Allegany crushes Albert Gallatin, 45-8; Bratton, Williams score 2 TDs

Sep. 25—CUMBERLAND — After a pair of tough losses, Allegany was clicking on all cylinders on Saturday afternoon.

The Campers scored touchdowns on each of their first five drives, and Albert Gallatin's offense had as many turnovers as first downs entering the halftime locker room (two).

Brody Williams and Cayden Bratton scored two touchdowns each, and Allegany blew past Albert Gallatin, 45-8, to garner a much-needed win and improve to 2-2.

"It was just nice to start fast, be able to go into halftime and breath a little bit," Campers head coach Bryan Hansel said. "Get some kids some playing time that usually don't. Get some kids some touches they usually don't.

"It was nice to have a little fun and smile a bit on the sideline after the last three weeks."

Allegany, which dropped games to No. 2 Mountain Ridge and Boonsboro after a thrilling triumph at Hollidaysburg in its opener, was able to get more players in the game because of a monster first half.

The Campers led 35-0 at intermission, with Brett Patterson, Williams and Bratton scoring first-quarter touchdowns and Williams and Bratton doubling their totals in the second.

Williams finished as Allegany's leading rusher with 87 yards on seven carries, one of which was a 59-yard house call. Patterson had nine physical carries for 68 yards, and Bratton finished with 47 yards on seven totes.

Isaiah Fields was one of the ballcarriers that got more burn in the backfield after halftime, rushing for 48 yards on the Campers' lone touchdown drive of the second half. Fields, who finished with 12 carries for 83 yards, capped the third-quarter series with a 10-yard touchdown run.

Overall, Allegany finished with 40 carries for 308 yards. The Campers didn't throw a pass all game; they didn't need to with their backs getting chunk yardage at will.

"We went back to some basics, really focused on minor details," Hansel said. "Really wanted to run our base stuff well. We didn't want to get too fancy. Some of our guys banged up, we wanted to make sure we kept them right."

Albert Gallatin got on the board for the first time with a 10-play, 72-yard drive in the fourth quarter that featured five first downs. Quentin Larkin found paydirt from nine yards out and ran in the two-point conversion.

However, Allegany got the last laugh on the scoreboard, as kicker Blake Powell, who was 4 for 4 on extra points, drilled a 45-yard field goal with three minutes remaining.

Through four weeks, Powell has made all five of his field goal attempts, including a game-winner at Hollidaysburg.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without my line," Powell said of his 45-yarder. "Snapper Devin (Kasecamp), holder Dae Dae (Smith). Without them, it wouldn't have been possible. ... It's probably one of the best years we've had for special teams."

Allegany's defense, meanwhile, held Albert Gallatin to just 102 yards and seven first downs. With the exception of the Colonials' scoring drive in garbage time, they only had two first downs for 30 yards the rest of the game.

"They aligned well," Hansel said of his defense. "I think they played loose and free. Most of the time, we didn't even have to give calls from the sideline. They were calling it out before us, so it was nice to see them do that."

The Campers also played nearly mistake-free football. Allegany wasn't penalized all day — Albert Gallatin was penalized four times for 30 yards — and it won the turnover battle 2-0.

Other than a fumble late by an Allegany ballcarrier, which the Campers recovered, Alco never put the ball in harm's way.

"We talk about no non-effort penalties, no turnovers and no explosive plays," Hansel said. "If we can do those three things, we usually win the game."

Allegany outgained Albert Gallatin, 204-30, during the first half and had a 10-2 advantage in first downs to lead by five touchdowns. The Colonials ran just one play in Camper territory before being pushed back by a tackle for loss by Jackson Resh on their final series of the half.

Patterson scored Allegany's first touchdown with 6:40 left in the opening quarter. Patterson received the ball on a fullback trap, and he emerged from a pile of Albert Gallatin defenders unscathed to accelerate 24 yards for the score.

Smith recovered an Albert Gallatin fumble on the ensuing kickoff, setting up a four-yard Williams rushing touchdown for a 13-0 lead with 5:42 left in the first.

After the Camper defense forced a three-and-out, the Campers drove 44 yards on six plays, and Bratton capped the series with a five-yard rushing score. Williams found Jacob Salonish on the two-point conversion for a 21-0 lead with 28 seconds left in the quarter.

Albert Gallatin went three-and-out again on its next possession, and Williams needed just one play to score the Campers' fourth touchdown.

Williams faked to Patterson and pulled when the lineman crashed on his fullback. The junior got to the outside and nobody was going to catch him, as Williams sped 59 yards to the house for a 28-0 lead with 10:12 left in the half.

Allegany recovered a Colonials fumble on its following defensive series. With a short field, Bratton dragged five defenders 13 yards down to the Albert Gallatin one and scored on the ground a play later for a 35-0 edge with 8:47 left.

Three Albert Gallatin quarterbacks combined to go 0 for 5 through the air, and one attempt was nearly intercepted by Salonish.

T Guessman led the Colonials on the ground with eight carries for 41 yards. Trace Zotter rushed for 34 yards on eight touches.

Allegany (2-2) will look to go over .500 next week with a win at Smithsburg (1-3), which was crushed by Mountain Ridge, 51-13, on Friday night.

"The focus now is on Smithsburg, go get that win," Hansel said. "We're going to go week-by-week. We still have our sights on a home playoff game, and that's our main focus."

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.