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Ryen Beam, Ryan Moore, Matthew Larderi, & Jarrett Taneyhill go out for the coin toss. (Ali Wagner)

Tears were shed and pride overflowed on Friday as Bellwood-Antis gained its first shutout of the season with a 48-0 win against Northern Bedford on Senior Night at Memorial Stadium.

“It was very important to get a win for the seniors on senior night,” said junior lineman Chris Wertman. “I’ve basically played with them my entire career so it meant a lot.”

The Devils finished the regular season 9-1 on a 9-game winning streak and will enter the District 6-AA playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Spirits were high as Ethan McGee intercepted Isaac Drenning early in the first quarter. Ryen Beam made a 40-yard run to score, and a PAT by Brendan Kowalski made it 7-0.

Soon, however, the Devils realized the battle they would have in front of them, despite the lopsided final. The score stayed 7-0 until halftime.

In the second half the Blue Devil offense was able to get back in the game, exploding for 41 points. It all started with a 28-yard pass from Jarrett Taneyhill to Kowalski, setting up a Nate Friedenberger to score on a 25-yard run for a 14-0 lead.

“I think the better the passing game gets the more teams will worry about stopping the pass, which would open up our running game,” said Friedenberger. “It’s one and done now and we can’t take any team lightly. We have to play one game at a time and not get distracted.”

Although Taneyhill only had four completions on the night, each proved to help the Devils get on track for another score. Taneyhill finished the night completing four of seven passes for 181 yards, and is now the number one leading passer in B-A history.

Taneyhill isn’t the only Blue Devil to have a record-breaking season. Kicker and receiver Brendan Kowalski has  709 yards through the air, breaking the school record for receiving yards in a season, as well as the record for receiving yards in a career with 887.

B-A had a strong running offense against the Panthers, with two touchdowns from Duke Brunner in the third. Brunner rushed for 107 yards on 10 carries and has rushed for 904 yards on 146 carries this season.

Brunner pushed four yards for his first touchdown in the third, followed by a 63-yard run from for his second score of the night.

B-A continued to move on offense, adding three more touchdowns in the final quarter. Alex Frederick ran in 12 yards to score, followed by a 53-yard run from Shawn Wolfe, each with a PAT by Jack Showalter for a score of 41-0.

After a 25-yard run by Thor Schmittle and a 26-yard burst by Beau Potter, Troy Walker ran six yards for the final B-A touchdown of the night.

With B-A logging its first shutout, the Devils should have plenty of momentum going into the first round of playoffs this upcoming Friday when they will host No. 7 Southern Huntingdon, a team the Devils beat handily two weeks ago.

Coach Hayes said winning before the start of the postseason was big.

“This was very important for going forward,” said Head Coach John Hayes. “We’re in a new season. It’s win or go home. Everybody’s got to get to the top of their game and play like it’s the last one and hopefully it’s not.”