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The Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils wasted no time in getting on the board this past Friday night at Tussey Mountain. Junior Nick Plank, one of BA’s star players took it to the house on Bellwood first drive to put the score to 6-0.

It would be a recurrent theme for the Devils, who ran the ball 33 times for 189 and two touchdowns to push past the Titans 20-0 and remain undefeated at 9-0.

Tussey, which was tied atop the ICC with B-A, absorbed its first loss of the season.

“I thought Friday night was our payday for all the hard work the guys did during the week.  We had really good practices each day, and it is not only the guys who played most of the game Friday, but all of our team,” said B-A coach Nick Luvrich.  “Every player contributed  in that win.  We always talk about owning your role, and that is what our players did.  If they were the scout team offense, defense, or special teams, they did the best they could to prepare the guys who played Friday night and you could see it in our play.  I was very proud of the whole team for our effort last week.  Games are won by the work that was done during the whole week, not just game days.”

During the rest of the first and second quarter, it was a defensive battle, with each team looking for any minor slip up in the other that would put their team in the driver’s seat. Big plays were limited, but in the cases that they did occur, both teams were able to keep their composure, and keep their minds in a “next play” mentality.

Plank would then turn up again in the third quarter with a pick-6 that rallied the team, and pushing all momentum towards the Blue and Gold for the remainder of the game.

Zach Mallon punched in a final touchdown in midway through the fourth to seal the Devils’ win.

Taking a look at the B-A defense, two seniors and two juniors made huge impacts. Evan Pellegrine and Troy Walker each caused a fumble, while Mallon, and Plank each added an interception.

On the other side of the line, the Titans were constantly looking for answers, as the B-A defensive line was persistent most of the game in limiting long runs. Junior Kaden Lucko, while having 29 rushing attempts, was held to only 97 yards.

Plank weighed in on the victory, saying, “We knew it would be a tough game and that every person would have to give it all they got to win the game.”

Pellegrine, a prominent defensive leader, said this on the win, “Our team played extremely well. Everyone stayed motivated, and stayed together. It takes a team effort to shut out a team of that caliber.”

The Mighty Blue now prep to face Southern Huntington this Friday, and will include a ceremony that will rename the field to John R. Hayes Memorial Field.

The victory allowed B-A to jump into second place in the District 6 2A standings, 9 points behind top-ranked Richland. The top four teams receive home field advantage in the playoffs.