Bellefonte Defeats Greater Johnstown, Advances to District VI Championship

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Noah Radio | November 1, 2024

On a cold and windy night at Rogers Stadium, the Bellefonte Raiders never trailed and defeated Greater Johnstown 38-18. With this win, the Raiders advance to the District VI Championship against Juniata next Friday night.

Bellefonte got out to a hot start with junior Jackson Long taking the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Long’s energizing score set the tone for the game. Senior quarterback Liam Halterman said, “Jackson Long man, he’s fast, but I’ve never seen him move that fast. That was crazy, that might have been the biggest thing because that got everyone hyped up.”

After Long’s opening fireworks, Halterman was the star for the Raiders. He accounted for four of his squad’s six touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air. Bellefonte Head Coach Tony Confer said, “There’s moments throughout the course of the season where you scratch your head with some of the stuff with Liam [Halterman], but I tell you what, I will take him in a foxhole with me any day. He just keeps going after you and he’s always trying to do whatever he can to win a football game.”

Johnstown’s sophomore quarterback Julius Reed tried to keep his team in it, but was constantly bitten by turnovers. In the second quarter, Reed had a pass over the middle tipped and intercepted by Bellefonte’s Noah Weaver, killing a promising Johnstown drive. Late in the third quarter, Reed was intercepted again, this time by Halterman who was playing both ways.

The turnovers began to feel comical in the fourth quarter. Between the 8:29 and 5:59 marks, the two teams combined for four turnovers and didn’t move past the Bellefonte 25-yard line. By the end of the turnover bonanza, the Trojans had fumbled across the goal line and thrown an interception inside the five-yard line, killing two scoring opportunities.

Reed threw another interception with under two minutes to play which effectively sealed the game for Bellefonte. Halterman took three knees and the Raiders escaped with a chaotic 38-18 victory.

Confer wasn’t pleased with the turnovers but was glad his team could rise above the mess. “We tried to exchange a lot of turnovers here at the end of this game which got pretty ugly,” Confer said, “But I’m proud of these guys, this is a huge win for this program and a huge win for these kids.”

Confer’s team is now headed for its third straight 4A District VI Championship Game against Juniata. The Raiders have lost each of the past two seasons, but Confer believes this year will be different. “I think our kids believe this year,” Confer said, “Last year we kind of limped into that playoff game and this year we’ve got seven wins on the board and these kids believe in themselves, they believe in the coaches and what we’ve been doing, and I think that’s a big key.”

Bellefonte will take on Juniata in the District VI Championship at 7:00 next Friday night at a neutral site.

Greater Johnstown closed its season with a 2-9 record, its best mark since 2017.

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