Butler Blanks Taylor Allderdice 7-0
Tagged under: District 7, District 8, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Shane Lux | October 11, 2024
Butler – Nicco Baggeta’s touchdown run in the second quarter proved to be the game-winning score a Butler shutout Taylor Allderdice 7-0.
When you think of 21st-century football, 7-0 isn’t precisely a score that comes to mind. But that’s exactly what happened Thursday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.
“It’s been a while to get that kind of score,” said Butler head coach Eric Christy. “It was a great job by the defense, so kudos to them for finding a way to get the shutout. It’s a team effort. It’s not one kid. They all work together. We got it tonight when we needed a sack or fumble recovery.”
If you’re looking at the two schools’ recent contests, then perhaps the final score isn’t too surprising. Allderdice was shut out for the second consecutive week and has managed only six points in its last three games.
Butler played a scoreless first half against University High School last Friday night before falling 17-13 in Morgantown, West Virginia against the Hawks.
“I didn’t necessarily know if it would be high or low scoring, Christy said. “I thought it had the potential to go either way. I knew we were pretty evenly matched teams, so I expected it to be close.”
On Thursday night, the two teams combined for 304 total yards of offense, with the Dragons leading the way with 171 compared to 133 for the Golden Tornado.
After seven straight punts and a scoreless first quarter, Butler’s Nicco Baggetta intercepted Trecyn Ford and returned the ball to the Dragons’ 8-yard line.
Faced with a 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Baggetta took the snap and rolled left before pulling the ball down and scrambling into the end zone for what proved to be the game’s only score.
Nicco Baggetta 4 yd run, Butler 7 Allderdice 0, 3:46 2nd, @GTFBoosters @GTathletics1 @niccobaggetta pic.twitter.com/Ph0pWA1rE5
— Shane Lux (@PFN_Luxy) October 10, 2024
“That ball was maybe a foot off. I ran into the referee, or it could have been a pick-six,” Beggetta said. “On that touchdown, that was tough play. The wide receiver ended up getting held, so there was no way I was going to be able to make that pass. I knew I had to turn and make something happen. I stayed up somehow and got lucky into the end zone.”
Nicco Bagetta rushed for a game-high 69 yards on 23 carries while completing 1-of-2 passes for five yards and catching one pass for four yards.
“This was the best kinda of game you can get, especially for a homecoming game,” Beggetta said. “Everyone wants to watch and be here until the end. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Allderdice then put together an 8-play, 71-yard drive that ended five yards short of the goal line when Ford connected with Kaden Ayre, who was tackled at the Butler 5-yard line as the first-half clock expired.
Butler looked to extend their lead on their opening drive of the second half when they recovered a fumble at the Dragons 34-yard line.
On 4th-and-2, Mark Klemz was stopped a yard short of the first down at the Allderdice 13-yard line.
Again, the Dragons drove down the field, facing a fourth down and a goal from the 13-yard line. Ford completed a pass to Lukas Stead, but only for two yards.
Holding Butler to punt, Allderdice recovered a dropped punt snap by the Golden Tornado at their 6-play line with what seemed like a sure touchdown.
Tai’vaun Turner ran for five yards, where the Dragons had a second and goal from the 1-yard line to begin the final stanza.
A quarterback sneak and a fumble occurred on the succeeding snap, with Butler recovering the loose ball.
“I have to give credit to our band tonight as well, Christy said. “They were the 12th man out there at times in certain aspects when they were cheering and getting really loud. I was proud of our punter because he got right back out there and boomed the next one,”
Allderdice had one final chance to force overtime or outright the game when they took over at their 20-yard line with 6:31 to play.
Four plays later, however, the Dragons punted the football back to Butler, where the Golden Tornado ran the final 4:10 off the clock with Baggetta playing quarterback.
“That was huge. Nicco was at quarterback, and even completed a pass on that drive to move the sticks was huge,” said Christy. “They realized that hey, this kid isn’t just going to run the ball, he can throw it too.
Butler still has the opportunity for a winning season, as the Golden Tornado has a 4-4 record. They will again travel to West Virginia for the second time in three weeks, though, heading to Wheeling this time to play Wheeling Park High School.
They will end their season against Central Clarion, the PaFootballNews.com second-ranked team in Class AA.
“It’s exciting, it’s a two-game season with two games left,” Christy concluded. “We have the opportunity to be over .500. We’re going to take things one game at a time.
Game Highlights:
Butler 7 Taylor Allderdice 0
Score by Quarters
Taylor Allderdice- 0 0 0 0 – 0
Butler – 0 7 0 0 – 7
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
B – Nicco Baggetta 4 yd run, (kick good), 3:46 – 4-8
Individual Stats
Rushing: TA – Tai’vaun Turner 6-45, Damiane Scott 8-39, Ashton Buckner 1-(-1), Trecyn Ford 2-(-10), Mekhi Butler 2-6, Team 1-(-8). Totals: 20-71. B – Baggetta 23-69, Jacob Kollinger 9-18, Mark Klemz 8-30, Alec Teff 1-2, Team 2-(-23). Totals: 43-96.
Receiving: TA – Lukas Stead 3-32, Dav’veion Lee 2-20, Kaden Ayre 1-10, Masiah Lane 1-34, Brandon Beechaum 1-4. B – Owen Trettel 2-13, Preston Simko 2-18, Kollinger 1-2, Baggetta 1-4.
Passing: TA – Butler 1-for-3, 7 yards, Ford 7-for-13, 93 yards, 1 INT. B – Teff 5-for-11, 32 yards, Baggetta 1-for-2, 5 yards.
Interceptions: B – Baggetta.
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