Oct 16, 2015 4 min read

ELLSWORTH – The Bentworth High School football team entered Friday night needing only a win over Mapletown at home to secure its first WPIAL playoff berth since 2006.

Thanks to a huge second half from Bearcats quarterback Josh Hughes, Bentworth has a reason to celebrate.

Hughes completed 22 of 30 pass attempts for 502 yards and six touchdowns – four in the third quarter – as the Bearcats scored 42 unanswered points and defeated the Maples 42-14 in the Tri-County South Conference matchup.

“It was a big win,” Hughes said. “We were able to do some good things offensively in the second half. My receivers made a lot of big plays for me.”

The win puts the Bearcats back in the postseason, but they still have a lot to play for as they close the season at Beth-Center Oct. 30 and the winner is likely to host a playoff game.

“Getting in is big for the program,” said Bentworth (6-1, 6-1) head coach Ron Skiles. “I think we came out tight as we were thinking about the playoffs. We just had to get the kids loose at halftime and they came out and performed.”

Both teams started the game very slowly offensively as neither team moved the ball effectively in a scoreless first quarter.

The Maples got on the scoreboard first midway through the second quarter when Dylan Rush broke loose for a 25-yard touchdown run. The scoring drive was set up by a 30-yard run from his brother Matt Rush.

The Maples made it 14-0 with another second-quarter touchdown with the help of a couple questionable calls.

With the Bearcats moving the ball for the first time in the game, Bentworth called a double reverse that led to a 1-yard loss. Two plays later, facing a fourth-and-24 in their own territory, Bentworth called a fake punt that ended up with Ty Mitchell running for just two yards.

Mapletown (2-5, 2-5) capitalized on the short field as Rush found the end zone again, this time from 15 yards to make it 14-0.

The Maples would eventually wear down as they dressed only 17 kids on the night, but head coach George Messich was happy with the effort.

“I’m so proud of the effort of the kids,” said Messich. “We are down seven starters just from a couple weeks ago and we came out and gave a great effort. With so few kids I think they just wore us down.”

Rush finished with 130 yards on 31 carries but 117 of those yards came in the first half.

Once the third quarter began, the effort of the Bentworth defense was as impressive of that as the offense.

“We just had to make some adjustments,” Skiles said. “We came out in the second half with more energy and did a better job of flying to the football.”

The game changed with just over a minute left in the first half.

The Bearcats’ offense woke up just in time and went 67 yards in just four plays, including a 19-yard touchdown pass from Hughes to Mitchell to send the game into halftime at 14-7.

“The touchdown before the half was huge,” said Skiles. “It gave us some momentum going into halftime and we brought that out into the second half.”

Hughes lit up the Maples’ defense in the third quarter, throwing two touchdown passes to Noah Peternel (65 and 45 yards), and one each to Mitchell (37 yards) and Ethan Tush (73 yards).

Hughes capped his big night when he hit Peternel in the fourth quarter with a 78-yard scoring strike.

Peternel finished with seven receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and Mitchell had eight catches for 158 yards and two scores.

“I can’t say enough about my receivers,” said Hughes. ‘Sometimes I am just throwing quick slant routes and they take them the distance.”

The win is the fourth straight for the Bearcats. Bentworth will look to continue its momentum when it travels to powerful Jeannette Friday for a non-conference battle.

One thing Skiles learned about his team is that it has the ability have the ability to erase a double-digit deficit in the blink of an eye.

“We need to continue to get better,” Skiles said. “But we have the type of offense that can score a lot and score very quickly.”