BELLEFONTE — In his four years as the head coach of the Bellefonte Area High School football team, head coach Shanon Manning has endured some tough losses.
The 2016 season opener might just be at the top of the list, though.
Down 27-0 at the half, the Red Raiders battled and grabbed a 28-27 lead over Jersey Shore in the season opener for both schools. But the Bulldogs took a 33-27 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Bellefonte answered — or so it seemed.
On the ensuing kickoff the Red Raiders returned it for a touchdown. The Bellefonte sideline erupted as Cade Fortney went 85 yards for the score.
But there was laundry on the field. A flag at least 15 yards away from the play brought the score back.
“The ballgame was done, it was over,” said a perplexed Manning. “Had the ballgame won, and that’s what it comes to … sometimes it comes down to one or two plays. It’s unfortunate. You play 48 minutes and sometimes three, four and five seconds determine an outcome.”
For Jersey Shore (1-0), the flag helped preserve the victory. The Bulldogs cruised to the early 27-point lead, but it evaporated in the second half.
Jersey Shore head coach Tom Gravish was happy to escape Rogers Stadium with a win.
“We got off to the start we wanted to,” Gravish said. “We felt like we left a score on the field before halftime. We didn’t get that one. But you’ve gotta give Bellefonte credit. Their guys didn’t quit. When it was 28-27 … I was very, very proud of our guys.”
Last season, the Red Raiders (0-1) struggled getting the ball into the end zone. In the first half, those problems resurfaced.
The Red Raiders couldn’t convert on third down, were plagued by penalties and turnovers as the Bulldogs opened up a huge lead.
“That’s on me. We weren’t ready to play and it was evident we weren’t ready to play,” Manning said.
But the second half was a different story.
“We fixed some stuff at halftime and we came out with a sense of urgency,” Manning said.
New quarterback Chase Gardner was a breath of fresh air for the Red Raiders. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 245 yards. He tossed a pair of touchdowns, but was also intercepted twice. He also took too many sacks — 13, to be exact.
Gravish was impressed by Gardner’s abilities, considering the beating he took in the pocket.
“I thought Chase Gardner really played his tail off, for as many times as we sacked him,” Gravish said.
Make no mistake about it: Gardner was the key to Bellefonte’s comeback.
His two touchdowns went to wideout Tanner Helms. The first time they connected on a 10-yard touchdown.
The second score went for 74 yards. Dexter Gallishaw and Jaiden Boone added rushing touchdowns for the Red Raiders. Gallishaw scored from a yard out, while Boone scored on a 50-yard jaunt.
“Let’s be honest — we only had one scrimmage this year instead of two. So we were still finding ourselves, but I thought we did a good job in the second half keeping them off-balance and getting them stuck in their base defense,” Manning said.
Still, it wasn’t enough. The Red Raiders have lost every season opener under Manning.
Now, they will head to Huntingdon for a Week 2 matchup as they try to break into the win column.
“That’s a heartbreaker,” Manning said. “But you can’t let one game cost us two.”
