Sports
Belpre Pulls Away From Waterford in Second Half
By: Megan Vanselow
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With the playoffs on everyone’s mind, stakes and tensions were high as the Belpre Golden Eagles and the Waterford Wildcats combined for 58 points just in the first half of their matchup.
Waterford (5-5, 4-4) returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and scored on its very next drive to take an early 12-0 lead. However, when Belpre scored on its next drive, it never look back. The Golden Eagles (8-2, 7-1) went on to win 53-32, securing a place in the playoffs.
After its first two scores, Waterford struggled offensively and could not find ways to slow down Belpre. The Golden Eagles scored on its following three drives after Waterford’s second score returned a blocked punt for a touchdown to go up 33-12 in the second quarter. Belpre’s Matt Colvin and Deijon Bedgood finished with 102 and 93 yards, respectively.
Waterford was unable to generate offense during Belpre’s push, partially due to a high number of penalties. Officials dinged Waterford for several false start and offside calls.
As the half came to an end, Waterford’s offense came alive when it punched in to bring the score to 33-19. The comeback effort continued when Waterford recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, which the Wildcats then turned into another touchdown to slash Belpre’s lead to 33-25.
Tensions began to boil during Waterford’s following possessions when several pushes and shoves were exchanged along Waterford’s sideline. No players were ejected from the game.
Waterford’s comeback push fell flat in the second with Belpre outscoring Waterford 20-7.
With the loss, Waterford’s playoff hopes have officially vanished. However, Belpre will have to wait until Sunday to find out its opening round opponent.