Belle Vernon gets big win against Thomas Jefferson

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | September 24, 2022

Coming into this game Belle Vernon entered on a 2 game losing streak but on Friday night they got a big 21-7 victory over rival Thomas Jefferson. “We needed that win” said Coach Humbert.

It was big plays that won Belle Vernon the game. Thomas Jefferson had plenty of opportunities and possessed the ball the majority of the game. Belle Vernon got the ball to start the game but went three and out.

Thomas Jefferson’s first drive of the game started at midfield and the drive was looking good, they got inside the 20 yard line and eventually after a penalty Thomas Jefferson attempted a field goal which was no good. “Anytime you stop them on their first drive, that’s huge, we talk about it all the time, if you can stop that first drive, you have a better shot at beating them exponentially” said Coach Humbert.

Belle Vernon’s second drive resulted in a second three and out. Thomas Jefferson got the ball a second time on their own 43 yard line. A holding penalty on first down set the theme of the drive. Penalties were a big reason why Thomas Jefferson struggled to finish off drives.

Thomas Jefferson punted the ball away and Belle Vernon got a massive spark on a 95 yard punt return by five star recruit Quinton Martin. “We needed that spark, we needed that flame, we that igniter, I’m more happy and proud for him than anything, from a team stand point that was vital, we needed that jump start, we needed that pick me up. said Coach Humbert.

Thomas Jefferson got the ball back on their own 20 yard line. On the first play of the drive Thomas Jefferson fumbled the ball and Belle Vernon recovered. That drive started at the Thomas Jefferson 14 yard line and they wasted no time on capitalizing on the turnover when Jake Gedekoh scored on the first play from 14 yards out. That made that score 14-0 Belle Vernon with 1:17 in the first quarter.

Thomas Jefferson got the ball yet again and once again it was looking like a great drive. A lot of the possessions for Thomas Jefferson took up a lot of time on the game clock. This drive got as far as the Belle Vernon 40 yard line but the drive stalled and they punted it away.

Toward the end of the first half Thomas Jefferson was close to scoring yet again and they were deep in Belle Vernon territory but despite that they just couldn’t find the end zone with Belle Vernon’s defense coming up big. The score at halftime was 14-0 Belle Vernon.

Thomas Jefferson got the ball to start the second half and didn’t do much with the ball and punted it away. Belle Vernon’s first drive of the second half started at their own 25 yard line. After a big run by Quinton Martin they were at midfield. The play after that Belle Vernon came up with another big play when Braden Laux found a wide open Jake Gedekoh for a 50 yard touchdown pass. “The ball that Braden threw on that play was spectacular” said Coach Humbert.

The fourth quarter started and Thomas Jefferson was knocking on the door and on third down Brody Evans found Ryan Lowry for a 6 yard touchdown pass. That made the score 21-7 with 11:13 left in the game. Evans was the main player of the game for Thomas Jefferson throwing for 150 yards.

Thomas Jefferson came up with a stop and got the ball back and after a couple of big plays they were close to scoring again but the drive ended on an interception. Thomas Jefferson got the ball one last time and that drive ended on a turnover on downs. “To be able to come here against that team, just shows the mental aptitude of the kids to keep chopping wood and to not give up” said Coach Humbert. The big 21-7 win over Thomas Jefferson improves Belle Vernon to 2-2 on the season. “They took that adversity from the last 2 games, and didn’t let the noise bother them” said Coach Humbert.

Up next Belle Vernon starts conference when they host South Allegheny. Thomas Jefferson travels to Laurel Highlands for their second conference game,

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