Blue Devils try to regroup from loss in Backyard Brawl
Devils drop Backyard Brawl 41-7 in a mistake-filled game
The Blue Devils took the field Friday night
September 8, 2015
On Friday, all of Bellwood came out to see a good game and hopefully a win over Tyrone in the Backyard Brawl, but what they got was a one-sided show.
On defense, the Blue Devils couldn’t stop the Eagles, who repeatedly drove down the field, and on offense they couldn’t hold onto the ball in a 41-7 loss.
The Eagles, led by senior quarterback Drew Hunter, put up all 41 of their points before the Devils scored. Hunter, who got help from his experienced offensive line, went 9-for-15 for 152 yards. The line gave Hunter all the time he needed and the Blue Devil defense was unable to get anywhere near the quarterback.
Bellwood had one interception, two fumbles and went without converting on fourth down a couple of times in the first half. Tyrone capitalized on the interception and both fumbles by going to the end zone.
Junior Ethan McGee said, “All of the turnovers really hurt us. We had solid momentum coming out and stopped them a few times, but we kept turning the ball over and that lost the game for us.”
Tyrone had a 34-0 lead at the half and they started to sub in their younger players in the third and fourth quarters, while Bellwood tried to come up with a way to score.
“At halftime we were just trying to focus on coming out in the second half. We thought that if we came out and won the second half we would at least go out on a solid note,” said McGee.
The Blue Devils made it into the end zone in the fourth quarter on a score by Nick Watters after both teams put their JV squads in. Kowalski had the extra point, giving Bellwood its only points.
Now the Devils will regroup to play Moshannon Valley on Friday in Houtzdale. The Knights had a big win over Bald Eagle Area last week, and quarterback Eric Sherkel ran and passed for over 100 yards.
“We will work on the things that need to be fixed and adjust to what works best against Mo Valley,” said senior Jake McCaulley.
Senior Zach Taylor said the team needed to return to the fundamentals.
“We need to get back to our basics,” he said. “We need to be back in the film room. This is a big ICC game and we need to learn from our mistakes.”
