When Bellwood-Antis joined the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference this season, it gave the Blue Devils the opportunity to rekindle a few old Blair County football rivalries.
One of those rivalries is with Central, which Bellwood hasn’t played in football since 2007.
After the 15-year hiatus, the two schools will meet again Friday night at Bellwood’s John Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Central carries a 3-0 record into Friday’s game, while Bellwood’s young, largely inexperienced team is 0-3.
That doesn’t take anything away from the intrigue of the matchup for the coaches and players who will be involved in it.
“We’re excited,” Bellwood-Antis senior fullback-linebacker Jordan Hescox said about the renewal of the rivalry. “They’re a good, strong, physical football team. I think that we have some stuff that we need to work out to prove that we are a decent football team.
“We’re going to work hard this week and do the best that we can in order to come out and play well on Friday.”
Bellwood-Antis and Central were regular summer scrimmage partners prior to the Scarlet Dragons joining the Laurel Highlands Conference.
Blue Devils coach Nick Lovrich expects plenty of community interest surrounding Friday night’s game.
“I think it’s definitely going to (generate) some interest,” Lovrich said. “There’s a very good football tradition in the Roaring Spring-Martinsburg area, and they’re good fans. There should be a good crowd at Friday night’s game.
“That’s the advantage of playing in the Laurel Highlands Conference — we’re going to be playing a lot of teams in our section that are close to us (geographically),” said Lovrich, whose Bellwood program is in section East 1 of the conference with Bishop Guilfoyle, Central, Tyrone and Huntingdon. “It’s nice to get some of those teams back on our schedule.”
Veteran Central coach Dave Baker feels the same way.
“We’re familiar with the Bellwood program, and we like playing the teams in our county, and in our area, that we had been playing for many years,” Baker said.
Central junior quarterback Eli Muthler is also looking forward to Friday’s game.
“Our school hasn’t played Bellwood in awhile, and it will be fun to play a game against those guys again,” Muthler said. “The players on our team are excited about it.”
Led by Muthler, the Scarlet Dragons feature plenty of offensive firepower. Central has averaged 46 points in its first three games, rolling to LHAC wins over Bellefonte (49-0), Somerset (47-6) and Tyrone (42-7).
In the Tyrone game, which was played this past Monday night after two weather postponements, Muthler completed 16 of 28 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wideouts Jack Dunn, Jacob Benton, and Baron Dionis each caught a touchdown pass from Muthler, who completed six throws to Dunn, five to Benton, and three to senior Hunter Smith out of the backfield.
Muthler has had big shoes to fill this fall after the quarterback void on the team that was created by the graduation of all-state standout Jeff Hoenstine, who was named the PIAA Class 3A Football Player of the Year in both of the last two seasons.
But Muthler has been up to the task in the early going this season, doing an excellent job of running the Central offense, which is very tough for opponents to defend.
“He’s plenty good, and we have a variety of receivers that he can throw the ball to,” Baker said of Muthler.
Central graduated Hoenstine and several other veteran standouts last year after having reached the PIAA Class 3A playoff semifinals in both of the past two seasons.
But the cupboard was definitely not bare for the Scarlet Dragons.
“We lost some great players but we have a lot of good returning players this year,” Baker said. “Our whole offensive line has returned from last year, Hunter Smith has returned, and we have several receivers back this year who played a good bit for us in the past.
“We knew going into this season that we had some talent,” Baker added. “We knew that we had good players coming back.”
Central also showcases a defensive unit led by all-state selection Smith that has allowed a total of only seven points from scrimmage in its first three games.
“They definitely have some good athletes,” Lovrich said. “They’ve had a very strong tradition — especially over the last several years.
“They’ve been really doing well. Their coaching staff is very good, they have good players, and they’re definitely going to be a challenge. But our kids are coming in ready to play.”
Junior quarterback Holden Schreier has completed 25 of 52 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns for Bellwood, while freshman running back Alex McCartney has rushed for 440 yards on 72 carries and two TDs, and sophomore back Colin Gibbons has made 10 catches for 153 yards.
The young Blue Devils have been trying to find their way over the first three weeks of the season, with losses to Penns Valley (33-12), Westmont Hilltop (14-6) and Huntingdon (41-16).
“We’re a pretty young team, we’re going to make some mistakes,” Lovrich said. “We’ve been making some errors that have hurt us — a lot of self-inflicted things that hopefully we can clean up.
“It’s just something that we’re going to have to overcome in order for the kids to play a good, sound football game and have the confidence that we’re going to be successful as a team.”
Central at Bellwood-Antis
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
Where: Bellwood’s John Hayes Field at Memorial Stadium
Records: Central (3-0); Bellwood-Antis (0-3)
Coaches: Central’s Dave Baker is 236-211-11 in 43 seasons, including 110-41 in 13 seasons at Central. Bellwood’s Nick Lovrich is 44-14 in six seasons.
Last meeting: Bellwood won, 26-15, in 2007
Last game: Central defeated Tyrone, 42-7, at home this past Monday night; Bellwood-Antis lost at Huntingdon, 41-16, last Friday night.
All-time series: According to information from the Bellwood-Antis High School football website, Bellwood has a 25-18 edge since 1938. There was one tie, 14-14, in 1965.
Noteworthy: The Central program played under the school name of Roaring Spring until the 1960 season.