Allport- While West Branch went into the half having earned over 150 yards of offense, they were missing one valuable component: points. The Warriors trailed Bellwood-Antis 21-0 at the half, and went on to lose by a final score of 49-0 on Friday night. Although the score says otherwise, the Warriors were a few big plays away from making this a competitive contest. The Warriors opened the game by receiving the opening kickoff. After starting the drive on their own 19 yard line, the Warriors began to drive right down the field, looking as if they would score. The Warriors made it all the way down to the Bellwood 19 yard line, but a few penalties against the Warriors backed them up, eventually leading to a punt. After the teams first two drives each ended in a punt, Bellwood found the end zone on a long scramble by their quarterback to go on top 7-0.
West Branch continued to sustain long drives, but failed to put any points on the board. Early on, the passing game was keeping the chains moving for the Warriors. Quarterback Ayden Gutierrez threw for 120 first half yards, hitting multiple Warrior receivers throughout the game’s entirety. Wideout Josh Cantolina hauled in five catches for 80 yards.
As the game moved on, Bellwood began to take control of the tempo and momentum. Once they got over their slow start, the Warrior defense could not stop them, as Bellwood rushed for over 300 yards on the night.
“The best part about our team is that we are quick to forget about bad games,” tight-end Gage Thompson said. Even after a loss like this, I think we’re going to respond well and have a good game at Williamsburg.
In the end, Bellwood earned 397 total yards of offense, while West Branch had 169 yards.
West Branch (4-3) travels to Williamsburg (0-7) this Friday.
BOX SCORE:
Score By Quarters
West Branch 0 0 0 0
Bellwood-Antis 7 14 21 7
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Derek Yingling 17-59
Will Herring 1-13
Ayden Gutierrez 2-(-9)
Jackson Croyle 2-1
Noah Hoffner 1-(-1)
Hudson Pase 2-(-7)
Passing:
Ayden Gutierrez 11-of-28, 120 yds., 1 INT
Jackson Croyle 0-of-2, 0 yds.
Receiving:
Josh Cantolina 5-80
Derek Yingling 1-15
Will Herring 3-12
Eddie Dale 1-9
Noah Hoffner 1-4
