Belle Vernon rolls past Southmoreland behind dominant ground game

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, October 20, 2023 | 10:23 PM

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Belle Vernon flexed its size and strength as the offensive line got rolling downhill to steamroll host Southmoreland, 49-7, at Russ Grimm Field.

The Leopards (7-1, 4-0) racked up 364 yards on the ground, with four ball carriers recording 50 yards or more.

Penn State recruit Quinton Martin led the way for Belle Vernon, carrying nine times for 147 yards.

“If you look back at his years here, he gets stronger and stronger as the season rolls on,” BVA coach Matt Humbert said. “He’s that momentum type of runner.”

Kole Doppelheuer carried five times for 85 yards, including touchdown runs of 35 and 21 yards on his final two carries.

“That’s something we pride ourselves on. It’s about the guys we can throw at teams, and the talent drop isn’t steep. We have some guys that are dangerous out there,” Humbert said.

Belle Vernon led 7-0 after the first quarter as they killed half of the quarter on the opening drive of the game.

The 11-play drive only covered 47 yards and was capped off by Jake Gedekoh’s 16-yard run out of the offense’s “Lep Cat” formation.

“We wanted to get into our version of the wildcat and slip that in there a little bit tonight,” Humbert said. “I thought we were able to get some chunk yards out of it.”

The Scotties had their chances to put some early points on the board but came away empty.

They forced an Anthony Crews fumble and recovered at the BVA 22-yard line. Jake Kaylor missed a 32-yard field goal, but the Scotties were bailed out by a roughing the kicker call.

Three plays later, though, Scotties quarterback Kadin Keefer was picked off by the Leopards’ Colton Lee.

Four plays and a Scotties’ personal foul later, the Leopards were in the end zone again on a Gedekoh 1-yard run to make it 14-0.

Keefer was intercepted again, this time by Gedekoh, but Ty Keffer picked off a Gedekoh fade pass in the end zone minutes later to give the Scotties some momentum.

“Probably shouldn’t have had Gedekoh throw a fade there,” Humbert said of the play.

Southmoreland, stifled all night by the Leopards defense, was forced to a three-and-out. After a Kaylor punt, Martin broke loose for a 62-yard run on the first play of the BVA drive, making it 21-0 with 2:55 to go in the half.

“He’s starting to look like the Q we were used to seeing at the end of last year,” Humbert said. “He’s breaking tackles and using his strength and speed. I expect that to continue on an upward trajectory.”

Looking to get on the board in a two-minute drill, Keefer and the Scotties turned it over again. This time BVA linebacker Tanner Moody turned it into a pick-6 with a 29-yard return.

After that play, Keefer’s night came to an end. He completed 1 of 8 passes for 15 yards and the three interceptions as the Leopards led 28-0.

“At halftime, I talked to him and told him not to panic and he’s still my guy,” Southmoreland coach Tim Bukowski said. “He wasn’t hurt. It was more of a mental-health break. He had a rough night. It happens. We have a big rivalry game next week, and he’s our guy.”

Curty Wade, making the start for senior Braden Laux, got on the board in the third quarter with a 26-yard run to make it 35-0 to invoke the mercy rule and running clock.

He completed 5 of 7 passes for 51 yards in the win.

“Braden could have been full go. Yes he had the injury, but he was available,” Humbert said of the Eastern Michigan recruit. “We got him a few, but I wanted Curty to get another game where he was the one out here being the commander of the offense.

“We knew it was going to be a goofy night for us in terms of personnel.”

The Scotties were able to get on the board on their ensuing drive when a blown coverage left Ty Keffer wide open on the outside. Scotties backup Caden Matthews lofted him a pass that turned into a 78-yard touchdown.

Doppelheuer added his first touchdown run in the third quarter and scored the final BVA touchdown late in the fourth.

The Leopards defense held Da’sjon Craggette to 41 yards on 16 carries, leaving him 11 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.

“We’re not even going to watch the film on this one,” Bukowski said. “We’re going to flush it and move on to preparing for Mt. Pleasant. Belle Vernon has a great football team, and we knew what we were up against. Now we get ready for that rivalry game. It’s a big one for that No. 3 spot.”

Belle Vernon will host Elizabeth Forward with the Interstate Conference title on the line Friday on The Beach at James Weir Stadium.

Notes: The Leopards finished with four interceptions in the game, the final one by Chase Mertz late in the fourth quarter. … The Scotties finished with 135 total yards, 42 on the ground and 93 through the air. BVA finished with 415 total yards.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Southmoreland