Beaver Falls starts fast, picks up 28-7 win over Blackhawk in rivalry matchup
Editor's Note: Blackhawk's touchdown was scored by Alex Pritchard. He was incorrectly identified as Adam Pritchard in the initial version of the article.
BEAVER FALLS — In the 2023 Beaver Falls High School season opener, two-way senior lineman Sy’Mauri McCoy was making his 40th career start.
Despite that number – one many college freshmen can’t match – McCoy was still nervous before the Tigers’ home opener against rival Blackhawk.
“I had butterflies,” said the 6-foot-2, 265-pound lineman. “But I get nervous before every game, no matter who we play. It never gets old; I love this game. I study it all the time, watching films to see what I can pick up.
“We knew that this game we had to get the job done early.”
And McCoy and his teammates did just that. Rated as one of the best teams in Class 2A both in the WPIAL and the state, Beaver Falls built a 16-0 lead in the first quarter, expanded it to 28-0 at halftime, and won 28-7.
Although McCoy obviously led an experienced crew that has been to Acrisure Stadium three times, some were filling new roles.
Senior Da’Sean Anderson started at quarterback, wearing number 25. He rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown and passed for 39 more yards.
“This was my first career start at quarterback,” Anderson said. “I’ve filled in at times and played there when I was younger but this was my first start.
“All summer we came out and worked hard to come out and play stronger in the first half. Last year, we were a second half team and we knew we had to do better.”
The fast start didn’t take hold immediately as Beaver Falls’ first possession ended in a punt – but they didn’t punt again in the first half. After that, the Tigers’ Gary Pugh scored on a 21-yard run, and Beaver Falls blocked Blackhawk’s punt on their possession.
On the next play, senior Da’Talian Beauford scored on a 24-yard run. Blackhawk’s next possession ended in a punt snap into the end zone for a safety for the first quarter lead.
“This is my first year playing running back this much,” said Beauford, who led all rushers with 84 yards on 10 carries. “It felt natural back there and we don’t care about rankings – we knew we just had to get off to a fast start.”
In the second quarter, Beauford scored again and Anderson scored with 36.9 seconds left for the halftime lead.
“We’ll always find something to work on when we watch films, but I was pleased with the way we played in the first half,” said Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone. “We accomplished what we wanted to do in that half but it’s hard to maintain that the whole game.”
In the second half, Blackhawk — playing its first game under new head coach Pat Feeley — started to gain its footing. The Cougars had a touchdown called back when it was ruled the catch was made out of bounds but eventually made it into the scoring column in the fourth quarter.
The 2-yard run by Alex Pritchard was set up by a 46-yard pass from Stephen Knallay to Tyler Heckathorn, both juniors.
“I liked how we can use the second half as a building point for the rest of the season,” said Feeley. “I’ve always said a game comes down to five plays and they got all those plays, but they’re a very good team.
“All of our mistakes are teachable moments and we’ll develop a drill to correct them.”
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver Falls starts fast, picks up 28-7 win over Blackhawk in rivalry matchup
