High school football: Missed opportunities cost Bellefonte in loss to Jersey Shore

Both teams, Bellefonte followed closely by Jersey Shore, jogged off the sidelines, exiting Rogers Stadium and heading for their respective locker rooms.

Fans stood up from the red and white worn bleachers and looked at each other with a sense of hesitated confusion before grabbing what they had — trash, seat-backs and all — and filtering out of the stadium.

As cars slowly left the parking lot, the field was empty, save for a group of referees deliberating at the Jersey Shore 10-yard line.

There were seven minutes left in the season opener, and while lightning stalled its completion for 38 minutes, Bellefonte couldn’t prevent Jersey Shore from finishing off a 14-6 win on Friday night.

Bellefonte coach Shanon Manning said while there are no moral victories, he was satisfied with how his players responded to an early two-touchdown deficit.

“I didn’t see kids hanging their heads. I didn’t see finger-pointing,” Manning said. “Those are the things you like to look at and evaluate.”

What might be difficult to watch in the film room were the mistakes — three fumbles and a costly penalty — that plagued the Red Raiders.

The penalty wiped an early fourth-quarter touchdown off the board.

On its first possession of the quarter, Bellefonte quarterback Mark Armstrong hit wideout Kellen Moss for a 39-yard gainer — the longest play of the game — setting the Red Raiders up on Jersey Shore’s 32-yard line.

Two plays later, Armstrong dropped back to pass for a designed running back screen, saw it covered well, and scurried around the pocket to find time and space. Avoiding a sack, he hit Nick Jabco down the field for a 30-yard touchdown.

But the excited home crowd simmered when a yellow flag hit the grass: ineligible receiver downfield, negating the potentially game-changing play.

There wasn’t much the offensive line could do. On a halfback screen, the unit is supposed to get up field to block.

Still, the play was a microcosm for Bellefonte’s missed opportunities.

Manning didn’t want to take anything away from Jersey Shore, saying the opposing squad was stiff defensively. But he admitted to handing over the ball at inopportune times.

“Without a doubt, there were some self-inflicted stuff,” Manning said. “At times, we gift-wrapped stuff.”

That, combined with the play of Jersey Shore quarterback Travis Bradley, buried Bellefonte’s chances at a season-opening win.

Bradley was incisive in and out of the pocket, picking his spots of when to throw and when to tuck and run. The senior, who made his first career start under center, finished with 82 passing yards, 39 rushing yards, an interception and two touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Bradley opened the scoring with a 15-yard strike to 5-foot-9 receiver Todd Sanford. The junior made a clean cut on an out-route and sprawled toward the pylon for the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the season.

Later in the third quarter, Bradley worked his magic again. After connecting with Kevin Titus on a 32-yard reception and taking a bootleg to the goal line, Bradley punched in Jersey Shore’s second score with a quarterback sneak.

Bulldogs coach Tom Gravish said his side played conservatively, not passing the ball as much as it probably should. Regardless, he was impressed with Bradley’s decision-making.

“For the most part, he did a good job of not doing something goofy,” Gravish said. “If a guy was maybe open by a yard, he figured, ‘Why force it?’ and just took off.”

Things were put on hold during the fourth-quarter lightning delay, but Bellefonte came out of the locker room with a spark of its own.

The Red Raiders’ defense forced a punt, and with 6:05 left in the game, Bellefonte cruised down the field. A 21-yard carry from Austin Jackson, followed by back-to-back completions of 10 and 13 yards from Armstrong, set up a 16-yard touchdown run from Jackson. The senior halfback finished with 82 yards on 15 carries.

Bellefonte’s defense complemented the offense, causing a three-and-out and giving the offense the ball back with 1:48 remaining and two timeouts. A sack, two incompletions and a game-clinching interception ended Bellefonte’s threat.

“We had the ball back, had the ball back in our territory,” Manning said. “I think we bounced back. ... I was happy to see that kind of resolve.”

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 1:03 AM with the headline "High school football: Missed opportunities cost Bellefonte in loss to Jersey Shore."