DUBOIS – The scenario was simple but the task was not as the
Bradford Owls needed to win their last three games to finish the
regular season with a winning record.
The cold, rainy night started badly for Bradford on the opening
kickoff and went downhill from there as the Owls dropped a 37-0
District 9 League decision to unbeaten DuBois on Friday.
“They (Beavers) are a very good football team,” said Steve
Ackerman, BHS head coach.
“They’re strong, they’re quick, they have good skill people and
linemen. We couldn’t do anything with them.”
The Owls received the aforementioned kickoff and the Beavers’
Josh Sullivan drilled the ball carrier as Adam Lawrence recovered
at the Bradford 22.
“We tried to change things up,” Ackerman recalled.
“We won the toss and took the ball to see if our luck would
change. Evidently that was the wrong move.”
Three plays later quarterback Ryan Liddle took a 15-yard keeper
across the goal line.
Fortunately for the Owls, the misguided extra point sailed
halfway to Hoss?s and it was 6-0 with 10:34 left in the first
period.
The Owls got a break with 6:57 remaining when a bad punt snap
gave Bradford a first-and-10 at the DuBois 11. If there was a
turning point in a 37-point blowout, it came two plays later when
the Beavers Zach Bussard swooped on a pass at the 2 and brought it
out to the 15.
“We couldn?t even move it against them (Beavers),” Ackerman
confessed.
“Sixty-six (Gabe Bowley) and 64 (Corey Smith) just manhandled us
up front and they took the ball away.”
Utilizing a 27-yard pass from Liddle to Mark Malacarne and a
23-yard run by Malacarne, DuBois marched 85 yards in seven plays
with Rob Hanzely plunging over from the one. Despite a failed
two-pointer, the hosts led 12-0 with 2:36 left in the opening
stanza.
The Beavers would regain those two points when a high Bradford
punt snap floated into the Owls end zone for a safety and a 14-0
DuBois advantage with 54 seconds showing in the first.
After the combatants traded punts, DuBois extended its lead to
21-0 with 6:38 left in the half on a 5-yard run by Hanzely and T.J.
Smith’s extra point.
The Beavers then enjoyed a 28-0 bulge at the homecoming
intermission when Hanzely transformed a fourth-and-1 into a 41-yard
touchdown jaunt with 1:19 left.
“We had him (Hanzely) two yards deep in the backfield,” Ackerman
bemoaned.
“Everybody uses the excuse that we’re young, but as coach
(Jerry) Pattison said at halftime, ‘It ?s all about tackling and
blocking.’ And we didn’t do either. We had guys in position to make
plays and we didn’t make those plays.”
With no timeouts remaining, the Owls then went into their
two-minute mode and used a 13-yard aerial from Ben Walter to Josh
Holleran to cross midfield. But two spikes, a sack and a
desperation pass brought the half to its culmination.
“We tried to kill the ball a few times and then threw a Hail
Mary,” Ackerman stated.
“We wasted all (three) of our timeouts early when personnel
weren’t in the game when they were supposed to. They were sleeping
on the sideline.”
DuBois then put the Owls to bed in the third quarter with a
13-play drive that chewed up 7:23 on the clock and resulted in a
28-yard field goal by Smith for a 31-0 margin.
“They (Beavers) only got three points, but they used up most of
the third quarter,” Ackerman declared.
“That was the ballgame because we needed 31 points against the
best team we had played all year.”
Malacarne made it 37-0 with a 40-yard blast around left end with
3:18 left in the third.
With the 35-point mercy rule in effect, the fourth quarter
turned into a JV game as neither team could mount a serious
threat.
Malacarne rushed 10 times for 101 yards and one TD, Hanzeley had
eight carries for 84 yards and three TDs, and Liddle was 9-for-15
for 125 yards passing for DuBois, who is now 8-0 for the first time
since 1952.
Tom Morris had three catches for 41 yards for the Owls.
“We were more physical than we have been all year,” Ackerman
said.
“We were willing to stick our heads in there, but we were a step
late and we weren’t wrapping up.”
The Owls (2-5) travel to Harbor Creek on Friday.
