From going from 2-8 to 8-4 in just one season, with both of its top two running backs out with season-ending injuries, qas a pretty impressive jump from the Bellwood-Antis football team.
One of the keys was B-A’s offensive line.
With all of the line returning from last year, the Blue Devils’ rushing yards skyrocketed. Last year B-A ran for 1,223 yards compared to this year when they totaled 2,259, which is a good increase.
”We knew adjustments had to be made and as a team we needed to work, ” said center Hunter Kyle. “t feels great. We work hard in the off-season and it really showed.”
Kyle was a team captain and a leader on the offensive line for the Devils, which ended their season last week in the District 6 2A semifinals. He is this week’s Athlete of the Week.
Kyle is in his senior year and has been a 2-year starter on the football team and had a big impact many wins, like their season-opening win over Penns Valley and their 28-21 win over Tyrone in the Backyard Brawl, when the Devils ran for 195 yards.
“Beating Tyrone and making playoffs” were the two biggest accomplishments fort the team this season.
Coach Nick Lovrich credited the improvement of both Kyle and the line to their work in the weight room in the offseason.
“Hunter had a great year, and the reason why he had that improvement is the work he did in the offseason. The added strength gave him some confidence which he took out onto the field,” Coach Lovrich said. “The snaps this year were so much better than last year which helped our offense immensely. We are very proud of the year Hunter had.”
Behind Kyle and his teammates, B-A had 3,809 yards of total offense this year, which is almost a 1,000-yard improvement from last year.
When asked what he will miss most about football, Kyle said, “Everything! The bonding, the bus rides, and success we created as a team.”
