Photo for the Mirror by Roger Kerekes
Bellwood-Antis’ Bradyn Partner slips out of the grasp of Westmont Hilltop’s Landen Valente on Friday.
By Paul Buriak
For the Mirror
JOHNSTOWN — Bellwood-Antis rebounded from a lackluster first half Friday night at Westmont Hilltop and used splash plays on defense and special teams over the final two periods to come away with its second straight win to open the season with a 20-10 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over the Hilltoppers.
Play of the game: With the Blue Devils holding a 6-3 lead, the Bellwood-Antis defense made a third-quarter goal-line stand to stop the Hilltoppers at the 4-yard line. The Blue Devils then answered with a 96-yard touchdown drive to take command of the contest.
Player of the game: Bellwood-Antis senior running back Colin Gibbons had 83 of his team-high 90 rushing yards in the second half, along with a 21-yard go-ahead touchdown run early in the third.
Unsung hero: Bellwood-Antis senior defensive back Griffin Kyle’s 50-yard return of the second-half kickoff set up a go-ahead touchdown for his team, and later in the fourth quarter, his 35-yard pick-6 effectively put the game away for the Blue Devils.
Most vital statistic: The Blue Devil defense stopped the Hilltoppers on downs twice inside Bellwood-Antis territory and forced a field goal attempt after Westmont Hilltop drove to the Blue Devil 7.
Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich: “Westmont is a good team and they made some plays.
“But we were able to make more plays and get some momentum on our side.
“I was happy with our effort, especially in the second half.”
Westmont Hilltop coach Pat Barron: “That’s on me as a play caller.
“When you get down that close, you’ve got to punch it in.
“It was a hard-fought game by both teams.”
Gibbons: “I felt like our line did a great job in the second half.
“Our whole team just came out and worked hard.”
Notable: Westmont Hilltop had two rushers surpass the century mark. Landon Valente (18-143) and Bryce Goodman (27-119).
Records: Bellwood-Antis (2-0), Westmont Hilltop (0-2)
Next week: Bellwood-Antis hosts Huntingdon. Westmont Hilltop hosts Richland.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bellwood-Antis 0 0 6 14 – 20
Westmont Hilltop 0 3 0 7 – 10
First Quarter
No scoring.
Second Quarter
WH–Jones 25 FG, 6:38
Third Quarter
BA–Gibbons 21 run (kick blocked), 10:24.
Fourth Quarter
BA–Schreier 26 run (pass failed), 9:55.
BA–G. Kyle 35 interception return (Shawley pass from Schreier), 9:32
WH–Goodman 3 run (Jones kick), 1:57
TEAM STATISTICS BA WH
First downs 10 16
Total Net Yards 271 268
Rushes-yards 28-157 54-268
Passing 114 0
Comp-Att-Int 6-10-1 0-4-1
Punts 2-36.5 2-31.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 3-25 2-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Bellwood-Antis, Partner 7-38, Kyle 2-7, Gibbons 12-90, Schreier 4-37, Pellegrine 2-3, TEAM 1-minus 18. Westmont Hilltop, Valente 18-143, Goodman 27-119, Poad 3-minus 4, Dill 4-9, Brant 1-minus 5, Gartner 1-6.
PASSING–Bellwood-Antis, Schreier 6-10-1-114. Westmont Hilltop, Dill 0-3-1-0, Brant 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING–Bellwood-Antis, Gibbons 2-22, Shawley 1-28, Pellegrine 2-51, Partner 1-13. Westmont Hilltop, None.