Bellefonte boys falls to Tigers in title tilt

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: November 1, 2023

By Kenny Varner

WINGATE – They gave it their all.

It wasn’t quite the way the Bellefonte boys soccer team was hoping for as it hosted the tough Hollidaysburg squad in the District 6 championship game Tuesday night.

The Tigers scored early and often in the first half, taking the momentum and then later the game, winning 3-0.

”Coming into the game we’ve had some great practices. We felt really confident. But we got that monkey on our back,” said Bellefonte coach Scott Martz.”We look at Hollidaysburg’s jersey and play the jersey not the team on the field. We played timid to start the game and we put ourselves in a hole and it’s sometimes hard to dig out of.”

In a rematch from last year’s District 6 contest, the Tigers opened the contest with a quick goal to take the momentum early.

Using his speed, the Tigers’ Caleb Tryninewski broke loose on a breakaway attempt and blasted the unassisted goal at 31:57.

Bellefonte’s defense was able to shut down the Hollidaysburg speed from there until the midway point of the first.
“In the second half, I thought we played better. If it was a boxing match I thought we won the second half on the scorecard,” said Martz. “ But again, at that point all they had to do was sit back and all they had to do was defend us at that point. But I think in the second half we definitely played a lot better. We were more aggressive. We played looser. I just think we came tight early in the game and it cost us.

However, the Tigers’ defense was just as successful, despite the Red Raiders posting six corners.

At 14:50 left in the half, Owen Nagle hit an unassisted, goal of his own, making it a 2-0 contest.

As the half started to wind down, the Red Raiders were called for a foul, giving the Tigers a free kick right in front of the Bellefonte goal.

The Bellefonte goalie, Elijah Davis was able to stop the ball and hit it out to the playing field, kicker Luca Waibel picked up his own shot and deflection with a second shot that hit nothing but net, making it a 3-0 contest at 1:53.

In the second half, the Red Raiders came out with renewed energy as they went right down into the Hollidaysburg end.

Despite being down by three, the Red Raiders constantly found themselves knocking on the door numerous times.

But each time the Bellefonte squad were sent back, frustrated.

Looking back at the season as a whole and his thoughts on his team, Martz has nothing but great memories of this year’s squad.

”They are absolutely incredible. I told them right there that I wouldn’t want to coach any other team. I’m proud of them and how they played all year round,” Martz added. “We’ve had some ups and downs throughout the season but they always battled through the adversity and we would come out on the winning side most of the time. So, I’m proud of what they have done all year.”