Bjalme, Rams roll past Red Raiders

Penns Valley senior rushes for 175 yards

Pat Rothdeutsch For the CDT

SPRING MILLS — There is nothing better at taking the sting out of a

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disappointing football season than a big victory over an intense rival.

Just ask senior tailback Kody Bjalme and his Penns Valley Ram teammates.

Hosting the Bellefonte Red Raiders in its final home game of the season, Penns Valley controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, lost only one turnover in very difficult conditions, and

throttled the Bellefonte offense on the way to a very satisfying 22-0 victory Friday.

Bjalme turned in a monster night for the Rams. He rushed 31 times for 175 yards (out of 222 total for Penns Valley), ran for one touchdown and scored on a pair of two-point conversions. He was virtually Penns Valley’s entire offense in the first half when he ran 20 times for 91 yards and scored the touchdown that gave the Rams a 6-0 halftime lead. He also set up the final and clinching touchdown with a 50-yard burst that led to fullback Austin Auman’s one-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

“It was our last game at home, and it was Senior Night, so of course it feels good to win,” Bjalme said, “especially since we haven’t done a really good job so far this year. It felt really good to come out the last home game and just win.”

Penns Valley (2-6) took control of the game from the start. The Rams threatened the first two times they possessed the ball, driving deep into Bellefonte territory but failing to get onto the scoreboard. Meanwhile, they pinned Bellefonte (1-7) inside its own 5-yard line twice and limited the Raiders to just six offensive plays and zero net yards.

Finally, taking over at the Bellefonte 25 following a short punt, the Rams scored after a short four-play drive. Bjalme ran the ball on three of those plays and in the end going over from the 5.

“Our line tonight did an incredible job of blocking,” Bjalme said. “They created holes that I just ran through and that Bellefonte couldn’t stop.”

After Bjalme’s score and three consecutive three-and-outs, Bellefonte started to move the ball on the Penns Valley defense. Late in the second quarter, the Raiders drove from their own 39 to the Ram 20.

After a run and two incomplete passes, however, Bellefonte was turned away when running back Brad Grieb was stopped short on fourth down just inside the 20 and the half ended.

Bellefonte received the second-half kickoff and got a good return to the 38-yard line. On first down, however, a low snap of the wet ball skidded past quarterback Ty Warner and was recovered by Ram defensive lineman Elliot Dillon on the Bellefonte 30.

Six plays later, quarterback Matt Helm connected with Auman for a five-yard touchdown on his only pass attempt in the game. Bjalme converted the two-point conversion and the Rams had a commanding 14-0 lead.

“We knew Penns Valley had two great runners and that they had tough, scrappy kids coming in,” Bellefonte coach Zac Wynkoop said. “We have a lot of respect for coach (Martin) Tobias and their program, and they came out and played hard. We had a tough time establishing our passing game, given the conditions.

“We turned the ball over deep in our own territory, and they got the score and that was a big momentum shift. Good football teams don’t do that. We are young, and we have a lot to learn, and we have to keep working hard at getting better.”

Two possessions later, Penns Valley was back in business after Bjalme took a handoff at his own 23, cut outside and sprinted 50 yards down the right sideline. Six plays later, after three runs each by Auman and Bjalme, Auman raced in from the 1 to finish the scoring.

“We needed a win like this for these kids,” Tobias said. “This was a game I felt we could compete, and I certainly didn’t expect it to come out like this. It was a nice win for our kids. They deserved it.”