Opportunistic defense, strong ground game helps Leechburg beat Bentworth

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 19, 2018 | 11:57 PM

Heading into their matchup against Bentworth, Leechburg wanted to keep a simple gameplan: run effectively and playing strong defense.

The Blue Devils (4-5) executed their gameplan as they shutout Bentworth, 28-0, on the road in a nonconference game.

Senior running back Bret Kardos led the Blue Devils with 158 rushing yards on 20 carries and a touchdown, and junior Jake Blumer finished with 65 yards on 14 carries. Blumer also had two interceptions, one he returned 42 yards in the fourth quarter.

On the opening drive, Leechburg forced a Bentworth (4-5) turnover on downs at the Blue Devils 30-yard line, but the Blue Devils were unable to capitalize when their possession stalled when sophomore Dylan Cook was unable to connect with a teammate in the end zone.

“When you get in the red zone, you got to push it past the goal line. It was very frustrating, but you can’t get down since it’s the beginning of the game,” Leechburg coach Mark George said. “Bad things happen on the football field but you have to overcome thing because they are going to happen in every game.”

Bentworth’s ensuing possession ended on another turnover, and, this time, Leechburg found the end zone two plays later when Cook scpred on a 2-yard sneak. Cook reinjured his ankle on the play and missed the rest of the first half.

“I thought we played tough and executed well on both sides of the ball for most of the game. Cook tweaked his ankle again, and we were trying to do some things that we didn’t practice all week,” George said.

“He got taped up for the second half, and we wanted to stick to the gameplan. We wanted to run the ball, and that is what we tried to do.”

The Blue Devils offense seemed to stall when they moved Bret Kardos from running back to quarterback, but Cook went returned to start the second half and led the Blue Devils on a drive capped when Blumer bounced it out to left side for a 7-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Leechburg’s defense continued to dominate. After forcing another turnover on downs, the Blue Devils scored on a 36-yard run by Kardos in the fourth quarter.

Bentworth turned it over again on its ensuing possession when Blumer picked off sophomore Trent Cavanaugh for a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown. Cavanaugh, who rushed for 62 yards on 20 carries, started in place of the injured Shawn Dziak.

“We lost our quarterback last week, and that really hurt us a lot,” Bentworth coach Ron Skiles said. “With the new quarterback in, things weren’t working out. The defense did a good job but credit to Leechburg to how they played.”

The Blue Devils reached four wins for the first time since 2000, but next week’s matchup against Springdale looms.

“It has been a long time since 2000 that we’ve had four wins. We’re going to enjoy the night, and Saturday and Sunday, we will prepare for our opponent next week,” George said.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bentworth, Leechburg