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Blue Dons remain perfect at home, win fourth straight

Madonna's Coleton Littleton breaks up a pass during Saturday's contest against Beallsville. -Michael D. McElwain

WEIRTON — Madonna found the going easy for the second straight game and rolled over Beallsville, 61-20, Saturday night inside Jimmy Carey Stadium.

It not only was the second straight game that the Blue Don offense posted more than 60 points, but it also was Madonna’s fourth straight win, raising the 16th-ranked Blue Dons’ record to 5-2.

First-year Madonna coach Dan Rovira got monster games from junior quarterback Santino Arlia, who passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and senior Thomas Sessi, who chalked up 210 yards on the ground with four touchdowns. Sessi added a pick-6 covering 70 yards with the run back of the interception.

“I’m happy with the win and the fact that all the kids got to play again for the second straight week,” Rovira said. “Despite scoring 54 points at halftime, there was some things I didn’t like in the first half, and I delivered a message to them at the break. Yes, we can beat Beallsville, but I want them to do it the right way. I just want them to get better every week.

“I don’t care who the opposition is or the score, I want them to do things right. We were playing sloppy in the first half. Another thing I was concerned about was the possibility of kids getting hurt. I have only 21 kids dressed. I’m worried about kids taking shots in games like this and perhaps having to sit out some games in the future. We had one player (Trey Kush) get injured making a defensive tackle late in the game. Hopefully, he’ll be all right.”

The Blue Dons (5-2) may have not been playing to the coach’s liking, but they got away with it against a struggling Blue Devil offense and defense. Rovira cautioned that things will be a lot different next week when Wheeling Central invades Jimmy Carey.

Madonna opened the game putting 21 unanswered points on the board in the first quarter. The Blue Devils got their first touchdown early in the second quarter but couldn’t sustain the momentum. Madonna scored five more unanswered touchdowns before Beallsville found the end zone again and went to the locker room at halftime ahead 54-14.

“I was pleased the way Santino (Arlia) was throwing the football tonight,” Rovira said. “He was stepping into his passes and making the right decisions.”

After putting the opening kickoff in lay at their own 32, Madonna got on the board in just four plays, ending with Sessi blasting 17 yards up the middle.

Arlia, who completed 10 of 18 passes connected with Evan Quering for the first of his three touchdown tosses, a 13-yarder. Then he found Lucky Pulice with a pass for the 2-point conversion.

Madonna’s third score of the first quarter came on a Sessi 8-yard run that capped a 11-play, 77-yard drive. Joe Soos booted the extra point for a 21-0 Blue Don lead.

Beallsville got into the scoring act with the next possession when freshman quarterback, Garrett Perkins plunged into the end zone with a three-yard keeper on the third play of the second period.

The Blue Dons reeled off five straight touchdowns, including a 1-yard plunge by senior Evan Daniels, a 60-yard pass and run from Arlia to Evan Quering, a 2-yard blast by Sessi a 44-yard pass and run operation from Arlioa to Coleton Littleton and Sessi’s spectacular 70-yard dash with an interception.

Perkins hit junior Brandon Louden with a short pass, and the Beallesville junior raced to the end zone with a play that covered 63 yards as time ran out in the first half. Another junior, Bradley Moats, caught a 2-point conversion pass from Perkins, leaving Madonna with a commanding 54-14 halftime lead.

After the Madonna defense, which stiffened when it had to throughout the game, forced the Blue Devils to give up the ball on downs at the Madonna 19, Sessi got the call three straight times and on the third one he found daylight down the right sideline, picked up a block from Littleton and raced 70 yards to pay dirt. Freshman Dom DeMarco added the extra point from placement to cap the Blue Don scoring.

Beallsville tailback Wyatt Moore, who ran the ball 11 times, scored from 9-yards out with 9:54 left in the game to finish the scoring at 61-20.

Madonna 61, Beallsville 20

Beallsville 0 14 0 6 — 20

Madonna 21 33 7 0 — 61

M — Sessi 17 run (pass failed)

M — Quering 13 pass from Arlia (Pulice pass from Arlia)

M — Sessi 8 run (Soos kick)

B — Perkins 3 (kick failed)

M — Daniels 1 run (Soos kick)

M — Quering 40 pass from Arlia (kick failed)

M — Sessi 2 run (Soos kick)

M — Littleton 44 pass from Arlia (kick failed)

M — Sessi 70 interception (DeMarco kick)

B — Louden 37 pass from Perkins (Moats from Perkins)

M — Sessi 70 run (DeMarco kick)

B — Moore 9 run (run failed)

RUSHING: B 20-149-2 (Moore 11-114-td; Moats 6-7; Bell 3-2; Perkins 9-26-1); M 27-255-5tds (Sessi 15-210-4tds; Littleton 1-1; Gray 2-6; Daniels 3-34-td; Connell 5-4; Arlia 1-(-3)).

PASSING: B 6-115-td-int (all by Perkins). M 10-337-3tds (all by Arlia).

RECEIVING: B (Louden 3-95-td; Moats 1-8; Moore 1-2; Falkenstein 1-2); M (Pulice 4-116; Quering 2-73-1; Sessi 3-92; Littleton 1-15-1).

FIRST DOWNS: B: 5; M: 11.

FUMBLES-LOST: B: 1-0; M: 2-0.

PENALTIES: B: 4-30; M: 9-78.

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