To a man, Southern Huntingdon’s coaches, players and fans had a “gut” feeling that they were ready to finally break the Bellwood-Antis jinx. That’s what made a bitter pill so hard to swallow afterward as the visiting Blue Devils combined a strong ground game with a well-prepared defense to take home a 24-7 District Six Class A semifinal victory.
The third-seeded Blue Devils (9-2) piled up 407 total yards, 373 of that on the ground, while limiting the second-seeded Rockets (9-2) to 113 with 80 of that coming over land.
Bellwood-Antis hit the Rockets in the solar plexus with a pair of touchdowns within a span of just 2:03 midway through the first quarter that took an emotional and psychological toll. It took a suddenly deflated Southern squad two more quarters before getting its wind back, but, by then, the game was effectively out of reach.
“They just handled us up front,” offered Southern Huntingdon coach Ryan Garlock, after exiting the post-game huddle where he tried to console the Rockets. “They hit some big plays on us at the start that put us in a hole and they did an excellent job all-around on defense.”
The real key was Bellwood’s ability to contain Southern’s potent tandem of senior quarterback Tyler Mansberger and senior fullback Troy Hoover.
Mansberger, scrambling under heavy pressure most of the night, netted only 16 yards on 14 carries and completed four of 14 passes for 33 yards with two interceptions. He had been averaging 134.5 yards of total offense per game. Hoover, who entered the game with 1,093 rushing yards on the season, ran just seven times for 23 yards.
“We emphasized stopping Mansberger all week long,” veteran Blue Devil coach John Hayes explained. “We knew he’s been their big-play guy and made things happen the last few weeks. Hoover is a tough runner between the tackles, but we felt Mansberger was the key.”
“In practice this week, we put a quick kid in at quarterback on the scout team when we wanted to mirror Mansberger’s running ability. The kids worked hard to prepare and I think that showed.”
Bellwood-Antis will meet fifth-seeded Juniata Valley (9-2) for the 6-A championship Saturday night at Altoona’s Mansion Park. The Green Hornets upended top-seeded Purchase Line 6-0 in overtime at Commodore Friday night to reach the finals for the first time since 1987.
Senior tailback Josh Kleinfelter carried 30 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns. With Southern’s defense focusing on him, senior fullback Jon Davila was able to hit a number of quick pops that produced 147 yards on just 10 carries.
Bellwood-Antis shocked Southern by scoring a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and never looked back. The Devils held a 262-12 edge in total offense and kept Southern from moving the sticks until the final minute of the opening half.
The going was tougher in the second half as the Devils were c ontent to sit on their lead and work the clock. Hayes stated, “We knew Southern had a good football team that wanted to prove itself. They adjusted well for the second half and took away some things we had success with in the first half.”
After the Rockets went three-and-out on their first series, Bellwood-Antis put together a 79-yard, 10-play scoring drive that was ignited by back-to-back runs of 29 and 25 yards by Kleinfelter and Davila, respectively. Evan Hughes hit David Burns with a 12-yard pass for a first down at the Southern five on a third-and-seven call. It took B-A four cracks to hit paydirt before Kleinfelter went off the right side from a power-I formation with 6:57 on the clock and Evan Celmo kicked the first of his three extra points.
The points were the first scored against the Rockets since Bellwood-Antis got a touchdown with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter of its 29-7 regular-season win over Southern Sept. 29. Since then, the Rockets had racked up five straight shutouts and outscored their victims 215-0 over a span of 242 minutes and 23 seconds.
Southern again couldn’t move the sticks and the Devils set up shop at their own 18 after a 38-yard punt by Jordan Yohn. Davila popped up the middle on a 67-yard run before being run down by Mansberger at the Rocket 15. Kleinfelter then swept left end and dived into the end zone at the 4:54 mark. Celmo’s kick made it 14-0.
Celmo later split the uprights on a 34-yard field goal that just cleared the bar, hitting the post on its way down with 7:31 remaining in the half for a 17-0 cushion.
The Devils controlled the ball for the first 5:08 of the second half, driving to the Rocket 13 before being pushed back by penalties for holding and illegal procedure. Celmo’s 36-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left with 6:52 on the third-quarter clock.
Down 17, the Rockets put together a 91-yard, 15-play drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters, but took 6:48 off the clock. Josh Crull made a good route adjustment over the middle and came back to the ball, hauling in an 18-yard pass from Mansberger at the B-A 15. James Plummer ran 10 yards for another first down at the five and Nick Hall took it home from there with 10:46 left in the game. Matt Gaston converted the extra point.
The buoyed Rockets stopped B-A on its next series and set up shop at the Southern 30. Trying to catch the Devils napping, Garlock called for a flanker reverse pass, but Corey Knepper’s floater settled into Kleinfelter’s waiting arms at the Bellwood 47 with 8:04 left in the third period and the Devils proceeded to keep the ball for the next 4:14.
Southern was again stymied on its next possession on three pass incompletions and gave Bellwood the ball on downs at the Rocket 31. The Devils put the game away on a four-play strike, capped by back-up fullback Bruno DeGol’s nine-yard run with 1:57 to play.
Garlock tried to soften the blow,, “We had a great year. This group of kids has just been outstanding and a very close-knit team. They made us proud.”
GAME NOTES: Kleinfelter boosted his rushing totals to 1,840 yards and 28 touchdowns on 239 carries this season. His career totals now stand at 5,483 rushing yards and 74 TDs … The Devil defense picked off four passes. Southern had 13 turnovers all season and eight of those came in the two losses to Bellwood … B-A halfback Devon Clapper was injured in the first half and had to be transported to the hospital for a precautionary examination that revealed a severe whiplash … The Rockets lost to Bellwood-Antis for the 16th straight time and now trails in the series 28-7 … The Juniata Valley-Bellwood winner meets the District Three champion, either Steel-High or Millersburg, in a PIAA Class A quarterfinal Dec. 1 or 2.
