Alex McCartney
BLAIRSVILLE — Bellwood-Antis has apparently discovered a house away from dwelling.
The Blue Devils overcame a sluggish begin and overpowered River Valley, 42-16, in a District 6 Class 2A quarterfinal spherical soccer playoff sport at Panther Stadium on Friday night time.
“It’s a great facility. They’re a well-coached team. They’re a good opponent for us,” Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich mentioned.
It was the Blue Devils’ second consecutive playoff win at River Valley. Bellwood-Antis emerged with a 43-14 victory in a first-round playoff sport on Nov. 1, 2024.
Play of the sport: Bellwood-Antis picked up 53 yards on a hook and lateral move late in the second quarter. Bradyn Partner fired a 6-yard completion to Jeffrey Waite, who lateraled to Alex McCartney. Colin Gibbons’ 30-yard landing reception instantly adopted and gave the Blue Devils a 21-10 halftime lead.
“It was definitely a big boost, right before the half, getting up on them. It was huge,” McCartney mentioned.
“We should have tackled it. It was a gutsy play call,” Panthers coach Ed Dalton mentioned. “It was a well-executed play. The kid got the pitch, (but) we could have tackled him.”
Players of the sport: McCartney (game-best 118 yards) and Chase Plummer mixed for 220 dashing yards and 4 touchdowns.
“They both work really hard. And they’d be the first to compliment the line. They did a good job making the holes for them,” Lovrich mentioned.
“They’re very physical running the ball. I don’t think there was anything different from what they had done. They just do a good job at what they do,” Dalton mentioned.
Unsung hero: Ethan Shawley sacked River Valley quarterback Max Persichetti twice in the primary half, throughout which the Panthers managed solely 40 whole yards.
Playing a person quick: River Valley made do with out Brody Hutter, the crew’s second best rusher. The senior, who ran for 677 yards and 10 touchdowns throughout the common season, was declared ineligible due to a PIAA bylaw that stops any participant who transfers faculties after the beginning of his tenth grade 12 months from collaborating in postseason competitors. River Valley appealed on Hutter’s behalf at a listening to on Thursday, however the PIAA voted in a 5-0 determination to uphold the choice.
“We had multiple preps. And those guys have been playing all the time. But (Hutter) is a little bit different in the veer,” Dalton mentioned.
Hutter additionally led a protection that had given up solely six touchdowns in the final six common season video games.
“We prepared as though he was going to play in the football game,” Lovrich mentioned.
Most very important statistic: Bellwood-Antis fumbled the ball 4 instances, shedding one, in the primary half. “That’s something we need to take care of. We always talk about taking care of the little things. Whenever you want to win big playoff games, you have to be able to do that because the farther you go, the harder it is to overcome those mistakes,” Lovrich mentioned.
Coach Lovrich: “We knew we had to take care of ourselves. We knew we were playing a good football team. But it’s about going out, playing football, having a good time, playing with intensity and passion. We wore them down at the end.”
More coach Lovrich on the gradual shift in momentum: “They were doing a very good job of moving the football down the field, they stopped us a couple of times. But once we got that little bit of momentum at the end of the (first) half, that helped jump-start what was going on for us.”
McCartney: “The coaches made the (halftime) adjustments we needed to make, and the line started doing great. They were playing great the whole game. Chase and I had to clean some things up, and we dominated the second half.”
Plummer: “We started out really slow. But we came in at halftime, the coaches evaluated us, and we got everything done in the second half that we needed to do.”
Coach Dalton: “We were within five with 8:13 left in the third quarter. We stopped them in three plays, got the ball back, and didn’t have a good drive. Then they scored, and I don’t think we played very hard after that.”
Notable: Jake Woodring ran for the sport’s first landing, a 3-yard run that got here three performs after the Panthers recovered a muffed punt on the Bellwood-Antis 11. … McCartney countered with a 44-yard landing run. … Cole Heckatorn’s 33-yard subject objective gave River Valley a 10-7 lead coming into the second interval. Plummer’s 12-yard run put the Blue Devils forward for good with 2:39 left in the half. … Patrick Hilaire ran for a third-quarter rating on the Panthers’ first possession of the third quarter and pulled River Valley inside 5. … Touchdown runs by McCartney (17 yards), Plummer (24) and Gibbons (9) sealed the victory. … Partner accomplished 4 of 8 passes for 83 yards. He threw one interception. … Persichetti accomplished 7 of 18 passes for 70 yards. He threw one interception and sacked 3 times. … River Valley’s eight-game profitable streak got here to a halt.
Records: Bellwood-Antis (7-4), River Valley (9-2).
Next week: The Blue Devils play at Richland, a 35-12 winner in opposition to United Valley, in a district semifinal sport on Friday.
“We are looking forward to the challenge. I think we can handle them and win the game,” Plummer mentioned.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bellwood-Antis 7 14 7 14 — 42
River Valley 10 0 7 0 — 16
First Quarter
RV–Woodring 3 run (Heckathorn kick), 5:44.
BA–McCartney 44 run (Smearman kick), 3:02.
RV–Heckathorn 33 subject objective, :38.
Second Quarter
BA–Plummer 12 run (Smearman kick), 2:39.
BA–Gibbons 30 move from Partner (Smearman kick), :46.
Third Quarter
RV–Hilaire 4 run (move failed), 8:13.
BA –McCartney 17 run (Smearman kick), 1:34.
Fourth Quarter
BA–Plummer 24 run (Smearman kick), 9:24.
BA–Gibbons 9 run (Smearman kick), 6:45.
TEAM STATISTICS BA RV
First downs 17 12
Total yards 387 195
Rushes-yards 40-294 37-125
Yards passing 83 70
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 4-8-1 7-18-1
Punts-avg. 3-24.7 3-33.6
Fumbles-lost 4-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 9-80 3-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Bellwood-Antis, McCartney 15-118, Plummer 12-102, Colin Gibbons 4-40, Partner 2-18, Cooper Gibbons 1-14, Crist 2-1, TEAM 4-1. River Valley, Adair 6-44, Woodring 10-36, Persichetti 12-17, Hilaire 4-14, Wano 5-14.
PASSING–Bellwood-Antis, Partner 4-8-1-83. River Valley, Persichetti 7-18-1-70.
RECEIVING–Bellwood-Antis, Waite 2-8, Shawley 1-16, Colin Gibbons 1-12 McCartney 0-47. River Valley, Brezinski 4-32, Woodring 2-29, Hilaire 1-9.