GAME OF THE WEEK : First Half Is All Bell Needs to Down Jefferson, 13-6

Bell football coach Ray Galarze felt that his Eagles needed to start fast Friday against Jefferson and running back Bobby Sullivan helped do just that.

Sullivan rushed for 101 yards in 10 carries and scored one touchdown in the first half as Bell held on for a 13-6 Southeastern Conference win over the Democrats at Jefferson. Bell improved to 4-1 while Jefferson fell to 2-3.

Galarze wanted to establish the Eagles’ running game early to combat Jefferson’s speed. So he turned to Sullivan.

“The line was opening holes and I got off some big runs early,” said Sullivan, who scored Bell’s only touchdown on a one-yard run in the first quarter.

Bell opened the game driving 65 yards in 10 plays. A 26-yard pass play from Omar Rodriguez to Vince Delgado at the Jefferson one-yard line set up Sullivan’s scoring run. The Eagles upped their lead to 10-0 on their next drive which ended with a Jose Pedroza 37-yard field goal.

“We tried to use ball control on them and get on the scoreboard early,” Galarze said. “We thought we could run on them.”

Bell stretched its lead to 13-0 early in the second quarter after a 59-yard run by Sullivan set up a 21-yard Pedroza field goal.

Jefferson Coach Hank Johnson was pleased to find his team trailing by only 13 at halftime, after seeing his offense struggle to gain only 19 yards in the first half. “We knew that Bell was big and they did a good job in the first half overpowering us,” Johnson said. “But I’m proud how our kids came back.”

The Democrats didn’t wait long to get back into the game in the third quarter, scoring on their first drive, a 10-yard Ed Morse-to-Keith Parris pass play. The score was set up by a 32-yard punt return by Morse, who also played wide receiver.

Jefferson, which starts seven sophomores, rallied behind its defense in the second half to do a better job of stopping Sullivan and Bell’s running game. Jefferson’s blitzing defense helped hold Sullivan to minus eight yards in seven carries in the second half for a game total of 96 yards in 17 carries.

“After halftime, we kind of let down and Jefferson gave us a real good run,” Galarze said.

But Bell’s early lead proved to be all it needed as the Democrats’ offense sputtered. After rushing for more than 200 yards in its win over Jordan two weeks ago, Jefferson finished with 53 total yards against Bell.

Led by hard rushing linebackers Dario Romero and Carlos Pena, who had two sacks each, Bell had seven sacks and three interceptions, including two by Ruben Cardiel.

“They had pressure on the quarterback all day,” said Morse, who completed two of eight passes for 34 yards and had three interceptions. “It didn’t matter whether I was at quarterback or receiver, we didn’t have time to do anything.”

Bell will try to keep its Central League title hopes alive this week when it travels to Locke.

“Our defense has improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season,” Galarze said. “If we can stay healthy, I think we can stay in the race.”