Gallishaw carries Red Raiders over Bearcats
Bellefonte coach Shanon Manning let out a celebratory scream as his team came together around him following its win Friday night.
It’s how the Red Raiders celebrate every win.
“That’s the exclamation point on a win,” Manning said after his team’s 21-20 win over Huntingdon.
It was Bellefonte’s first win of the season and its first win over a team from outside Centre County under Manning. Bellefonte went winless in Manning’s first season in 2013 before going 3-7 in each of the past two seasons, with all six wins coming against Bald Eagle Area, Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola.
The Red Raiders (1-1) earned the win thanks to a breakout night for running back Dexter Gallishaw, an efficient performance by quarterback Chase Gardner, and a failed two-point conversion by Huntingdon after its final score.
Gallishaw rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns, including what proved to be the decisive score in the fourth quarter. Gardner completed 11 of 16 passes for 127 yards in a balanced offensive effort that was lacking during the program’s struggles in the past.
“There’s a lot milestones we had to get over tonight,” Manning said. “Winning on the road outside the county, getting Dexter on track, we were able to throw the football. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do some of these things, so we just got to keep building off of it and keep working on it.”
Gallishaw is stepping into a new role this season.
He’s replacing 1,000-yard rusher Austin Jackson in the backfield, and he said he feels pressure to produce for his team. Gallishaw was effective against the Bearcats, powering up the middle for much of the night to keep the offense moving. He had 27 carries in the win.
“It’s a lot to handle,” Gallishaw said. “I’m beat up, but I gave it my all.”
He delived his biggest run of the night on his 26th carry.
Gallishaw took a handoff on second-and-2, bounced to the outside and burst down the sideline to score a 19-yard touchdown to give his team a 21-14 lead with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter.
“It was just a lot of green grass and I just took it right to the house,” said Gallishaw, who was quick to thank his offensive line for its effort.
The lead wasn’t safe for long.
Sixteen seconds later, the Bearcats were lined to attempt a game-tying extra point. A big kickoff return by Jonathan Price set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Ian Border, pulling Huntingdon within 21-20.
Huntingdon was set to kick the extra point, but the snap forced Jairus Werner to roll out and look for a receiver.
Bellefonte batted down the pass to protect its lead.
“It was not designed,” Huntingdon coach Mike Hudy said. “It was an automatic thing if he doesn’t like the snap.”
Bellefonte took possession, but couldn’t get a first down and gave the ball back to the Bearcats with 1:41 to go. Huntingdon couldn’t convert either as the Red Raiders pulled down quarterback Andrew Hudy in the backfield on third and fourth down to seal the win and start the celebration.
Gallishaw and Gardner helped put the Red Raiders in position to win the game in the fourth quarter.
Gardner connected with Cade Fortney on a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Bellefonte a 7-0 lead.
Gallishaw rushed for 56 yards on 12 carries in the first half before taking over in the second half. He capped Bellefonte’s first drive out of the break with a 6-yard touchdown run up the middle. The Red Raiders continued to feed Gallishaw until his game-turning touchdown in the fourth.
“That is what we’ve expected out of him since day one and we’ve worked hard,” Manning said.
“He got the game ball here at the end of the game.”
It was all part of the excitement after a breakthrough win for Manning and his program.
“This could be huge,” Manning said. “We’ve just talked about getting this team a win so that that’s off our back and we can focus going forward.
This story was originally published September 3, 2016 at 12:09 AM with the headline "Gallishaw carries Red Raiders over Bearcats."