BLOOMINGTON – Belmont’s three-headed rushing monster was at it again, running roughshod over River Ridge and running the Braves right into the playoffs.
    The Braves’ backfield of Jeremy Richardson, Brandon Wedig and David Stoney combined for 342 rushing yards and five touchdowns to carry Belmont over the Timberwolves, 38-14, in Bloomington on Friday, Oct. 14.
    “The boys are very excited to be back into the playoffs. We are starting to play very good football and, hopefully, we can carry that momentum into the playoffs,” said Belmont head coach Jason Weittenhiller.
    Stoney opened the scoring with a 65-yard scoring sprint in the first quarter, and Wedig tacked on the conversion for an 8-0 Belmont lead.
    The T’Wolves (0-9 overall, 0-8 in SRC) answered with a 2-yard Joel Mezera TD run to cut the gap to 8-6, but the Braves stopped the two-point conversion attempt to maintain the lead.
    Belmont (5-4, 4-4) followed with a 3-yard Richardson score and another Wedig conversion to pull ahead 16-6 by the close of the first quarter, and Wedig added TD runs of nine yards in the second quarter and three yards in the third and an 81-yard TD catch from quarterback Avery Willborn in the fourth quarter to open up a 38-6 advantage.
    Stoney, who ran for 123 yards on 15 carries, chipped in with a conversion run after Wedig’s first score; while Richardson, who led the Braves with 160 yards on 18 carries, punched in another after Wedig’s TD reception to add to the lead.
    Wedig tallied 59 yards on 14 totes with two TDs and had two catches for 86 yards and another TD for the Braves.
    Mezera closed the night with a 3-yard score to finish the game with 166 yards on 34 carries with two TDs.
    Belmont outgained the ‘Wolves, 415-240, in total yards, including a 330-183 edge on the ground.
    “The boys played a good football game Friday night. Mezera is a very good running back that is tough to take to take down. The boys tackled well and held their gaps,” noted Weittenhiller.
    Richardson also led the Belmont defense with 16 tackles. Stoney chipped in with 10 tackles and a sack, while Wedig recorded nine stops and an interception.
    After waiting the weekend to find out if they made the post-season field, the Braves were announced as one of the 224 WIAA playoff qualifying teams on Monday.
    Belmont will head to Cazenovia on Saturday, Oct. 22, to face the #4-seeded Weston Silver Eagles (5-4) in a Division 7 Level 1 contest. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Belmont…….. 16  8  6  8 - 38
River Ridge…  6  0  0  8 - 14
B – David Stoney, 65 run (Brandon Wedig run)
RR – Mezera, 2 run (run failed)
B – Jeremy Richardson, 3 run (Wedig run)

B – Wedig, 9 run (Stoney run)
B – Wedig, 3 run (run failed)
B – Wedig, 81 pass from Avery Willborn (Richardson run)
RR – Mezera, 3 run (Breuer pass from Langmeier)

Team Stats: First Downs- B 17, RR 14. Rushing- B 53-330; RR 41-183. Passing- B 2-3-0, 85; RR 3-7-2, 57. Fumbles-Lost- B 1; RR 0. Penalties- B 9-62, RR 4-25.

Individual Leaders: Rushing (Att-Yds-Td)- Jeremy Richardson 18-160-1; David Stoney 15-123-1. Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Td-Yds)- Avery Willborn, 2-3-0-1, 85. Receiving (Cat-Yds-Td)- Brandon Wedig, 2-86-1.