The Bears kicked off their football season with a staggering 40-10 victory against the Bellarmine Bells on Saturday afternoon. After a tough 5-7 season last year, the Bears are back with a dominant start.
Senior quarterback Xander Eschelman was out with a hamstring injury, so junior Teddy Dacey started the game. Dacey was a constant source of motivation for the Bears, throwing a total of four touchdown passes throughout the game.
Bellarmine started with the ball, but the Bears defense served as a formidable barrier, preventing the Bells from passing. Just barely into the first quarter, Bellarmine quarterback’s poor hand-off to their running back caused an early fumble. With the Bells slow to recover, senior linebacker Anthony van der Meer beat them to the ball, putting the Bears on offense.
On fourth down, Dacey connected with senior wide receiver Angelo Marin for an explosive 49-yard touchdown. Junior kicker Anthony Perez made the extra point, giving M-A a 7-0 lead.
With 1:15 left on the clock, Bellarmine senior running back Reese McKeever broke his fibula and tibia, forcing the game to a halt for 30 minutes. Once McKeever was taken off the field by ambulance, the game resumed, but the departure of one of their best players had crushed the Bells’ morale, setting the tone for the rest of the match.
As the second quarter resumed, the Bells failed to break through the Bears’ defense as they approached the 10-yard line. On the fourth down, they had no choice but to go for the field goal, making the score 7-3.
Despite the first quarter disruption, M-A’s momentum only continued to build with numerous successful connections and drives between Dacey and junior wide receiver JT Roeder. At the seven-yard line, Marin successfully drove through the Bells’ defense, dashing into the end zone, increasing the Bears’ lead to 14-3.
As the ball returned to Bellarmine, they again failed to meet the end zone, fumbling the ball—for the third time in the first half—off the kickoff. Senior linebacker William Sherman recovered the ball at the 30-yard line.
Just eight seconds later, Dacey passed to Roeder, and in a 30-yard touchdown, he made the Bears’ third score. Unfortunately, Perez’s kick was blocked, putting the Bears ahead 20-3.
With just 2:28 left in the first half, senior linebacker Devin Hyde forced another fumble from the Bells. Marin quickly recovered the ball, and ended the second quarter with a 20-3 lead in favor of the Bears.
On the first drive of the second half, Dacey launched a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Josh Olsen. Perez’s kick was blocked again, leaving the Bears up 26-3.
As the Bears persistently scored, the Bells still couldn’t get their offense rolling. When the ball returned to the Bears, they ran down the field with a rushing touchdown by Marin, now putting the Bears up 33-3.
With 3:21 left, Bellarmine finally responded with their first touchdown. However, despite this,, the Bears still had a comfortable 33-10 lead to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Dacey threw another passing touchdown to Marin, who scored his third touchdown of the game.
With time winding down, the Bells fell flat once more, allowing Bears junior cornerback Denim Powell to intercept a pass with 11 seconds left on the clock, ending the game 40-10.
“We put all the work in during the off-season, and we just balled out today. We knew we were going to have to roll out a bunch, play hard, physical, violent, and just do our thing,” Marin said.
“We have a lot more chemistry this year between our senior class and junior class than we have in past years, and that really helped us take it to the next level,” Roeder added.
With such a dominant win, the Bears are optimistic for this upcoming season. “We’ve come off a few losing seasons, and we are just trying to get our name back up there,” senior defensive back Kareem Franklin said. “M-A used to be known as a powerhouse, so we have big shoes to fill.”
The Bears will face the Monterey Dores away at 7:00 p.m. this Friday.
