Blue Devils advance to D6 2A semifinals
Trevor Miller looks for a big pass play against Cambria Heights
November 5, 2019
Last Saturday the Blue Devils hosted Cambria Heights in the first round of District 6 2A playoffs. The game was a nail biter from start to finish, but the Blue Devils came out with the 15-8 victory.
This win gives gives the team its eleventh straight victory on the year.
“I thought our guys showed a lot of resilience Saturday Night,” said Coach Lovrich. “Cambria Heights was a very tough team. They were bigger than we were, so it definitely was a struggle for most of the game. At the end though, our guys showed the amount of heart and desire. They stepped up and played great defense in the 4th quarter and then went down and scored the game winning TD. It shows the character that they have to be able to overcome adversity and come away with the win. It is the play-offs now so every win feels great.”
Zach Mallon put Bellwood on the board first with a 47 yard receiving touchdown. The pass game was working well for the Blue Devils with senior quarterback Trevor Miller going 6-for-12 for 155 yards. Mallon racked up 83 total receiving yards with just 3 receptions, and senior Troy Walker had 72 total receiving yards with 3 receptions.
However, Heights answered before halftime, first getting on the board with a safety before Zach Weakland recovered an offensive fumble near the goal line and scored with 23 seconds left to put the Highlanders up 8-6.
The Blue Devils put together some key runs together late in the fourth quarter to put them on the 4-yard line, where senior John Kost would score the go ahead touchdown, followed by a two point conversion from Troy Walker to give the Blue Devils the one-touchdown lead.
The Blue Devils’ defense was firing on all cylinders with 63 total tackles, 7 forced fumbles, 3 recovered fumbles, and 2 sacks by Jackson Boyer and Maesen Eaken. A fumble recovery with with five minutes left in the fourth quarter from Dallas Hollen secured the victory for the Blue Devils.
“We were able to stay together as a team even when adversity hit like being down by one going into the half,” said Miller. “Coach Lovrich talked about there being two kinds of cats in this game and we proved that we were the kind of cats to never give up.”
The Blue Devils will gear up to go on the road against undefeated Ligonier Valley in the District 6 2A semifinals.
