Blue Devil season comes to an end with loss to McCort
Nick Watters takes off on a gain against Bishop McCort.
November 14, 2016
The Blue Devil football season came to an end Saturday with a 35-28 loss to Bishop McCort.
The Devils finished the season with a 10-2 record, with their only other loss being to rival Tyrone in Week 1.
Despite the halt of the Devil’s quest for a District 6-AA championship, the team still had a remarkable season that did not fail in leadership and brotherhood, along with many accomplishments.
Bishop McCort will move on to play Ligonier Valley this week in the District 6-AA championship.
The Devils came a long way from the beginning of the season to create a good overall offense, building their running game as well as their passing.
Although this marks the end of the season, the game itself was a display of the heart and passion that this team has for the sport and the brotherhood that has stemmed throughout the season.
The biggest struggle of the night was stopping the McCort run game. The Crushers ran for a total of 236 yards.
“We knew what was coming, we just couldn’t stop them when we needed to most,” said McGee. “We struggled to counter their execution, which is respect to them.”
After a 24-yard completion from the Crimson Crushers Levi Cook to Andre Nash and a one-yard run by Anthony Walters for a score a 14-0 in the first, the Blue Devils fought back in the second with a one-yard run to score from Brunner after major passes from Taneyhill to Nick Watters and Ryan Moore.
The Crushers came back with a 63-yard pass from Cook, but Taneyhill fired back with a scoring pass to Nate Friedenberger, followed by a one-yard run from Taneyhill in the final seconds of the quarter to score putting the Devils down 21-14 halftime.
However, the Devils weren’t finished there. A 14-yard connection from Taneyhill to McGee with a PAT from Kowalski proved to tie the score 21-21. McCort attacked with an eight-yard run by Camell Andrews but Brunner shot out with a three yard run followed by yet another PAT from Kowalski to tie the game once more.
Unfortunately the Crushed finished the game with a three-yard run from Walters to make the final score 35-28.
“For the underclassmen, I’d say to work hard and not worry,” continued Taneyhill. “At the end of the day it is just a game so just enjoy it.”
Senior Jarrett Taneyhill finished the season with four new passing records and became the all-time passing yardage leader. He also became the first B-A quarterback to pass for 2,000 yards in a season and 3,000 yards in a career.
“It has just been an honor to be a part of the program,” said Taneyhill. “I made so many close friends and have memories I will never forget.”
Brendan Kowalski broke two records, including the top receiving yards in a season over 700 yards and in a career with over 900 yards.
Proving the Devils can run the ball as well as they pass, Duke Brunner broke through for over 1,000 yards rushing and Sawyer Kline ran for over 400 yards.
Other essential players for the team included receiver Ethan McGee, who had over 200 yards in catches, and senior Nate Friedenberger, who brought in over 400 yards.
Congratulations to the 2016 Blue Devil Football team on all their accomplishment and a terrific season!
