Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

It was a slow start for the Bellwood-Antis offense, but once the Blue Devils got in gear, they ripped the game wide open, in a 43-0 shutout victory over Mount Union on Friday evening at the Mount Union Athletic Field.
Bellwood-Antis kicked off to begin the contest, forcing Mount Union to punt, one of seven punts for the Trojans.
On the first play from scrimmage from the MU-40 following the kick, Josh Kleinfelter set the tone for the game by slamming 21 yards. Jon Davila bulled for nine and Kleinfelter came back with four yards to move the sticks for a first down. With a first and goal at the six however, Bellwood-Antis couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. Mount Union took over at their own one-yard line.
Down in the shadow of their own goal line, the Trojans put together what would be their longest drive of the game, moving out to their own 43, before the B-A defense forced another punt.
Kleinfelter had his number called on five of seven plays for 29 yards, but a fumble was recovered by Mount Union at the MU-37.
“We played a little sluggish the first quarter there,” explained Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes. “It seems like every time we come down here, somehow we get into a kind of funk and they kind of make us look kind of sloppy. I was glad that we were able to get out of it.”
Finally, Bellwood-Antis started at their own-37 near the end of the quarter to move the ball with authority. Kleinfelter started it with an 11-yard scamper and later came back with a pickup of 10. Justin Manning and Davila each added six-yard gains. Kleinfelter cashed in with a five-yard score and Evan Celmo booted the PAT to open up a 7-0 lead for Bellwood-Antis.
Nick McConaughey tried to give Mount Union a spark, returning the following kick 43 yards to the BA-47, but the B-A defense knocked the Trojans back a yard in three plays and Mount Union had to punt again.
Beginning from their own 30, the Blue Devils marched or rather soared, to the Mount Union 30. Evan Hughes found Devon Clapper with a short pass and Clapper sped 34 yards with the reception. Kleinfelter picked up 10 yards around end, before Hughes sucked everybody in and then lofted a pass to David Burns all by himself, for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Celmo’s PAT made the score 14-0.
Mount union got a pair of first downs on their next series. First sophomore Cole Walters slammed seven yards through the middle and classmate Zach Hicks picked up a first down going four yards. Then Walters moved the sticks again on his own with a 10-yard gain. That was it for that series, however, as the ever-present Blue Devil defense shut the Trojans down.
With 1:37 left in the half, Bellwood-Antis took over at the BA-20. Kleinfelter got three on the first call, then took a tailback draw burst through the line and raced 77 yards for a quick-strike score. His teammates provided two beautiful downfield blocks that effectively cleared the final obstacles in Kleinfelter’s path, first near the middle of the field near the Trojan-40, then on the sideline around the 20 to allow Josh to score with ease. Celmo was true again on the kick and a 21-0 half time lead.
With a three-touchdown lead, the Blue Devil also received the kick to begin the third quarter. Kleinfelter fielded the kick at the BA-21 and simply raced up the middle and was gone for a 79-yard TD. On the PAT try, the snap from center was a little high, so holder Blaze Winterstein pulled the ball down and rumbled around the right side, just making it into the end zone for two points.
“I think the big run at the end of the second quarter, kind of woke us up and gave us some energy at halftime,” said Hayes, “and then we came out with the kickoff return. Those were two big backbreakers right there back-to-back. That probably knocked the life and the energy out of Mount Union. Our kids played well defensively and on special teams. They were steady. The defense played a big part in holding the tide till we got going. When we weren’t able to do something, they were able to give us good field position and get us another shot at it, till we were finally able to crack the door and get one in.”
The Bellwood-Antis defense forced punts on two of the first three Mount Union series and on the middle series, the B-A defense took the ball away from the Trojans on downs at the MU-43.
Devon Clapper returned the first punt 21 yards to the MU-18, and Kleinfelter, who rushed 23 times for 229 yards, took just one play to score the 18-yard TD and Celmo booted the extra point. Then after taking over on downs, B-A moved 43 yards in eight plays for their final score. Hughes fired a strike to Clapper for 10 yards for the key play and Kleinfelter scored his fifth TD of the game, fourth from the line of scrimmage by going 15 yards. Celmo booted the PAT.
Blue Devil notes: Coach Hayes won his 200th career victory against Mount Union last year and picked up his 210th against the Trojans Friday night….Kleinfelter’s 229 yards rushing was the sixth time in his career at B-A to rush for over 200 yards in a game….Hughes has thrown two TD passes, both to Burns….The Blue Devils used 11 different runners against Mount Union….Bellwood-Antis (3-1) will celebrate Homecoming next Friday by hosting undefeated Southern Huntingdon (4-0) who defeated Williamsburg 46-6 on Friday.
Bellwood-Antis 43 Mount Union 0
Bellwood-Antis 0 21 22 0 – 43
Mount Union 0 0 0 0 – 0
Second Quarter
BA – Kleinfelter 5 run. (Celmo kick) 8:18.
BA – Burns 30 pass from Hughes. (Celmo kick). 4:41.
BA – Kleinfelter 77 run. (Celmo kick) 0:41.

Third Quarter
BA – Kleinfelter 79 kick return. (Winterstein run). 11:49.
BA – Kleinfelter 18 run. (Celmo kick). 9:37.
BA – Kleinfelter 15 run. (Celmo kick). 1:14.
Team
BA MU
First Downs 14 8
Yards Rushing 44-297 31-127
Pass Att.-Comp. 5-8 2-8
Pass Yards 85 18
Total Yards 382 145
Fumbles/Lost 2-1 1-1
Interceptions by 1 0
Penalties/Yards 4-25 3-15
Punts/Avg. 0-0 7-33.4
Rushing
Bellwood-Antis – Kleinfelter 23-229 (4 TDs), Davila 6-27, Manning 2-10, Clapper 1-3, Campbell 5-11, DeGol 1-2, Reams 1-1, Saylor 1-6, A. Miller 2-5, Noye 1-0, Gray 1-3.
Mount Union – Walters 15-70, Hicks 7-18, Smith 5-25, McConaughey 3-14.
Passing
Bellwood-Antis – Hughes 5-8, 85 yards, 0 Int., 1 TD.
Mount Union – Smith 2-8, 18 yards, 1 Int., 0 TDs.
Receiving
Bellwood-Antis – Clapper 3-51, Burns 1-30 (1 TD), Winterstein 1-4.
Mount Union – Barcelona 2-18.

By Rick