Senior back runs for season-high 129 in first-round victory
When you watch Bellwood-Antis back Chase Plummer in the open field, there’s no mistaking it. The kid has all the makings of a superstar runner.
Plummer can run by you and he can run over you, but there’s also an aspect of shiftiness that makes him slippery and tough to tackle.
On any other team, he’d be the guy, but the Blue Devils already have a guy in three-time thousand-yard rusher Alex McCartney. So Plummer is often the other guy, but Bald Eagle Area coach Jesse Nagle was well aware of the threat he posed entering last night’s District 6 2A quarterfinal at Memorial Stadium in Bellwood.
However, as the Devils have shown all season, knowing it and stopping it are two different things, and on a night when McCartney was more or less held in check, Plummer was all but unstoppable.
The senior halfback carried 10 times for 129 yards and a touchdown, including four runs of 20 yards or more, in B-A’s 34-10 victory over the Eagles. He also had a pair of receptions for 21 yards to help lift the No. 3 Devils to 8-3 and set up a showdown with No. 2 Richland next week in the semifinals.
It was Plummer’s first 100-yard game this season, but it didn’t surprise Nagle, who said Plummer was an underrated back that’s often overlooked by opposing defenses.
“Twenty-six (Plummer) is a good back,” he said. “Everybody says about 34 (McCartney). Thirty-four is a good back. Twenty-six is the dude. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. He’s a vey good back. I knew coming in that 34 was good. I knew 26 was good, as well, and he showed that tonight.”
McCartney added another 82 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries as the Devils piled up 240 yards on the ground. His touchdown run in the second quarter put B-A ahead by two scores, and with his team ahead by no less than 17 the entire second half, McCartney was able to save his legs over the third and fourth quarter, when he carried just two times.
“Our kids all stepped up,” said B-A coach Nick Lovrich. “For Chase, tonight was a really good night for him. Brady (Crist) made some plays for us, and of course Alex Made plays. It was a great team effort. The offensive line did a really good job tonight. They opened up some holes.”
Along with creating enough space for Blue Devil runners to break seven runs of 13 yards or more, the line also provided enough time for quarterback Bradyn Partner to pick apart the Eagles’ defense and turn in a near-perfect night. He completed 7 of 8 passes for 81 yards, twice moving the chains with third-down completions.
B-A’s defense, meanwhile, stopped six plays behind the line of scrimmage and intercepted BEA quarterback Mason Nagle twice. The Eagles made it inside the Devils’ 20 only once and never cracked the goal line until B-A’s starters were pulled midway through the fourth quarter.
“Our team speed is really good, and we were able to make plays because of that speed,” said Lovrich. “Up front, our guys did a good job of disrupting some things, and making big plays even after they got some good ones.”
The Devils got on the board on their second series of the game and scored on four straight possessions to go ahead 20-3 by halftime.
Jeffrey Waite ignited their first scoring drive with a 16-yard reception on third-and-4 from the 41, and three plays later Plummer got loose on his first big run.
The play went for 20 yards to get inside the red zone, but after the drive stalled sophomore Miles Smearman came on to kick a 29-yard field goal to put the Devils ahead 3-0.
After forcing a punt, Bellwood-Antis pieced together another 9-play scoring march, this one covering 80 yards. McCartney kicked it off with a 13-yard run, and Partner converted on third-and-7 with an 8-yard pass to Plummer that got the ball near midfield.
Plummer followed it up with a 29-yard run and a 13-yard reception to move inside BEA’s 10 to set up McCartney’s 3-yard touchdown blast. Smearman came on to kick the first of four PATs.
The Eagles answered the score with an extended series of their own, moving 70 yards on 9 plays, including a 44-yard completion from Mason Nagle to Justin Johnson on third-and-7 to get the ball to B-A’s 32. Nagle later completed a 19-yard pass to Drew Nagle, but the Devils stiffened up and forced a 27-yard field goal by Andrew Penland that cut the lead to 10-3 with 4:26 left in the half.
