Joey Bellinotti, Shady Side Academy shut down Deer Lakes

By: Antonio Rossetti
Friday, October 21, 2022 | 10:54 PM

Shady Side Academy bested Deer Lakes, 20-0, on Friday at Lancer Stadium, spoiling Deer Lakes’ senior night and keeping the Lancers (4-5, 2-2) from clinching a playoff spot.

The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-1) clinched the WPIAL playoffs last week.

The Bulldogs defense prevented the Lancers from entering the red zone and held them to under 50 yards total offense.

“Our guys are playing with a lot of confidence on defense right now, and it’s really carrying over,” Bulldogs coach Chuck DiNardi said. “A lot of it has to do with our senior leadership, and we got a lot of guys on the offensive side of the ball that have taken a lot of snaps. Hats off to them.”

Noah Yeh and Nate Ewell were persistent with their pass rush and handled the Lancers’ offense, containing quarterback Derek Burk. Yeh had a fumble recovery.

The Bulldogs manufactured an opening drive that ended with a 27-yard field goal by Harran Zureikat, taking up half of the first quarter.

After the Lancers went three-and-out, Shady Side Academy extended its lead when Joey Bellinotti ran for a 5-yard touchdown, making it 10-0.

Zureikat drilled another field goal in the second quarter, this one from 41 yards. The Bulldogs’ defense shut down the Lancers for the remaining minutes of the half and went into halftime up 13-0.

The Bulldogs would put the game away in the fourth quarter. Bellinotti scored his second touchdown of the night, increasing the lead to 20-0. The Bulldogs got the ball back and ran out the clock.

Max Wickland completed 10 of 15 passes for 118 yards for Shady Side Academy. Joey Bellinotti rushed for 89 yards and scored two touchdowns.

“Our ‘D’ line is incredible,” Bellinotti said. “They get after the QB. They get after the running back. DBs played well in coverage. We pitched the shutout. What’s not to be happy about?”

Bellinotti made an impact on defense and notched an interception late that helped seal the game.

“October and WPIAL football, it’s kind of peak or plateau,” DiNardi said. “We’re starting to hit our stride and playing our best football.”

DiNardi looks forward to playing East Allegheny next week.

“We’re going to fight hard,” Dinardi said. “That’s what you can expect. One way or the other, we’re going to do 48 minutes of fighting.”

Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk feels confident his team will put this game in the rearview mirror and come out stronger next week.

“We came out flat, and that’s hard to overcome in an important game like this game,” Burk said. “They got up early on us, and it’s hard because they’re a good football team and they’re bigger than us. At the end of the day, the game settled in, but it was too late for us. So we’ve got to take it for what it is and just go get better.”

The Deer Lakes defense stepped up after giving up 10 points in the first quarter. Nonetheless, the Lancers were unable to mount a comeback.

Burk and the Lancers turn their attention to their rival, Freeport Area, next week.

“Hopefully, we can find a way to muster up a win and get some positive vibes back and find a way to get into the playoffs,” Burk said. “Hopefully, we can scrounge up another win and get in and do our thing.”

Tags: Deer Lakes, Shady Side Academy