Nov 1, 2014 2 min read

FREDERICKTOWN – Beth-Center’s winless drought in the postseason was pushed to four seasons as the Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker Friday night in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs to Riverside.

Anthony Welsh’s fumble at the Riverside 1 with 23 seconds remaining squirted into the end zone, where it was recovered by the 13th-seeded Panthers for a touchback that allowed them to hold on for a 21-20 victory over the Tri-County South champions.

Unforunately for Welsh, the fumble turned what could have been a big night into a nightmare, as the senior put the Bulldogs (9-1) on his back from the start of the game, scoring on a 76-yard run on his first carry. He finished with a game-high 147 yards rushing on 19 carries and also scored on a 34-yard pass from Trent Cunko in the second quarter as Beth-Center took a 14-7 halftime lead.

Jason Dambach, who threw for 188 yards, threw a pair of touchdown passes, the first to Logan Sheridan midway through the third quarter to tie the score at 14-14.

Dambach’s second touchdown came after Nico Brown had put Beth-Center ahead, 20-14, one minute after the Panthers had tied it.

Austin Dambach was on the receiving end of the score and Courtney Harden kicked her third successful PAT of the game to give Riverside (6-4) a 21-20 lead with just over one minute remaining in the third quarter.

Brown intercepted a pass at the Beth-Center 35 with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs one last shot to win it.

Welsh did the bulk of the work on the final drive, including converting a fourth-and-2 at midfield to keep the drive alive.

But on second-and-3 from the Riverside 5 with 23 seconds remaining, he fumbled while fighting to get into the end zone and the Panthers recovered and ran out the clock to complete the upset.