Juniata too much for Bellefonte in District 6 Class 4A football title tilt
Bellefonte coach Tony Confer said he was questioned why would his team enter the playoffs with a 2-8 record.
While he said there were a lot of reasons, the main one was to get his seniors, team and staff one more game to try and get better.
The Red Raiders took on Juniata in that game, which was for the District 6 Class 4A crown, on Friday night.
Although things didn’t go well for Bellefonte in the 37-0 loss, Confer was still proud of his team.
“The kids didn’t quit. We got a couple of kids injured last week that were key starters for us on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We had a couple of other kids banged up coming into the game. Early on we had some things not go our way, which is things you can’t control. Offensively, we did everything but put a touchdown on the board.
“We moved the ball well. We just came up short. I love these kids, their effort and the fact that they didn’t quit. They played for each other.”
Another reason one might think the Red Raiders joined the playoffs was because they entered on a two-game win streak. They fought their way to back-to-back, 14-13, victories over Huntingdon and Somerset.
Confer felt his team had momentum, and was turning the corner on things.
The Indians proved otherwise.
They came into the game on a two-game skid, but have had the honor being called the District 6 4A champions for the past three seasons.
“These guys just showed their resiliency. We lost two heartbreakers at the end of the season,” Juniata coach Kurt Condo said. “That is the adversity you deal with throughout life. I’m really happy for the whole group of kids, especially the seniors. They came and practiced really hard this week, and focused. They did what they’ve been doing all season. They executed.”
Condo was humble with that execution comment.
After all, his squad came out and amassed 507 yards — 267 on the ground and 240 through the air. All their passing yards came in the first half as quarterback Wyatt Ehrenzeller, who started the game 10-for-10, was 13-for-17.
His favorite target was Jasper Shepps. Any time Juniata was in a third-and-long situation, Ehrenzeller just threw the ball up to Shepps, who used his 6 foot-1 inch frame to his advantage.
“11 (Shepps), I don’t know what 11 has in him, but he goes up and gets everything,” Confer said. “It seemed like every time they threw the ball up to him, he would go get it.”
The sophomore finished the game with 134 yards receiving on seven receptions, and one score.
Shepps’ 29-yard reception from Ehrenzeller started off the scoring spree for the Indians with 6:50 left in the first quarter.
Bellefonte looked like it was going to answer the Juniata score. It drove down to the Indians’ 9, but quarterback Liam Halterman fumbled the ball away.
Juniata took advantage of the turnover as it went 91 yards in seven plays in three minutes to go up, 15-0. Ehrenzeller used a four-yard run and some shoving from teammates to score.
The Red Raiders again went on a drive into the Indians’ end of the field, but was forced to punt. Braden Bickle pinned Juniata at their own one-yard line.
But the Indians were unfazed.
“Juniata is a great program. They are well coached. The have some really good athletes,” Confer said. “They have a great team. They deserve to be here.”
The Indians took the ball 99 yards, just over five minutes for their third straight score. It was a 12-play drive that was capped off by Heath Hutchinson rumbling in from 11 yards.
It was 22-0 Juniata with 4:29 left in the first half.
Hutchinson added one more score before the half was over on a five-yard run. He finished second on the team in rushing with 73 yards on 13 carries. Javier Lopez led the way with 104 yards on seven carries.
Even though Bellefonte was down 30-0 to start the second half, it never quit.
It was that mentality that really stuck out to Condo.
“They are tough kids. Looking at them on film and stuff, I know they have some good athletes,” he said. “I know they are really banged up. It’s going to be Bellefonte and Juniata in District 6 4A for a long time here. I’m expecting some year to year battles down the road.”
Now Confer and his staff shift their focus to the offseason. It’s something he is looking forward to, even though his squad suffered a tough loss.
He mentioned that he’s glad he’ll get a full offseason, having been named coach only at the end of March. Football has been a year-round commitment for athletes, so Confer only got 4 1/2 months with his team.
He knows the first thing that he is going to focus on.
“Our big thing right now is teams that have handled us, it’s about the weight room. My mission in the offseason is changing that,” he said, “so we can start competing physically with the better teams on our schedule. We had five games that we were in, which I think is a testament to these kids. I have a really young staff.
“We are all coming back together, and working to get better. The kids are invested and bought into what we are doing. They are excited to get back here.”
Other Centre County scores
Bald Eagle Area 36, Bishop Guilfoyle 14
Richland 45, Penns Valley 7
Juniata 37, Bellefonte 0
Friday at Hollidaysburg
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bellefonte 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Juniata 15 15 0 7 -- 37
First Quarter
J--Jasper Shepps 29 pass from Wyatt Ehrenzeller (Heath Hutchinson run), 6:50
J--Ehrenzeller 4 run (Kade Wagner kick), :22
Second Quarter
J--Hutchinson 11 run (Wagner kick), 4:29
J--Hutchinson 5 run (Ehrenzeller run), :38
Fourth Quarter
J--Seth Laub 2 run (Wagner kick), 6:39
TEAM STATISTICS B J
First downs 9 20
Total yards 254 507
Rushes-yards 28-102 44-267
Yards passing 152 240
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-17-1 13-19-2
Punts-avg. 3-37 0-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 8-46 7-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Bellefonte, Isaac Gall 9-33, Ryan Fraley 7-26, Liam Halterman 6-21, Sherman Lowry 5-21, Aden Howell 1-1. Juniata, Javier Lopez 7-104, Hutchinson 13-73, Ehrenzeller 7-36, Laub 8-33, Talan Barndt 5-10, Ayden Dowling 1-6, Gage Harlon 2-5, Shepps 1-0.
PASSING--Bellefonte, Gall 6-11-1-96, Halterman 2-6-0-56. Juniata, Ehrenzeller 13-19-2-240.
RECEIVING--Bellefonte, Jaeden Gabrovsek 4-57, Robert Slagan 1-34, Nathan Benner 2-31, Braden Bickle 1-30. Juniata, Shepps 7-134, Connor Boreman 2-44, Laub 1-34, Barndt 3-28.
INTERCEPTIONS--Bellefonte, Bickle 1, Howell 1. Juniata, Boreman 1.
Records: Bellefonte 2-9, Juniata 6-4
Next game: Bellefonte season complete
