Bel Air moved the ball well on the ground throughout the first half of Thursday night's game with North Harford, but three turnovers stopped the Bobcats.
They did a better job holding on to the ball in the second half and took command. Daniel Webber ran for two touchdowns, one in the third quarter, as Bel Air scored the first 21 points of the second half en route to a 29-14 victory over visiting North Harford in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division match-up.
The three first-half turnovers hurt Bel Air and stopped it from taking a halftime lead. The Bobcats twice lost fumbles - once at the North Harford 6-yard line in the second quarter - and quarterback Michael Yetter also threw an interception deep in Hawk territory as the half ended in an 8-8 tie.
"That was it; we stopped ourselves many times in the first half," Bel Air coach Dave Huryk said. "They had a good defensive scheme, and sometimes we just coughed up the ball."
But the second half proved to be a much different story as Bel Air (7-1, 3-1) rebounded from a tough loss to Aberdeen last week. The Bobcats scored on their first three drives of the second half and jumped out to a 29-8 lead.
Zach Powell ran for a 10-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the half as the Bobcats made it, 15-8. That capped a 71-yard drive before Webber (78 yards) scored from four yards out on the next drive, stretching the lead to 22-8.
The third drive featured more of the same, with Devin Anderson scoring on a 13-yard run that gave Bel Air a 29-8 lead. Kicker Alex Clifford went 3-for-3 on extra points.
That running game proved crucial on this night as the Bobcats gained 322 yards on the ground and needed to pass just a few times. They moved the ball throughout the game and kept making first downs and holding possession through long stretches.
That success kept North Harford's offense off the field. After scoring on their first possession, the Hawks (5-3, 2-2) remained quiet until quarterback Dave Harmon threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ben Sexton for the 29-14 final score late in the fourth quarter.
Both teams scored first-quarter touchdowns that stood up as they battled to the halftime tie.
The initial Bel Air turnover set up North Harford for a touchdown on its first possession. After recovering a fumble at the Bobcat 40-yard line, the Hawks scored six plays later when J.T. Kidd ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 7:51 left. He then ran for the 2-point conversion and a quick 8-0 lead.
But Bel Air came right back, marching 80 yards on 14 plays on the next series, capped by Webber's 1-yard touchdown run. Webber also ran for the conversion, which tied the game at eight.
Everything changed in the second half as North Harford simply had too much trouble stopping the Bel Air ground attack.
"Tonight, they just blocked better than we did," North Harford coach Gene Liebel said. "They just have a really good line, and we weren't consistent enough, but they were."
Other Thursday night Harford football scores
C. Milton Wright beat Aberdeen, 30-27. Edgewood beat Fallston, 27-21. Patterson Mill beat Rising Sun, 45-26. Perryville rolled over Noth East, 49-12. Harford Tech outlasted Joppatowne, 21-20
Bel Air 29, North Harford 14
NA 8 0 0 6 - 14
BA 8 0 14 7 - 29
N - Kidd 5 run (Kidd run)
B - Webber1 run (Webber run)
B - Powell 10 run (Clifford kick)
B - Webber 4 run (Clifford kick)
B - Anderson 11 run (Clifford kick)
N – Sexton 1 pass from Harmon (pass failed)