Rams knows they must stop B-A run game Friday night
D6 2A semifinal preview
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Bellwood-Antis senior back Alex McCartney is the focal point in the Blue Devils' relentless ground-and-pound rushing attack, but a couple other seniors provide very strong reinforcements.
McCartney has rushed for a team-leading 1,196 yards on 200 carries and has scored 17 touchdowns overland this season, but in Bellwood's 34-10 win over Bald Eagle Area in a District 6 Class 2A quarterfinal-round matchup last week, Chase Plummer rushed for 128 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown, and now has 417 rushing yards for seven touchdowns on the season.
Senior quarterback Bradyn Partner has also rushed for 691 yards and four touchdowns for Bellwood, while throwing for 501 yards and two scores.
Veteran Richland coach Brandon Bailey knows that the Bellwood running game is a handful, and that controlling it will be a key factor in the second-seeded Rams' District 6 Class 2A semifinal-round matchup with the third-seeded Blue Devils Friday night.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Herlinger Field, and the winner will move on to next Friday night's district championship game at Mansion Park against the winner of this Friday's other Class 2A semifinal between top-seeded Mount Union and fifth-seeded Marion Center.
Richland, which opened the playoffs with a 44-8 rout of Southern Huntingdon last Friday, carries a 9-2 season record into this Friday night's game, while Bellwood is 8-3.
"I think it's a really good matchup,'' Bailey said of Friday's showdown with Bellwood. "They're historically a well-coached team and they've got some great senior football players.
"Their quarterback and both of their running backs are seniors, and those guys do a great job.''
Richland is the defending District 6 Class 2A champion, having defeated Bellwood-Antis in the semifinal round of the tournament last November before beating Bishop McCort in the title game.
Bellwood rebounded strong last week in its playoff opener against BEA after being shut out, 13-0 at Central Cambria in the regular-season finale.
"I thought that our kids played pretty well last Friday night,'' Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich said. "We executed well in all three phases of the game, and that's what you have to do if you want to be
successful in the playoffs.''
Especially against a high-powered offensive opponent like Richland, which has scored an average of nearly 32 points per game, and can run and throw the ball with equal efficiency.
Junior quarterback Jake Regan is a three-year veteran at the position who has completed 145 of 248 passes for 2,144 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Rams this year.
His two favorite targets are both highly-talented senior wideouts in prized NCAA Division I recruit Arnold Mugerwa and all-state selection Jamere Christian.
Mugerwa, who last summer verbally committed to play collegiately at Rutgers, was recently offered a scholarship by Penn State, and may wind up in Happy Valley after making one official visit to the school for the Nittany Lions' recent game with Purdue, with another visit planned for this weekend, when Penn State hosts Minnesota.
Mugerwa has caught 50 passes this year for 695 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Christian is actually the team leader in receptions with 52 for 824 yards and seven scores.
Hard-nosed senior back Grayson Mahla leads Richland's ground attack with 666 rushing yards for nine touchdowns.
"We have to make sure that we stop their explosive plays,'' Lovrich said. "They've had a lot of explosive plays, so we have to make sure that we're stopping them, and a lot of that has to do with us carrying out our assignments, being a physical football team, and making sure tackles so that we don't have broken tackles that turn into big plays.''
Bellwood's forte is running the ball, but the Blue Devils have shown the capability of throwing it successfully as well.
Senior wideout Jeffrey Waite has a team-leading 20 receptions for 257 yards and two touchdowns for Bellwood, with senior tight end Ethan Shawley (19 catches for 269 yards and two touchdowns) following closely behind Waite.
"We played them last year in the playoffs and we know that they're a physical football team,'' Bailey said of Bellwood. "I think that we have to stop their running game, and we have to make some explosive plays ourselves on offense.
"We have a quarterback who can distribute the ball, we have some excellent receivers, and we've been able to make some big plays in our passing game, which opens up things in our running game for our veteran running back Grayson Mahla.''
Both teams and their coaches are excited about being part of the District 6 Class 2A tournament's Final Four again this year, with Richland aiming to defend its title and Bellwood aiming to unseat the Rams.
"It's exciting to be in the playoffs again,'' Lovrich said. "We got our first playoff win this year last week, and any time that your team is in the playoffs, your goal is to win a district championship, but we have to do it one step at a time.
"We were able to do step one last week and now we have to focus on Richland in order to try to get to Mansion Park.''
District 6 Class 2A semifinal
Teams: Bellwood-Antis (8-3) at Richland (9-2).
Where: Richland High School's Herlinger Field.
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
The winner gets: The Bellwood-Richland winner advances to next Friday's championship game at Mansion Park against the semifinal-round winner of this Friday's Marion Center at Mount Union game.
Last season: Richland defeated Bellwood, 35-13 in the semifinal round and won the District 6 Class 2A championship with a 14-7 victory over Bishop McCort, which is competing in the District 6 Class 1A tournament this season.