Bellwood-Antis vs Cambria Heights Preview: District 6 2A Semifinals

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

Baron Dionis | November 8, 2024

The second week of playoffs is here and District six has a big matchup in 2A between 5th seeded Bellwood-Antis and one seed Cambria Heights. Winner of this game heads to Mansion Park for the District Championship against the winner of Richland and Marion Center.

Bellwood (8-3) is coming off a big time win against River Valley, a team Cambria Heights beat 28-12. Cambria Heights (11-0) is coming off of a win against Bishop McCort-Carroll, a team Bellwood defeated 34-33. Those are the only common opponents that these teams have played as they come from different conferences. The differences from these conferences may give the Blue Devils an edge on Friday night with the tougher competition all year.

“The LHAC  is a tough road from your scrimmage to week 10 so it definitely helped us prepare for last week’s game,” Bellwood Coach Nick Lovrich said. “Our kids have been in battles every single week so they have been in a lot of tough situations.”

On the contrary, Cambria Heights does not believe the difference in competition will matter too much.

“We are healthy and have been challenged a number of times from some quality football programs,” Cambria Heights Coach Jarrod Lewis stated. “The teams that go into the playoffs healthy and playing their best football are usually most successful.  I don’t worry about who teams play or who we play.”

This game looks to be a very evenly matched contest that could go down to the wire. Let’s preview this special second round matchup.

Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils

Bellwood is a team that can spread the ball out to multiple players. In the run game, they have been able to rely on three guys. Those three each average over five yards a carry and have over 400 yards on the season. Collin Gibbons leads the running backs with 639 rushing yards. He also has seven rushing touchdowns, 362 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Along with Gibbons is Cayden Pellegrine, who has 585 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, 418 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. 

They are also able to throw the ball behind quarterback Holden Schreier. He has accounted for 1,564 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air. He has also thrown just four interceptions, which is solid through 11 games. Ethan Shawley is his leading receiver with 438 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. 

“To win this week we need to make sure we control the things we can control, not making mental mistakes,” Coach Lovrich said. “Cambria Heights has a lot of confidence and guys who have played in big games the last couple years.  We have to make sure we limit their big plays and are able to move the ball on them when we are on offense.”

Cambria Heights Highlanders

Cambria Heights is carrying an undefeated season into Friday night after coming off a big win against a tough Bishop McCort-Carroll team. Similarly to Bellwood, they spread the ball out to multiple players too, but their top two yard gainers are Stephen Nelen and Trey Trybus. Nelen has 627 rushing yards and 371 receiving yards, while Trybus has 414 rushing yards and 502 receiving yards.

Their defense has been incredible this season on top of that strong offense, shutting out five opponents. They have also come out with 137 tackles for loss, headlined by Garrett Jaspers 29.5 and Bryce Lewis’ 22.5. 

“We have to play with confidence and limit their big plays,” Coach Lewis said. “Defensively, we would like to force some turnovers and execute our game plan from the beginning.  Offensively, we have to take care of the football and get big plays. The team that plays physical and controls the line of scrimmage will have the advantage.”

Overall, this is set to be a very good matchup between two good teams. The stakes are very high for both teams as a chance at a district championship is on the line. This is definitely a game to watch out for.

“We have felt all year that we can compete with all the teams on our schedule,” Coach Lovrich finished with. “Our goal each week is to play our best game every Friday night. We have been getting some confidence the last few weeks so we are very excited to have this opportunity.”

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