Beth-Center, Welsh rout J-M
Beth-Center’s Dominic Fundy breaks through the Jefferson-Morgan defense Friday for a first-quarter touchdown.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Jefferson-Morgan’s Nick Teegarden points upward after scoring the first touchdown of the game on Friday, October 23 against Beth-Center from a 67 yard halfback pass from Trevor Kniha.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Joe Headlee breaks away for a 77-yards punt return for a touchdown Friday night against Beth-Center.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Beth-Center’s Trent Cunko holds off Jefferson-Morgan’s David Blaker to get a first down during the first half of Friday night’s game.
JEFFERSON – Week 8 of the high school football season presented a big opportunity for a pair of Tri-County South Conference teams looking to improve positions for the postseason.
Beth-Center’s playoff future looks a little bit brighter as the Bulldogs will enter the final week of the regular season with a chance at securing a home playoff game after defeating Jefferson-Morgan, 61-14, Friday night.
Despite the loss, the Rockets still have a chance at a playoff berth as they will host Carmichaels for the final playoff berth from the conference next week.
The Bulldogs’ usually strong rushing attack was on display right off the bat, but they had to do so without star running back Tony Welsh, who was suspended for the first quarter of the game by head coach Ed Woods because of a sideline incident that occurred last week at Avella.
Welsh responded by rushing for 126 yards on 16 carries, finding the end zone five times, four times on the ground.
“Sitting out the first quarter, I was really anxious to get into the game,” said Welsh. “This was the most fun I have had playing all season. I’m just playing to enjoy my senior year. We had a good week of practice and we got the win.”
Woods had no problem turning to Dominic Fundy in the first quarter and the freshman carried nine times for 102 yards, 91 in the first 12 minutes.
“I thought Jefferson-Morgan is a good team and they usually do a good job of stopping the run,” said Woods. “We did a good job up front and I thought all of our backs ran the ball very well.”
However, it was the Rockets who struck first.
After recovering a B-C fumble, Jeff-Morgan used a little trickery as running back Trevor Kniha hit Nick Teegarden with a 67-yard touchdown on a halfback pass on the Rockets first play from scrimmage.
“We came out nicely,” said J-M head coach Aaron Giorgi. “But we didn’t block and we didn’t tackle. When you don’t do that, the outcome is going to be pretty simple. You don’t block. You don’t tackle. You don’t win.”
It was all Bulldogs after that as Beth-Center scored on their next four possessions of the first half.
Fundy tied the game 7-7 with a 24-yard first-quarter touchdown run. Frank Dreucci made it 14-7 with a nine-yard run.
Then it was time for Welsh to take over.
The senior scored on runs of three and five yards to extend the Beth-Center lead to 27-7 late in the first half.
Jefferson-Morgan gained some momentum at the end of the half when Joe Headley broke loose for a 77-yard touchdown to make it 27-14.
But the inconsistency with blocking and tackling killed the Rockets.
“We have to get that fixed quickly,” Giorgi. “I think we will bounce back. The Carmichaels game is always a big one and I expect a good performance next week. But we have a lot to learn from this week.”
Beth-Center picked up where they left off in the second half.
Welsh scored on runs of six and eight yards and also caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Trent Cunko. The B-C quarterback also scored on a four-yard run.
Reserve running back Bailey Lincoski capped the scoring with a late 10-yard run.
The Bulldogs take on Bentworth next week in a battle for second place in the conference.
“We weren’t going to overlook Jefferson-Morgan,” said Woods. “Now that this one is over, we will celebrate it and tomorrow we will begin to focus on Bentworth.”