Port Allegany’s Aiden Bliss bolts for his third touchdown during Friday’s game against Bradford. The Gators claimed a 70-33 victory.

Port Allegany’s Aiden Bliss is a force, and the Gators are showing they plan on being a team to be reckoned with once again. Port set the tone with a touchdown on its first possession and overran the Owls 70-33 Friday at Parkway Field.

“I’m just proud of the way our guys came out and played with energy,” Port Allegany Coach Justin Bienkowski said. “They are playing a kids’ game. We preached it for three weeks now. This Senior Class – by far this is their team. I told them I’m the head coach, I’m going to facilitate and organize but you guys take this team and run with it.

“I like that hunger, that drive. I like that want to get better. We just have to do it for four quarters. That’s all.”

Port Allegany won the coin toss and elected to receive. Port’s Aiden Bliss took possession of the ball and showed he was all business, streaking down the field for a touchdown with only 17 seconds off the game clock. A successful two-point conversion put Port Allegany at an 8-0 advantage, upped quickly to 15-0 when Bliss sailed into the end zone again, followed by a successful kick from Jarrod Funk with 4:46 left in the first quarter.

Bradford’s Logan Kohler sets his sights on the endzone Friday during Bradford’s opening night matchup with Port Allegany. Kohler raced 97 yards with a kickoff return for one touchdown and zig-zagged his way into the end zone a second time on a 65-yard return during the game, which Port Allegany won 70-33.

Era photo by Wade Aiken

When asked about Bliss, Bienkowski had a quick list of attributes,

“Versatile. Tough. Practices so hard. Does everything the right way. Leads his young guys. Is coachable.”

He went on to say, “He’s a dream to coach, I’m glad he’s on our team. I talked to our OC and we want to have fun. You might see him on the offensive line at some point.”

The Gators scored four more touchdowns before Bradford’s Logan Kohler caught a kickoff and returned it for Bradford’s first touchdown. The extra point attempt was unsuccessful, making the score Port Allegany 41, Bradford 6 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.

Port Allegany’s Isaac Postlewait scored on a fumble recovery and slid into the endzone following a blocked punt attempt to give Port Allegany a 63-6 lead at halftime.

Bradford came out from the locker room with renewed energy, scoring on a 65-yard run from Kohler (Kaden Kicior kick successful) and a 2-yard run from Bentley Evans (extra point blocked) in the third quarter. In the fourth, Lucas Wallace found the end zone from seven yards out and Evans again took advantage of a hole and busted through on an 11-yard run. Wallace found Max Gow for the two-point conversion to give Bradford 33 for the night.

“When things start to go wrong, it’s tough to bounce back,” Bradford Coach Jeff Puglio said. “I don’t think there’s any reason to hit the panic button. Port Allegany went to the state championships last year, and they returned the heart and soul of their team in Aiden Bliss. He showed why he ran for 3,000 yards last year. Port Allegany is the type of program where you want to try to get to that level.

“We are going to get the tape and fix what we see, but it comes down to effort,” Puglio noted. “Logan (Kohler) is a gritty guy. There are times (Tommy) Langdon had nice carries for us. We are putting in a whole new offense, and at times we moved the ball really well. We just ran into a good team to start the season off with.”

Port Allegany’s Nick Wilfong pulls in a pass Friday during Port Allegany’s 70-33 win over Bradford.

Era Photo by Wade Aiken

Defensively, Bienkowski saw some areas to work on, despite the lopsided story on the scoreboard.

“We talked about team speed. I really liked our team speed and aggressiveness. Again, some over pursuit or some slow play stuff,” Bienkowski said. “We’ve got some mistakes to fix. But it’s always good to get a W.

“We have some kinks to iron out, but I appreciate the kids’ effort. This team has such a contagious energy about it. I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and this team is making me feel younger and younger because they just play the game the right way and they are coachable.”

The Owls will again have the home turf advantage as they host Otto-Eldred on Aug. 29.

“We are going to come up with a plan to play Otto next week. There are nine weeks left,” Puglio said. “I saw good things from our offensive line. They toughed through some things tonight. We have some things to build on going into next week.”

AT BRADFORD

BY QUARTERS

Port Allegany     21  42   7    0—70
Bradford     0   6  13  14—33