An infantile paralysis quarantine forced man area wide high school football teams to cancel or postpone their early season schedules in 1942.
Bellwood-Antis didn’t open their season until Sept. 13, 1942 for head coach Bob Killen and assistants Lew Myers and Tim Nolan. A dozen boys had been lost to graduation, but there was still 45 on the squad.
The Blue Devils opened the season with a convincing 21-0 win over Bigler Township of Madera. Playing at Bellwood, Killen inserted Steve Hatfield into the lineup, up from the junior varsity, after a scoreless first three quarters.
Hatfield who would later be awarded the Trophy for the Most Valuable Player in Canadian Football after a career at Bellwood-Antis and Shippensburg State Teachers College and a try out with the New York Giants, provided the spark for the Blue Devils. Hatfield pulled down a pass and dodged and twisted his way for a 40-yard touchdown for the season’s first score.
A few minutes later, Hatfield had his number called from scrimmage and promptly ran 11 yards for his second score.
The final tally came when fullback Joe Garman intercepted a Bigler pass and with some fine blocking from his teammates, lugged the ball 65 yards for the final TD. Garman also booted perfect placements after all three TDs.
Bigler had the ball inside the BA-20 in the second quarter when they blocked a Blue Devil punt, but the B-A defense stiffened and prevented a score.
On Sept. 13, 1963, Bellwood-Antis avenged a 13-0 loss the year before by defeating Cresson High School by a 21-6 count. Bellwood-Antis used a big second-half effort to subdue the Indians for head coach Chet Dillen and assistants Bob Fowler, Russ Kowalchick, Mike Hoffer and Earl Henry.
Blue Devil lineman Don Chile recovered a Cresson fumble at the Indians-29 midway through the opening quarter to set up the first TD. Bill Cherry, who would lead Blair County in scoring in 1963, had the key play with a 12-yard gain before finishing the drive with a two-yard TD. Cherry rushed for the PAT and a 7-0 lead.
Cresson narrowed the lead to 7-6 in the second quarter with an 85-yard scoring drive.
Bellwood-Antis took the second half kickoff and promptly rolled 75 yards in 15 plays for their second score. A Cherry to Walter Rhoades pass for 15 yards culminated the series and Bud Colyer added the PAT rush for a 14-6 margin.
In the fourth quarter, the Blue Devil defense led by their big front line forced a Cresson punt from the Indians own 10-yard line. Setting up at the Cresson-35, B-A used just five plays with Cherry running the final 12 yards for the score and adding his own extra point. Cherry rushed 20 times for 113 yards to lead the B-A attack.
Playing before a large home crowd at Bellwood Memorial Stadium, Bellwood-Antis repaid some more past-due lumps by handing Penn Cambria of Cresson a 31-0 defeat on Sept. 13, 1974. B-A was coming off a 20-0 win over backyard rival Tyrone, the first win in the series in eight years for the Blue Devils.
Ambidextrous quarterback Gary Hribik passed to Tom Jackson for one score and ran 15 yards for another, while bruising 205-pound fullback Jerry Taylor and halfbacks Pat McGinnis and Jim Evans punched in three other scores in the Blue Devils’ home opener under head coach Mike Hoffer and assistants Steve Hayes and Darrell Claar.
The Blue Devil defense held Penn Cambria to just 58 yards rushing and with three pass interceptions caught more Panther passes than Penn Cambria did (3-0).
Hribik hooked up with Carl Crider for a 49-yard pass play that highlighted the Blue Devils first drive capped by a three-yard smash by Taylor. Later in the first quarter, a muffed Penn Cambria punt attempt gave B-A the ball at the PC-14. Hribik hit Jackson with a three-yard TD pass for an early 12-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Bellwood-Antis marched 90 yards for a score. McGinnis had four carries for 39 yards and Evans burst in for the three-yard score.
B-A upped the lead to 24-0 at the half with Joe Orolin picking off a pass and McGinnis breaking off a 30-yard touchdown scamper.
The Blue Devils then put the finishing touches on their victory with one more third-quarter score.
Evans intercepted a Penn Cambria pass and Bellwood-Antis marched 37 yards for the six pointer. Taylor got the ball close with a pair of runs for 15 yards and Hribik scooted for the 15-yard TD. Jim Riley booted the PAT following the final Bellwood-Antis score.
Penn Cambria’s most serious threat was stopped at the BA-27 by a Hribik interception.
Hribik and Taylor would be the top vote getters at their respective defensive positions on the Inter-County All-Star Team at the end of the season-Hribik at defensive back and Taylor at linebacker and Joe DelGrosso would be selected Honorable Mention at offensive tackle.
