DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
MONROE – Friday night’s rivalry game between South Adams and Bellmont promised to be one to remember with the game not being played at either school’s home field, but it will go down in the yearbooks as one to forget for the Braves and one to savor for the Starfires, who capitalized on turnovers and routed the Braves 48-0, sending them to their 14 straight defeat and 40th loss in their last 41 contests.
Caiden Neuenschwander ran the opening kickoff of the game back for 90 yards and a touchdown and Bellmont fumbled six times in a game that never really felt like a game at Rick Minnich Field.
To the Braves’ credit, they had 41 minutes of possession and more first downs than the Stars, but South Adams didn’t need to move the chains – they scored early and quickly.
After all, South Adams QB Owen Wanner only took one snap and it was 14-0. He handed the ball off to Colt Bollenbacher, who took it to the house for 28 yards and the score.
Before the first quarter ended, the Stars were back in the west end zone, with Wanner keeping it himself for a one-yard score.
“It’s just Owen doing Owen Wanner things,” coach Grant Moser said after the game.
The Starfires took to the air in the second quarter, catching three TD passes to head into the locker rooms with a 41-0 lead. Freshman Wes Summersett caught one for seven yards, then Wanner hit Neuenschwander from 20 yards out. The running clock was triggered with less than two minutes in the first half remaining as Wanner looked left and then looked right, finding Isaac Dee in the flat. Dee went 30 yards down the Braves’ sideline for the score, raising the ball in the air at the goal line to signal his team’s dominance of the opening quarters.
Trying to come to grips with the loss of senior running back Aiden Miller in last week’s game against Heritage, coach Nick Hall made the decision to pull his all-conference lineman, Dylan Velez, and to put the ball in his senior’s hands as much as possible.
Velez carried the ball 19 times for a respectable 87 yards in his debut as a skill player, but he was hampered by a lack of secondary offensive options for the Braves. He made one catch for 15 yards.
The rest of the team managed just 69 yards of offense. Quarterback Will Franze, who was 3 of 8 for 19 yards, was replaced in the second half by Easton Curtis.
“Our defense was prepared,” Moser praised. “I have to give credit to my D coaches, they forced turnovers and mistakes all night.”
Despite the lopsided score, coach Moser feels better times lie ahead for the Braves.
“I was legit scared heading into this one,” he told WZBD. “I’d like someone to line up our 22 guys with theirs and they’re bigger and stronger than us, there’s no doubt. They’re probably faster, too.”
Moser respected coach Hall’s decision to run the ball with Velez.
“You get your best kid the most touches you can,” said the victorious coach. “It was a smart move.”
Moser also praised the play of Job Hoffman on defense, calling him a real bright spot for the Braves on the night.
Christian Hatch had 29 yards on nine carries for the Braves, while Logan Resendez added 20 yards on four attempts.
“Caiden (Neuenschwander) really set the tone for the rest of the game,” noted Moser. “Then he comes back and catches his first career TD. Great game for him.”
Now the focus shifts to the ACAC and coach Moser knows that the conference is as strong as ever, especially the offenses.
“Coach Kunkel at Bluffton told me they’ve scored on every possession this year,” Moser said with a laugh. “It’s going to be fun. Going to be some great games every week.”
The Starfires will continue to play on the road in Week Three in WZBD’s feature game at Bluffton.
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