The Blue Devils offense shined in a thriller that came down to the wire. Bellwood-Antis hit the road to Bishop McCort Friday night. The offense thrived with both teams scoring in every quarter to total a 34-33 B-A final.
B-A moved to 7-3 to lock in the 5th seed in the District 6 2A playoff picture. Bishop McCort ended their regular season 5-5.
The first quarter kicked off with the Crushers opting to receive. B-A came up with a stop and turned the ball over. McCort’s ensuing drive led them to B-A’s 26. QB Angelo Gallucci took it himself to start the scoring.
The Blue Devils immediately responded with a drive led by Holden Schreier. B-A settled down to the Crusher’s 4-yard line. Cayden Pellegrine brought the handoff into the endzone. B-A then converted for two on a Pellegrine rush.
The game moved to the second quarter. RB Jon Delia swerved through traffic and found a hole for a 56-yard touchdown. Gallucci fought his way for two more. This brought the score to 15-8 nearly half way through the second.
Bellwood-Antis returned fire with a long possession downfield. The Blue Devils capped off the half with Schreier finding space on the ground for a 2-yard score. Schreier then hit Shawley on a pass to tack on another two going into the half.
The third quarter opened with the Crushers retaking the lead. Delia worked his way in from 24-yards out. Bishop McCort was unable to convert on their two point attempt.
The Crushers then quickly regained possession. Gallucci connected with Bentley Bainey for a 30-yard pickup before he fumbled around midfield. B-A recovered the ball with strong field position. Two plays later, Schreier found Jeffrey Waite wide open for a 55-yard touchdown.
On Bellwood-Antis’s ensuing drive, their momentum continued. Cayden Pellegrine pushed his way 33-yards to give B-A a 28-21 advantage.
“In the last two weeks of the season, we’ve played two good teams. Playoffs are all about which team can get hot at the right time… going in with back to back quality wins gives us confidence,” stated Pellegrine.
B-A regained possession early in the fourth quarter. Pellegrine scored from 5-yards out for his third touchdown of the game. After a failed two point attempt B-A led 34-21.
The Crushers put together a comeback effort. Gallucci hit Garrett Farabaugh from 29 yards out to keep them in the game. Following a missed PAT, the score was separated by a single possession.
The Crushers then forced B-A to turn the ball over on downs and started downfield. Gallucci led the Crushers down to B-A’s 1-yard line where Delia picked up his third rushing touchdown of the game. Down by one with a little less than 3 minutes remaining, Bishop McCort opted to go for two. B-A came up with a crucial stop to seal the game 34-33.
QB Holden Schreier passed for 354 yards breaking B-A’s single game passing yard record. Cayden Pellegrine rushed for 110 yards while scoring three touchdowns.
“It was a combination of things… the line doing its job upfront, the receivers and backs running good routes, and Coach Walker calling good plays to put us in a position to succeed,” Schreier credited.
The Blue Devils now advance to the District 6 quarterfinals where they match up with the River Valley Panthers. The Panthers finished the season 8-2 in the Heritage League. The Panthers favor the run and are led by senior RBs Sam Yanits and Gavin Burkhart.
