The Blue Devils traveled to Mansion Park Saturday evening to face the Bishop Guilfoyle Marauders. The Marauders offense exploded for 41 points leading to a one-sided 41-12 final.
When B-A had the ball, BG’s defense shut down the Blue Devils offensive scheme.
B-A dropped to 5-2 on the season, while the Marauders remained undefeated and moved to 7-0.
The first quarter opened to the Marauders opting to receive the kickoff. BG quickly got to work on a 6-play drive, going 50 yards downfield. Hamilton Gates took the handoff in the backfield to begin the scoring, and after a successful PAT the Marauders went on top 7-0.
The following kickoff started with a 55-yard return by Griffin Kyle to place the ball to the BG 40. The Blue Devils brought the ball to the 21; however, after four straight plays for loss BG took back possession at the 35. QB Chase Kissell used this momentum to hit Braden Reilly for 20-yards. The ensuing play Kissell found Gates deep for a 49-yard touchdown to bring the score to 14-0.
BG immediately regained possession after they recovered their onside kick for strong field position. Two plays later the Marauders found the end zone yet again. Kissell completed a 1-yard pass to Tyson Lestochi amounting to an early 21-0 BG advantage.
“We’ve got to do a better job covering our guys… we look to work harder at practice,” said Kyle.
The Blue Devils, following a penalty on the kickoff, began their drive on their own 14. Bellwood-Antis was able to put together a series of runs to push the ball to BG’s 6. However on a short pass attempt, Taurean Consiglio picked off Holden Schreier and raced to the end zone. After a penalty on the return, the ball was placed at the BA 45. Soon after, Kissell landed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Reilly. This sent the game to the half with a lopsided 28-0 score.
The second half began with Bellwood-Antis starting with the ball on their own 25. On a fourth and one, the Blue Devils snuck Ethan Shawley downfield and Schreier hit him on a 52-yard jump pass to put the Blue Devils on the board. The two point conversion attempt was stuffed keeping the score at 28-6.
Later in the third quarter, both teams then traded possessions after back to back interceptions. The Marauders started with excellent field position on BA’s 12. Only two plays later, Consiglio pushed through on the ground for an 11-yard touchdown.
The fourth quarter continued the theme of the game. The Marauders pieced together a solid drive down to Bellwood-Antis’s 6. Kissell found Reilly again from 6-yards out. During the last few minutes of the game, the Blue Devils’ Colin Gibbons rushed for a 7-yard touchdown. This capped off the scoring and created the 41-12 final.
“We need to focus this week on fixing the mistakes and thinking about Penn Cambria… not dwelling on last week,” Schreier mentioned.
Bellwood-Antis now returns home Friday against Penn Cambria. The Panthers are 7-0 and are currently first in the Laurel Highlands West 2 section. Penn Cambria has a notable point differential of +171 in their first seven matchups. Last week the Panthers were ranked No. 8 in Pennsylvania 3A by the Pennsylvania Football News.
