Blue Devil win sets up showdown
Bellwood-Antis at Mount Union; Friday, October 11, 2019. (Chelsea McCaulsky)
October 15, 2019
Last Friday the Blue Devils came away with yet another blowout win over Mount Union 45-7. The win now sets them up with an 8-0 record as they head into this week’s game in a showdown for the ICC title against the also undefeated Tussey Mountain Titans.
Junior Zach Mallon got the ball rolling for the Blue Devils by scoring the first three touchdowns of the game. Mallon had a total of 207 rushing yards on just three carries for the Blue Devils, including a 98 yard touchdown run.
Bellwood had a whopping 477 rushing yards. In just the first half alone the Blue Devils rushed for 371 yards, thanks to Mallon’s 98, 52, and 34 yard runs, and senior John Kost’s 55-yard touchdown run.
“Our line has been very good all season long. they have been opening up holes for all of our backs every week,” said Coach Nick Lovrich. “To have two different backs (Nick Plank last week and Zach Mallon this week) rush for over 200 yards in consecutive weeks is a pretty big accomplishment. Everything we accomplish has been a total team effort, it takes all 11 players doing their job to make those yards happen.”
The Trojans had only 206 yards of total offense as B-A limited its fourth opponent to a touchdown or less.
The win sets up a classic Friday in Saxton with a pair of teams tied atop the ICC standings. The Titans squeaked by Glendale last week 26-23.
“We treat each Friday night like a state championship game,” Lovrich said. “We practice hard all week to get to that payday of Friday. We focus so much on how we play and how much we can improve each week, we do not focus on the record of the team we are playing. Obviously, we know that Tussey Mountain is a very good team. They are solid in all three phases of the game. We know that we need to come out Friday night play with that focus, passion, and intensity that we play with every week. It should be a great game.”
