Balanced attack leads Blackhawk to impressive 31-14 win over Ambridge in conference opener
CHIPPEWA TWP. — “It was a lot of fun.”
That’s what Blackhawk head coach Zack Hayward said about the Cougars' first section win of the 2022 season on Friday night against Ambridge. The Cougars scored four offensive touchdowns and had a field goal from senior Devon Thomas to propel them to a 31-14 win, marking the second straight game the Cougars have won in 2022.
Dontae Campagna led all Blackhawk rushers with two touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Stephen Knallay had one touchdown on the ground and one in the air to classmate Tyler Heckathorn.
Kanally’s rushing touchdown claimed the opening points, faking a handoff to senior running back Zach Ours and taking it himself 50 yards down the field and into the end zone, which came on what he stated was a "great call" from Hayward, a former Blackhawk quarterback himself.
“Coach called a great call and I had some good blocks,” Knallay said. “Everyone did their job and it made it easy for me. The line really held their blocks… We’ve been working hard and we’re glad to see it pay off.”
“He’s a tremendous athlete, dual-sport athlete,” Hayward said of his young quarterback. “We know he can throw, but he has shown in the past couple weeks that he can run, too. Watching him run is something we see every day in practice. So, it might have been a shock to people, but not for us.”
Campagna earned the second touchdown of the game in the second quarter, doubling Blackhawk’s lead on a reverse that fooled the Ambridge defense. Despite Campagna having two touchdowns, the running back wasn’t the only busy player in the backfield, with Ours and junior running back Maurice Watson-Trent getting time.
“We have a lot of great athletes. No one gets selfish and anyone can bust out on any night,” Campagna said. “Tonight was fun. I had a lot of good blocks on the outside and had an open field.”
At halftime, Ambridge head coach Sherman McBride said his message going into the second half was simple with the score line being 17-0.
“We were only down by 17,” McBride said. “I told them to regroup, and we made the corrections and followed through with it. Then we scored, and then they drove the ball down the field. It was all for not.”
Ambridge did attempt a response, with the Bridgers scoring after an interception from senior Zappula Lewis in the third quarter. Ambridge drove down the field and Tyler McKnight caught a 40-yard pass from senior quarterback Deaven Ivory, bringing Ambridge within two possessions.
Ambridge, after the Blackhawk touchdown from Heckathorn and a second from Campagna on a 10-yard rush, made another attempt at a comeback with a 59-yard pass from Ivory to sophomore wide receiver Adam Hernandez.
With about four minutes left on the clock, Blackhawk ran the ball and managed to continue driving down, draining the clock in the process, picking up the win in the conference opener. Hayward said that, coming into their first section game against Ambridge, the Cougars knew they would be in for a battle.
“They’re a very physical team,” Hayward said. “We knew it would be four quarters, a good game from the first whistle to the last. They’re a good team, a solid team. Coach Sherman is doing a great job having those guys at the right place to make the plays. Fortunately for us, we made two big plays on them.”
Despite the big win, Blackhawk said they are still looking to improve on both sides of the ball, especially in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk will face Chartiers Valley in a conference matchup on Sept. 23.
“We have to improve on finishing the game,” Hayward stated. “There were a couple times we had them close and if we would have gotten one more stop or scored one more time, we would get some other guys in. That’s a tribute to Ambridge; they don’t quit. They matched our intensity and physicality. For us, it’s finishing out the game. For good teams in a good conference, it’s tough to do. That’s something that we have to learn how to do.”
Meanwhile, McBride said Ambridge will “dust off their pants” and go back to the drawing board, as they prepare for a non-conference game against Montour in Week 4.
“I told the guys we have to dust our pants off, get back to the drawing board and go from there,” McBride said. “Penalties at inappropriate times killed us. You can’t do well on the football field when you turn the ball over and have penalties all over the place.”
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Balanced attack leads Blackhawk to impressive 31-14 win over Ambridge in conference opener
