Bellwood-Antis went through this same thing a year ago-getting blown out by Tyrone in the opener and then having to face a Penns Valley squad that had also gotten their doors knocked in the week before. How will the Blue Devils react in 2005?
Penns Valley was roughed up by Bald Eagle Area, the Blue Devils third week opponent 38-7.
The way Ram coach Mary Tobias described the game sounded like a replay of the Bellwood-Antis/Tyrone ballgame. Tobias told a local newspaper that the big difference was that the Bald Eagle Area kids made the plays and his kids didn’t.
Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes said basically the same thing about his team’s opener with Tyrone
Penns Valley helped with mistakes like twice snapping the ball over their punter’s head, something the Blue Devils also experienced against Tyrone.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Johnson was intercepted at point-blank range by a BEA defensive lineman.
Tyrone lineman Tyler Hoover did the same thing against B-A quarterback Kyle Drost.
In both cases the opposition scored soon after the picks.
The Bald Eagle defense limited Penns Valley to one first down and a minus four yards in total offense.
Bellwood-Antis did manage to score three touchdowns, but had just four yards total offense in the first half against Tyrone.
The Tyrone offense riddled the Bellwood-Antis defense for 10 plays of 10 yards or more, always seeming to have the answer when the Blue Devils were able to hold them for several downs.
BEA torched the Penns Valley defense for at least five plays of 21 yards or more.
The Penns Valley team is short on experience. The Rams lost Evan Leitch (1,218) and Josh Hull, who combined for over 1,600 yards a year ago and return only two starting offensive lineman. Wide receiver Mike Brubaker is the only returning skill position player and he only caught three passes for 23 yards in 2004.
“Penns Valley has a little different look this year on offense,” explained B-A head coach John Hayes. “They have gotten out of their standard-I formation which they had run as long as we have played them. They have gotten into a variation of a spread offense. They run with double tight (ends) and double flanker on almost every play, with just one running back. That has changed their chemistry a little bit. From what we have seen of them in their scrimmages and now their first game, they have attempted to throw the ball a lot more than has been typical of a Penns Valley football team.
“What is the same is that they have some good size and they have some good athletes in those positions. They are still in the developing process of this new scheme.”
Taylor Wingard was the Rams’ leading ballcarrier with 53 yards on six carries. Wingard had 42 of that total on one carry when he dashed that distance for Penns Valley’s only score in the fourth quarter, with BEA leading safely 38-0 at the time.
The BEA defense harassed Ram quarterbacks Doug Roth and Johnson into an overall o-for-12 showing passing.
The Penns Valley defense was shredded by BEA for 38 points, 165 yards rushing and 127 yards through the air for 292 total yards. The Rams also had one lost fumble.
“Defensively they run a 4-4 and like to stunt off it,” said Hayes. “They will bring the linebackers to try to create some big plays there and pretty much play a cover three in the secondary. When it doesn’t work, the offense will get big plays.”
Bellwood-Antis was able to move in spurts in their opener against Tyrone, giving the indication that should they be able to put it all together, it should be a very successful season. The key for the Blue Devils will be how long it will take to find that degree of consistency which Bellwood-Antis began against the Rams last year.
Senior quarterback Kyle Drost was constantly pressured by the Tyrone defense, but did manage to complete six of 16 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, while being intercepted twice. Josh Kleinfelter had two catches for 53 yards and one TD and Dan Kovac had two catches for 29 yards and one score.
Kleinfelter carried the ball 15 times for 52 yards and Jon Davilla added 25 yards on seven totes.
The two schools began playing each other in 1975, with the Rams staking an early lead with two straight victories, 29-14 in ‘75, and 28-8 in ‘76. Since then however, B-A has won 18 of the next 25 to post an 18-9 series lead, including a 27-0 triumph a year ago. In 2003, thanks to a power outage at Spring Mills, the Friday night game was extended to Monday at Bellwood before the game was completed. The Blue Devils led 14-0 with 6:24 to play when an automobile accident up the road, turned all the power out for the evening. The athletic directors decided to complete the game at Bellwood on Monday prior to the regularly scheduled junior varsity contest between the two teams. The B-A defense turned up the pressure and the close contest quickly became a runaway with two interceptions returned for scores in a 34-0 Bellwood-Antis win.
In 1988, the two teams met twice with B-A triumphing in a steady rain 19-7 during the regular season and the Blue Devils edging the Rams in the district-AA semifinal at State College 29-28 with a last-minute TD and two-point conversion.
The last Penns Valley wins came with four straight victories from 1996-99. In 1996 (22-21), 1997 (29-28) and 1999 (25-24), each Penns Valley win was by a single point on a score late in the fourth quarter. In 1998, Bellwood-Antis was tied with an undefeated Ram squad 20-20 at the end of three quarters, but PV showed their strength with a pair of final quarter TDs for the win.
Ten games in the series have been decided by six points or less.
“We are still looking to find the right mix of people,” said Hayes. “We have come out of camp and really haven’t settled in on what we think is right, on the line particularly. We have put people in and moved people around. We are still juggling there. We didn’t perform consistently there the other night (in the Tyrone game). That is a real itch for us, because we thought with what we had coming back that we would solidify that a little sooner. We have to get some people going with more intensity and in the right places. We had three people play there the other night who are non-lettermen. They don’t have a lot of experience. Nothing helps confidence and success as much as experience. Another game, another week of practice, I think we will be O-K, but we are still looking for the right combination and the right fix, there up front on our line. ”