The Devils came back with six straight runs to cover 54 yards, ultimately extending their lead with this 21-yard run by Plummer that made it 17-3.
By then, only 1:16 remained in the first half, but B-A’s defense held the Eagles to zero net yards on three plays and used its timeouts to force a punt and get the ball back with 39 seconds left at its own 43.
On B-A’s first play after the change of possession, Partner completed a 36-yard pass to Jackson Dorminy to the 21 and then hit Dorminy for a short gain to the 16. With just six seconds left, Smearman came on to nail his second field goal of the half, this one from 33 yards out, to send the Devils into the locker room up 20-3.
“Bellwood is a very good football team,” said Nagle. “We had some opportunities. They capitalized on opportunities, and we didn’t tonight. They’re very experienced. They’re senior-heavy. I think that played a big factor. When they need to make plays, they make plays. They’ve done that for three years now.”
B-A had the ball for just one series in the third quarter, but its defense held off a pair of sustained drives by the Eagles. The first one lasted eight plays and got as far as the Devils’ 38 before Curtis Shedlock intercepted Nagle at the 12. The other moved 42 yards on 10 plays to B-A’s 22 before the Eagles were turned away on downs at the start of the fourth quarter.
When B-A got the ball back, McCartney broke off his biggest run of the night – a 32-yarder on a sweep – which was followed up with a 42-yard run to the 3 by Plummer. Crist scored on the next play to make it 27-6.
Soon after, Crist picked off Nagle at BEA’s 41, setting up the Devils’ lone passing touchdown of the night. With Partner resting on the sidelines, Bryson Guyer found Wait on third-and-12 for 24 yards, giving the sophomore his first career touchdown pass.
BEA finally got into the endzone with 3:09 to play when Nagle hit Chase Cane on a 54-yard scoring strike that set the final.
“It was a really good start to the playoffs,” Lovrich said. “We played a really good team. They’re a lot better than a 5-5 team. They have some tough kids They have some playmakers. I was really happy with our kids tonight.”
The Devils will travel to Richland next week to face the 9-2 Rams, who defeated Southern Huntingdon last night 44-8.
The Rams eliminated B-A in the semifinals last season with a 35-13 win.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bald Eagle Area 0 3 0 7 – 10
Bellwood-Antis 3 17 0 14 – 34
First Quarter
BA – Smearman 29 FG 3:32
Second Quarter
BA – McCartney 3 run (Smearman kick) 8:01
BEA – Penland 27 FG 4:26
BA – Plummer 21 run (Smearman kick) 1:16
BA – Smearman 33 FG :00
Fourth Quarter
BA – Crist 3 run (Smearman kick) 10:11
BA – Waite 24 pass from Guyer (Smearman kick) 6:34
BEA – Cane 54 pass from M. Nagle (Penland kick) 3:09
TEAM STATISTICS BA BEA
First downs 13 12
Total yards 345 275
Rushes-yards 33-240 29-125
Yards passing 105 150
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-9-0 9-18-150
Punts-avg. 2-40.5 2-41.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Bellwood-Antis McCartney 13-82, Plummer 10-129, Partner 2-5, Crist 2-22, Evans 3-3, Dorminy 2-(-3), Cherry 1-2. Bald Eagle Area Kleisath 17-84, M. Nagle 1-8, X. Nagle 6-1, Cane 1-3, Clark 3-23, Quimby 1-6,
PASSING—Bellwood-Antis Partner 7-8-81, 0 TD, 0 Int.; Guyer 1-1-24, 1 TD. Bald Eagle Area M. Nagle 7-16-106, 1 TD, 2 Int.; Cane 2-2-44.
RECEIVING—Bellwood-Antis Plummer 2-21, Waite 2-40, Dorminy 3-41, Shedlock 1-3. Bald Eagle Area Cane 4-69, Johnson 2-44, D. Nagle 1-19, Dannecker 2-18.
