Beth-Center holds on for victory over No. 2 Charleroi

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 29, 2018 | 12:03 AM

No. 2-ranked Charleroi nearly overcame a 14-point halftime deficit but fell just short in its efforts, falling to Beth-Center, 28-27, in Class 2A Century Conference play Friday night.

The Cougars (4-1, 3-1) were provided a golden opportunity to potentially strike with a go-ahead score as Hunter Perry blocked a Beth-Center punt to give Charleroi possession at the Bulldogs’ 20-yard line with 1 minute, 27 seconds left on the clock.

Cougars’ quarterback Geno Pellegrini, who threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for two more in the loss, attempted four passes into the end zone, but the Bulldogs (5-1, 4-1) answered with four key stops to force a turnover on downs and seal the victory.

“Not every play was designed to go to the end zone, I think he got a little pressure, saw somebody and tried to make a play,” Charleroi coach Lance Getsy said. “That is what great players do and Geno is a great player, so he just tried to make a big play right off the bat and that’s OK. That last drive, you have no timeouts left, and I’ll take the blame. Maybe it was my fault for not calling the right plays and not getting our boys in the right position. That’s on me.”

The victory for Beth-Center comes a week after it dropped a 48-14 decision to McGuffey on its home field.

“We know who we are and we know last week wasn’t us,” Beth-Center coach Joe Kuhns said. “To hold (Charleroi) to 27 points, the field helped a little bit and I’m not gonna apologize for it, but what it says about my kids to come back and do this after what happened to them last week, they’re just amazing.

“This is probably the best win I’ve ever been a part of.”

Beth-Center quarterback Bailey Lincoski and running back Dom Fundy caused havoc all night in the Bulldogs’ backfield. Lincoski ran for 145 yards and a score on 22 carries while Fundy ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

Fundy, who is usually also a factor on the Bulldogs’ defense, played one way in the victory, a week after suffering a lower body injury against McGuffey. Kuhns said Fundy was about 60 percent heading into the game.

“There was no way he was going to miss this game,” Kuhns said.

Jose Negron is a Mon Valley Independent staff writer.

Tags: Beth-Center, Charleroi