How Nolan Weaver and Bellefonte’s defense powered the Raiders to win over Philipsburg-Osceola
When a team generates six turnovers, the expectation is that they won the game.
That’s exactly what happened on Friday night with Bellefonte defeating Philipsburg-Osceola 22-6 in a game that featured multiple fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns. It became the first head coaching victory for Vaughn Donmoyer, who took over the program earlier this year. Donmoyer gave the credit to his team — being able to overcome a defeat at the hands of tough Jersey Shore squad last week, compartmentalize the loss and bounce back with a Mountain League victory.
“It was gratifying, but I’m just happy for the kids — for them to get their first win as a young group,” Donmoyer said. “I’m just happy to get over that hump. Getting that first win for the new program, learning a new system, I’m just extremely happy for the kids. They worked hard this week and we tried to coach them up, stressed the basics and I think that shone through tonight.”
Linebacker Nolan Weaver picked up three of the six defensive turnovers for the Raiders. He made a 9-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first half and followed up in the second half with a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown. His goal was to set the tone and felt that he couldn’t have done that without the play of his defensive line — which includes Noah Washington and Thomas Korman, who both had two sacks each.
“I really credit my defense — we had some touchdowns on defense tonight and I just found myself in the right place at the right time and took advantage of it,” Weaver said. “If it wasn’t for Thomas Korman, who made the sack over there and had the fumble, I couldn’t have scored. It’s a team sport, a team game and we played as a team tonight.”
Philipsburg-Osceola regained possession with 3:35 left in the first quarter at the Bellefonte 23-yard line. They began with a 4-yard rush by Luke Hughes to the 19 yard line. Then, Bellefonte encroached, giving the Mountaineers five yards. After Matt Martin was dropped two yards behind the line of scrimmage, Philipsburg-Osceola answered with a 16-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Ben Gustkey to Martin to give them a 6-0 lead with 1:54 left in the first.
The Mountaineers had another possession with 8:45 left in the first half, but this time on their own 14. After a Hughes rush of one, Gustkey gained six yards. They took a delay of game penalty to fall back to their own 16 yard line. Bellefonte got the better of them, with a strip sack and Weaver running the ball into the end zone for a 9-yard fumble recovery. After a converted extra point, Bellefonte took a 7-6 lead with 7:08 remaining in the second quarter.
Bellefonte upped the ante in the fourth, beginning with a possession on Philipsburg-Osceola’s 29 yard line with 8:26 left in the game. The Raiders started with back-to-back one-yard gains, followed by a Nick Way pass to Weaver for a gain of six. With fourth and 2, Way rushed for a gain of nine yards to keep the drive going. Way tossed another pass to Reese Redman and finished off the drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. Then, Way punched the ball in for a 3-yard rush and the two-point conversion to give the Raiders a 15-6 lead with 5:03 remaining.
“It felt really good. We just kept waiting for one to break and to get that first touchdown,” Way said. “We just had to keep it rolling. Now with our first win, we’re going to keep things going.”
On the ensuring drive, Weaver intercepted the ball and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. With the extra-point conversion, Bellefonte led 22-6 — where they’d finish in victory.
Philipsburg-Osceola was severely undermanned all night. The Mountaineers had a litany of injuries heading into the game with 19 players suiting up in the Luther Trophy matchup. Head coach Jeff Vroman made no excuses and praised his team for continuing to fight throughout the season.
“I’m just proud of the kids. We’re getting that experience — we’re getting there,” Vroman said. “I’m proud of these kids — Philipsburg-Osceola — to have enough guts to put the uniform on and play the game of football. That’s what I’m proud of and that’s saying a lot because it’s a tough game. That’s why I love the game of football. Football is unforgiving. There’s nothing given in the game of football and that’s why it’s so great. It’s as close to life as it gets. And these kids today need that.
“I was happy with the way our kids handled it. Other than turnovers, I thought our kids played great. We just have to keep pounding.”
Bellefonte 22, Philipsburg-Osceola 6
Friday at Bellefonte
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bellefonte 0 7 0 15 -- 22
Philipsburg-Osceola 6 0 0 0 -- 6
First Quarter
PO-Gustkey 16-yard pass TD (Martin), 1:54
Second Quarter
Bellefonte-Weaver 9-yard fumble recovery TD, 7:08
Fourth Quarter
Bellefonte-Way 10-yard TD rush, Way 3-yard two-point conversion rush, 5:09
Bellefonte-Weaver 25-yard interception TD, 4:56
TEAM STATISTICS
Passing Yards: Bellefonte (48), P-O (62)
Rushing Totals: Bellefonte (30 rushes for 75 yards and a TD), P-O (31 rushes for 70 yards and a fumble)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING— Bellefonte, Grayson Alterio 8 rushes for 39 yards, Triston Woodring-Heckman 4 rushes for 13 yards, Sherman Lowry 4 rushes for 12 yards, Way 12 rushes for 14 yards and TD, Weaver 2 rushes for -3 yards. P-O Luke Hughes 15 rushes for 41 yards, Martin 6 rushes for 20 yards and a fumble, Gutskey 6 rushes for 12 yards, Andrew Faust 4 rushes for -3 yards
PASSING— Bellefonte, Way 6-for-13 48 yards. PO, Gustkey 5-for-8 62 yards INT
RECEIVING— Bellefonte, Weaver 4 receptions 23 yards, Garrison 1 reception 24 yards, Redman 1 reception 1 yard. PO, Martin 4 receptions 46 yards, Faust 1 reception 16 yards.
Records: Bellefonte 1-1, Philipsburg-Osceola 0-2
Next game: Tyrone at Bellefonte, Friday, 7 p.m., Huntingdon at Philipsburg-Osceola, Friday, 7 p.m
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 10:23 PM.
