High School Football

Business as usual for Bishop Guilfoyle

H.S. Football Extra

The modus operandi for the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy football team has been a very solid and predictable format over the past four or five weeks.

The Marauders have been playing a complete game in all three phases of football --offense, defense and special teams -- while putting away opponents by halftime and enjoying the freedom to substitute freely in the second half of games with the mercy-rule clock in effect.

That happened again Friday night in a District 6 Class 1A quarterfinal-round playoff game at Mansion Park, as BG built a 47-0 halftime lead, kicked the mercy rule into effect, and played the second half on cruise control en route to a 53-16 rout of Northern Cambria.

The victory earned the top-seeded Marauders (10-1) a semifinal-round matchup next weekend against fourth-seeded Moshannon Valley, which edged fifth-seeded Juniata Valley, 29-28, in another quarterfinal-round game.

BG's offense, led by junior quarterback Jay Wheeler, put plenty of points on the board as most of the Marauders' starters sat out the second half. Wheeler rushed for 101 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries for BG, which saw its defense and special teams unit also account for a touchdown apiece.

"I liked the way we played in all three phases tonight,'' BG coach Justin Wheeler said. "Our offense put up a lot of points, our defense played well again, and so did our special teams units. I like where we're headed going into the second round of districts next week.''

Jay Wheeler capped off BG's 75-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the game with a 2-yard touchdown run, finishing a drive in which the quarterback hit junior tight end Monroe Gates with passes totaling 29 and 26 yards.

Playing with a shorter field on its next possession, BG moved 51 yards in six plays for a 14-0 lead when sophomore back Keegan Hewitt broke off left tackle for a 9-yard TD run with 1:04 left in the first quarter.

BG put the game on ice by scoring three touchdowns in a span of just over two minutes in the second quarter to build a 35-0 lead, and the Marauders' offense, defense and special teams each registered a TD during the uprising.

Jay Wheeler's 10-yard touchdown run polished off a seven-play, 39-yard drive with 7:57 left before halftime, and after defensive lineman Enzo Lascoli stripped the ball for BG, senior safety Evan Schimminger recovered it and converted it into a 20-yard touchdown return with 7:32 left to make it a 28-0 game.

Less than two minutes later, a blocked punt by senior Rocco Cacciotti fell into the hands of senior Connor Okonak, who turned it into a 15-yard TD return with 5:42 left in the half as BG went on top, 35-0.

"We have the best coaches in the state, and they stress to us that we can't just be good in just two phases of the game -- we have to be good in all three,'' Okonak said. "We're happy with how we played tonight, but there is always room for improvement, and we always want more.''

Scoring runs of 42 and 2 yards by Jay Wheeler late in the second quarter staked BG to the big 47-0 halftime lead.

"I thought that we played well in all three phases,'' Jay Wheeler said. "The offense was clicking, and we played really strong on defense and special teams, forcing turnovers that turned into points for us.''

Plays of the game: In a one-sided rout, no single play really stood out, but Lascoli's strip and Schimminger's fumble recovery and touchdown return seemed to push the momentum irreversibly in BG's favor.

Player of the game: Jay Wheeler ran for 101 yards and four touchdowns, and also completed three passes totaling 76 yards.

Unsung heroes: BG's starters on the defensive unit pitched another shutout for the entire first half, displaying suffocating pursuit and limiting Northern Cambria's offense to a net total of just 19 yards.

Most vital statistic: BG controlled all the numbers, especially the scoreboard, while building up a 278-109 advantage in total yards.

Northern Cambria coach Sam Shutty on BG: "They're just on a different level as a team, and I wish them well (for the rest of the postseason.) I think Coach Wheeler will have them back in the state final again this year. We didn't back down. We worked tremendously hard in practice this past week to prepare for an opponent that is very, very good.''

Notable: Northern Cambria's Daniel Farrell returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, when the Colts also got a 20-yard scoring run by Zak Kirsch ... BG sophomore quarterback Landon Shellenberger completed an 18-yard TD pass to freshman Ben Himmelwright in the third quarter ... Shellenberger and Connor Bennett had interceptions on defense for the Marauders.

Records: Northern Cambria (4-7); Bishop Guilfoyle (10-1).

Next week: Bishop Guilfoyle plays Moshannono Valley in a District 6 Class 1A semifinal round game Friday or Saturday. Northern Cambria's season is complete.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Northern Cambria 0 0 0 16--16

Bishop Guilfoyle 14 33 6 0--53

First Quarter

BG--Wheeler 2 run (Boland kick), 5:46.

BG--Hewitt 9 run (Boland kick), 1:04.

Second Quarter

BG--Wheeler 10 run (Boland kick), 7:57.

BG--Schimminger 20 fumble recovery (Boland kick), 7:32.

BG--Okonak 15 return blocked punt (Boland kick), 5:36.

BG--Wheeler 42 run (kick failed), 2:19.

BG--Wheeler 2 run (kick failed), 0:05.

Third Quarter

BG--Himmelwright 18 pass from Shellenberger (kick failed), 1:12.

Fourth Quarter

NC--Farrell 18 punt return (Czar run), 5:59.

NC--Kirsch 20 run (Farrell run), 2:44.

TEAM STATISTICS NC BG

First downs 6 16

Total yards 109 278

Rushes-yards 26-79 32-136

Yards passing 30 142

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-15-2 10-15-0

Punts/avg. 4-30.7 1-46

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 5-35 3-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Northern Cambria, Farrell 8-44, Kirsch 4-33, Arotin 4-18, Bodek 1-3, Dumm 1-1, Czar 7-0. Bishop Guilfoyle, Wheeler 9-101, Hewitt 7-33, V. Hite 5-2, Lawson 3-1, Shellenberger 2-1, Foor 4-0, Himmelwright 2-(-2).

PASSING--Northern Cambria, Arotin 7-14-2-25, Farrell 1-1-0-5. Bishop Guilfoyle, Wheeler 3-5-0-76, Shellenberger 7-10-0-66.

RECEIVING--Northern Cambria, Farrell 4-19, Kirsch 2-6, Czar 2-5. Bishop Guilfoyle, Gates 3-57, Okonak 2-30, Schimminger 2-26, Himmelwright 1-18, Beers 1-13, Hite 1-(-2).