Bellefonte players used to hear jokes in the school hallways about their team. Not anymore.
During the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Bellefonte’s Stephen Kutches and Dylan Houser didn’t have much fun.
As the Red Raiders struggled to 3-7 records in both campaigns, players didn’t want to go to practice and looked forward to the end of the season. They also constantly heard jokes about the team in the hallways at school.
“We still thought of ourselves as the Bellefonte that sucked,” said Kutches, a senior running back/linebacker. “Last year, expectations went up, and then the senior class did a good job of picking up the young guys.”
The Red Raiders have built on last season’s success — when they earned the program’s first postseason berth since 2010 — on their way to a 3-1 record to start this year. They’ll look to move closer to another trip to the District 6 playoffs when they host Tyrone (1-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Kutches and Houser know they’ll have the support of the school and the community at Rogers Stadium after seeing the turnout for the team’s first two home games this season. The student section has been packed with some cheering fans wearing face paint and plenty of others decked out in Red Raiders gear. That wasn’t the case two and three years ago. Few students sat in the stands, and many simply watched the games in silence.
“No one cared back then,” Kutches said.
Bellefonte coach Shanon Manning credited Bellefonte’s winter conditioning program for helping restore pride in the team. Manning and assistant coach Terry Bumgardner implemented the workout routine — which includes plyometrics, speed and strength training — with one expectation: constant commitment. Three days a week during the offseason instead of heading home, the players lifted and trained until 6 p.m. Manning said he’s had seniors who have never missed a practice, winter workout or summer workout.
The sacrifice paid off as players became bigger and stronger — Houser estimates he’s benching 50-55 pounds more as a senior than he did as a freshman. The experience of the senior class, filled with three-year starters on both sides of the ball, has shown on the field Friday nights in close wins. In last week’s four-overtime win over Central Mountain, Manning was perhaps most impressed by his team’s ability to overcome a “bleak” situation with nine players out due to injury.
“Everything that I was told that these kids weren’t about, they kind of have been about for the last couple years,” Manning said. “I know when I was getting ready to take the job, I had several people going, ‘You have no idea what you’re getting into. You have no idea what you’re getting into.’
“And to be honest with you, I’ve seen the opposite of everything I’d been warned (about). I’ve seen tough kids. I’ve seen resilient kids. I’ve seen kids who care tremendously.”
In Manning’s first season, the Red Raiders finished with an 0-10 record. They followed that year with back-to-back 3-7 seasons before turning the corner with a 5-5 record in the regular season in 2016.
Kutches and Houser experienced the highs and lows with Manning since they made the varsity roster as freshmen. Houser said he and his teammates will remember last week’s four-overtime classic for the rest of their lives. But Kutches and Houser also haven’t forgotten the close losses in past seasons, recalling setbacks against John Marshall, Jersey Shore and Chestnut Ridge.
“We always played tough games and we never quit, but I think after losing some close games, we just kind of decided ... we can’t be doing that,” Houser said. “I think sophomore and junior year we lost a few close games that we should have won.”
They also grew tired of hearing the jokes in the hallways in their first two varsity seasons and wanted to gain the school’s respect. And in the past two years, they’ve helped change the perception of the football team.
“It’s definitely a pride-based team,” Houser said. “We don’t want to be the team that’s a pushover.”
Previewing Tyrone
Manning isn’t putting much stock into Tyrone’s 1-3 record.
The Golden Eagles’ three losses came against opponents who are a combined 11-1 this season.
“You go put them against just about any other schedule, they’re 3-1 or 4-0,” Manning said. “They’re Tyrone. They’re still Tyrone. I don’t care if they lost a few games or not. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re physical.”
The Red Raiders knocked off Tyrone last year for the first time since 1993 last season, but Tyrone played without starting quarterback Denver Light and starting running back Gary Weaver that night. Light put together his best performance of the season last week in a blowout win over Philipsburg-Osceola, completing 15 of 19 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. This year’s starting running back, Brandon Loose, rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns last week.
“If we beat ’em, we’re going to have to beat ’em at full strength,” Manning said.
Manning said every Bellefonte player who missed last week due to injury will likely be available except quarterback/defensive back Nick Paloskey. Dylan Deitrich has filled in at QB since Game 2.
This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Bellefonte players used to hear jokes in the school hallways about their team. Not anymore.."