Belle Vernon takes advantage of field position, Martin scores 5 times in win over Mt. Pleasant

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, October 14, 2022 | 11:46 PM

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Belle Vernon Area started seven of its eight first-half drives deep in Mt. Pleasant territory, and Quinton Martin scored five first-half touchdowns and picked off a pair of passes as the Leopards routed the visiting Vikings, 55-7, in a Class 3A Interstate Conference matchup Friday on The Beach at James Weir Stadium.

With the win, Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert passed Gary Dongilli as the winningest coach in program history.

The Leopards scored on each of their first-half drives, starting at the Mt. Pleasant 6-, 35-, 36-, 30-, 13-, 34- and 29-yard lines. Belle Vernon didn’t have any drives start in its own territory, with two starting at midfield.

“I was glad to see us take advantage of the field position,” Humbert said. “Any time you have that in your favor, you have to use it and get points. I was actually disappointed a few times that we weren’t able to capitalize on it. This is the third straight week for us that we’ve had big advantages on where we start.”

After Evan Pohlot returned a squib kick 54 yards to the Vikings’ 6 to start the game, Martin needed only one snap out of the wildcat to make it 7-0.

It appeared the Vikings were prepared to go blow for blow with the Leopards, striking back quickly with Jackson Hutter’s 74-yard touchdown run that tied the score.

Hutter was the lone bright spot for Mt. Pleasant, finishing with 107 yards on nine carries.

“(We) didn’t blink an eye there, and there was really nothing to tell our defense or an adjustment to make. It wasn’t something I was worried about not being corrected,” Humbert said of the play. “I think it’s a testament to how well our guys are coached by our staff.”

It was all Belle Vernon (5-2, 3-0) after the Hutter touchdown.

Martin had all 50 yards of the next drive, including a 29-yard catch and run, and finished it off with 21-yard touchdown run.

“We wanted to get him on the perimeter, and we knew that they were going to be ultra-aggressive playing some cover zero,” Humbert said. “They were trolling him each time, so we knew if we could get him on the perimeter. That guy shadowing him was overpursuing, so he would just put his foot in the ground and he’s gone.”

The Vikings (4-4, 1-2) attempted a fake punt on their next drive, with punter/quarterback Cole Chatfield having a wide open receiver, but the pass was dropped to turn the ball over on downs.

Three plays later, Jake Gedekoh scored the first of his two first-half touchdowns from 1 yard.

“What’s great about having and watching (Martin) and Gedekoh is how much they support one another. Quinton loves watching Jake score touchdowns, and they really complement each other so well,” Humbert said.

Martin’s first interception was turned into points, with quarterback Braden Laux scoring untouched on a 30-yard touchdown runto make it 28-7 after one quarter.

A Robbie Labuda fumble recovered by BVA’s Parker Jewell gave the Leopards the ball at the Vikings 13, and it took only a Gedekoh 11-yard run and Martin’s 2-yard touchdown to put more points on the board.

The Leopards’ held Labuda to 0 yards on eight carries.

“We really played really vanilla defensively,” Humbert said of the plan to stop Labuda. “I think the other thing is we were hitting really hard tonight, and it extended to our young kids in the second half. We were out there being really physical. That’s what we wanted to do.”

Laux connected with Martin on the next Leopards drive, this time from 31 yards, and Gedekoh added an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 48-7 with 5:43 remaining.

The Vikings were able to finally make it into BVA territory in the waning minutes of the half, but Martin stepped in front of a Chatfield pass for his second interception that he returned 74 yards for the game’s final touchdown just before the half.

“We saw everything the kid is able to do,” Humbert said. “Running, catching, defensively … he’s a special player. He’s really been hitting all cylinders lately, and he continued it today.”

Martin carried the ball five times for 55 yards and caught a pair of passes for 60. Laux was 4 of 10 for 75 yards with the scoring toss.

“We had our shots vertically, but sometimes Braden’s big arm is just a little too big for his britches,” Humbert said with a laugh. “But it was a matter of inches, or a foot, on a few of those throws. It will come. We all know it.”

The Leopards set their sights on Southmoreland, which visits James Weir Stadium next week.

The Vikings are home with South Allegheny next Friday.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Mt. Pleasant