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Bedford football players (from left) Max Washington, Ethan Weber and Kevin Ressler wait out a 95-minute lightning delay during halftime of their game against McCort-Carroll Catholic on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, at Bedford Area High School. 

Bedford football players (from left) Max Washington, Ethan Weber and Kevin Ressler wait out a 95-minute lightning delay during halftime of their game against McCort-Carroll Catholic on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, at Bedford Area High School. 

BEDFORD, Pa. – A promising drive by McCort-Carroll Catholic to open Friday’s game against Bedford Area took the Crushers to the Bisons’ 25 before sputtering, eventually ending in 10 plays.

Bedford needed five snaps on offense to build a 16-point lead, setting the table for a comfortable, albeit lengthy, 44-0 win over the Crushers at Bedford Area High School.

The game was halted by a 95-minute delay at halftime due to visible lightning. As the strikes moved past the area, both staffs agreed to play on through the second half. It was a valuable 24 minutes of action for both teams, per their coaches, despite the already lopsided score.

“For us, it’s absolutely huge (to get in the full game),” McCort-Carroll coach Tom Smith said. “I want give (Bedford coach Kevin) Steele and his staff credit for hanging in there. They had a 30-point lead, and they didn’t push to end the game.

“They said, ‘Hey coach. What do you want to do?’ … Every snap we can get is precious.”

Steele agreed with his bench logging roughly a quarter and a half of action after the delay.

“It was unique to say the least, but I’m glad we were able to get the full game in,” Steele said.

“Especially the second half, where we were able to get our younger kids some reps and get them a chance to play varsity football.”

The Bisons (1-0) used three plays to cover 93 yards following a Trystan Fornari punt with Ethan Weber collecting the final 84 on an off-tackle romp through the McCort-Carroll defense. He added two more points when he pulled in the conversion pass from Max Washington on a halfback rollout option.

Washington factored into Bedford’s next points two plays after Quincy Swaim recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Washington stacked two 9-yard rushes and added the conversion to push the edge to 16-0 just 72 seconds after Weber’s opening tally.

After trading turnovers late in the first, another promising Crushers drive led to a punt from near midfield and another lengthy Bisons scoring march. A 25-yard rush by Swaim highlighted the possession before quarterback Kevin Ressler scampered into the end zone from 27 yards away.

With McCort-Carroll driving in response to the Ressler touchdown, Weber ran the lead to 30-0 when he jumped to pull down a Johnny Golden pass, stumbled upon landing, but steadied himself before returning the pick 58 yards. Ressler’s two-point conversion run made it 30-0 with 2:31 left in the second.

Visible lightning in the area during the Bedford marching band’s halftime performance delayed the game for roughly 95 minutes, per PIAA rules. When the teams returned to the field, two Bedford turnovers, a McCort-Carroll turnover on downs and a Crushers fumble inside the Bisons’ 5 preceded Weber’s knockout blow – a 74-yard run that made it 36-0 with 3:00 left in the third while also activating the running clock.

While McCort-Carroll managed a few promising possessions, Bedford’s opportunistic defense and explosive offense made those drives distant memories.

“We certainly have some weapons on both sides of the ball,” Steele said. “Ethan Weber, Max (Washington), Quincy (Swaim), Kevin (Ressler), all those guys are very good football players. Our line did a nice job.

“Those guys get the ball in space, they’re dangerous. We were able to make some big plays tonight.”

Weber ended the evening with 167 yards on six carries with three total touchdowns. Washington added 60 yards on the ground while Ressler chipped in with 37 rushing yards.

“The ball carriers only do so much in those cases,” Weber said.

“We’ve got amazing blockers. Interior blockers. Exterior blockers. I only take what they give me.”

With both teams emptying their benches, an eight-play Crushers drive ended in a turnover on downs at the McCort-Carroll 45, setting the table for a nine-play Bisons march capped by Treg Nave’s 14-yard run. Joey Huxta ran in the conversion to set the final.

Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.

Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.​

After two delays were called due to lightning in the area, referees decided to suspend the contest with Penn Cambria leading 21-0 nearly halfway through the second quarter.

Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.​

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