2).
Next week: Bellwood-Antis travels to Bellefonte, and Chestnut Ridge hosts Westmont Hilltop next Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Chestnut Ridge 0 6 0 0 -- 6
Bellwood-Antis 7 7 21 0 -- 35
First Quarter
BA--McCartney 4 run (Smearman kick), :37.
Second Quarter
CR--Weyandt 76 run (kick blocked), 4:25.
BA--Partner 69 run (Smearman kick), 3:55.
Third Quarter
BA--McCartney 42 run (Smearman kick), 11:39.
BA--Crist 13 run (Smearman kick), 6:50.
BA--Shedlock 2 run (Smearman kick), :00.
TEAM STATISTICS CR BA
First downs 7 17
Total yards 190 406
Rushes-yards 32-172 41-324
Yards passing 18 82
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 2-10-3 6-12-2
Punts-avg. 5-34.4 1-33
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-30 4-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Chestnut Ridge, Weyandt 12-135, Imler 11-37, Webb 6-11, Ward 1-3, Harbaugh 2-(-14). Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 15-128, Partner 7-116, Crist 6-48, Dorminy 2-24, Shedlock 2-11, Cherry 3-2, Evans 2-1, Guyer 2-(-4), TEAM 2-(-2).
PASSING--Chestnut Ridge, Webb 2-5-1-18, Weyandt 0-5-2-0. Bellwood-Antis, Partner 5-11-2-70, Guyer 1-1-0-12.
RECEIVING--Chestnut Ridge, Harbaugh 1-16, Weyandt 1-2. Bellwood-Antis, Waite 2-51, Dorminy 2-13, Cherry 1-12, Shawley 1-6.