BY MIKE MASTOVICH
Two area juggernauts will meet tonight in a much-anticipated District 6 Class A semifinal.
Second-seeded Bellwood-Antis (10-0) will host third-seeded Portage (10-0) in a battle of undefeated squads that is expected to be played in front of a packed house.
“I think this is a championship game,” said Portage coach Gary Gouse, whose Mustangs were the district runners-up a year ago. “I hope we can hold up to our end. It will be fun. These are two great football programs. Both are ranked in the state. Both are undefeated. Both have a lot of pride in their community.”
The two teams have combined to score 868 points in 20 games.
Portage went over the
500-point mark for the season in last week’s rout of Marion Center.
The Mustangs have a 503-53 cumulative scoring advantage.
“They’ve got a lot of strengths. They have a lot of speed. They’re very quick,” said veteran Bellwood coach John Hayes, in his 28th season. “The linemen run awfully well. They have a lot of balance. They have more than one back. All three backs are very capable of big plays. The quarterback can make plays.
“They’re very dangerous offensively. Defensively they have the same talents. They’re very quick and they get to the ball. There are a lot of people around the ball on every play.”
Similarly, the Blue Devils have outscored opponents by a combined 365-109.
“Bellwood definitely outsizes us up front,” said Gouse, a 19th-year coach. “Their offensive line is really big. They definitely outman us up there. Same way on defense. They’re a lot bigger than we are. We have to combat that with the speed we have.
“They’ve got great skill kids. They’re coached well. They have a great tradition of winning football games.”
Bellwood has won five district championships under Hayes
– four in 6-A (2007, 2006, 2004, 1988) and one in 5/6-AA (1997).
The Blue Devils are led on the ground by Zack McCaulley’s 1,332 rushing yards on 199 carries, an average of 133.2 a game.
He has 18 rushing touchdowns.
Tyler Beech adds 378 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
Quarterback Nate Plummer completed 56 of 104 passes for 995 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions.
“They have good balance,” Gouse said. “They run, they throw, they keep you off-balance. They mix things up and throw screens and run draws. They have a lot of formations.”
Hayes said some of the competition Bellwood faced in the Inter-County North forced the Devils to become a versatile unit.
“We’ve had a pretty good year as far as balance,” Hayes said.
“We’ve had to do that. We’ve played a couple games against pretty good opponents and we had to throw the ball. We were able to throw the ball and we were successful. The kids have responded well to most of the challenges that have been out there.”
Beech leads the Devils with 102 tackles and had four sacks.
Bellwood beat a solid Blacklick Valley squad 34-14 in the quarterfinals. One of the season highlights was a 31-16 victory over perennial power Tyrone in the opener.
“Our defense was really key to our success early on,” Hayes said. “The defense gave the offense a chance to catch up and get in gear.”
Portage’s offense presents opposing defenses plenty of challenges.
Michael Sinosky has 1,340 rushing yards on only 97 carries this season, a 13.8 average per carry, and 134 yards a game despite his usually only working little over a half.
Sinosky went over 4,000 career rushing yards earlier in the season.
Tommy Burgan has 813 rushing yards. Quarterback Taylor Swires passed for 848 yards and seven touchdowns, with receiver Ryan Scoran catching 25 passes for 616 yards and six scores.
“Our kids are just so focused right now. They’re really excited about playing,” said Gouse of his WestPAC champs. “We’re on a roll. We’re on a mission. We’ll take the next step. We’re one step away from getting back to the championship game.”
