Bellefonte, Wertz blisters Clearfield for convincing win

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: September 12, 2023

By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – Turning up the heat.

Bellefonte’s speed and precise ball handling provided the offensive punch Tuesday as they posted a 6-1 victory over Clearfield in Laurel Highlands action.

Brady Wertz provided most of the fire power finishing with a hat trick and two assists.

The uptempo offense of the Raiders provided its defense to stay fresh and come up strong when they needed to.

“That’s one thing we’ve been focusing on this year, our speed. We did a good job tonight dropping the ball back to our midfielders and making our runs,” said Bellefonte coach Scott Martz. “We relied too much on the long ball in the beginning of the season. We did it a couple of times tonight too. We’re trying to get them to get the ball to the middle and then hit the slides. Because we are quick up front.”

The Raiders took possession right at the start putting the Bison back in the defensive side of the ball. They were able to notch its first corner at the 38-minute mark.

Each time down field, Bellefonte seemed to be a step or two quicker than their Clearfield counter parts.

Wertz put the Raiders on top as he broke free and blasted a shot on a breakaway, hitting the unassisted goal at 32:39.

Clearfield would counter the Bellefonte goal just minutes later when Santana Maines picked up a pass from teammate Connor Morgan and blasted a shot, tying it at 31:08.

The movement of the ball centered into the middle of the field after the two goals.

As the time started to wind down in the first half, the Red Raiders got the ball once again to a sprinting Wertz. After the catch by Wertz he did the rest, posting his second goal this time at the 11:28 mark, breaking the stalemate.

Bellefonte was able to break loose once again before the half. Andrew Gerasenko picked up a pass from Jan Rojas-Trinidad, giving their team a 3-1 advantage at 4:33.

“We worked on our passing all day at practice. Up at Somerset the other night we just didn’t pass well. Tonight they put it together,” said Martz.

In the second half, Bellefonte continued its successful running attack.

At 21:17, Wertz notched the hat trick hitting on an unassisted goal once again, upping it to a 4-1 advantage.

Bellefonte added a couple of insurance goals to secure the victory. Gerasenko made it a 4-goal lead as he posted a goal from a Wertz kick at 11:37.

Ending the scoring Rojas-Trinidad as he also caught a pass from Wertz and blasted it home at 10:42.

Bellefonte held the advantage in shots on goal (20-6) and corner opportunities (5-1)

In the save department, Clearfield’s Rhyan LaRock finished with eight while Bellefonte’s Elijah Davis finished with four.

Bellefonte 6, Clearfield 1

CL 1 0 – 1

BE 3 3 – 6

First half

BE – Brady Wertz unassisted 32:39.