QB Drew Bellisari scrambles past a Big Walnut defender en route to a 37-15 opening night win. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen.)
Defending Division III state champion Watterson fell behind by two touchdowns but scored the final 37 points to pull away from the Golden Eagles, Division II state semifinalists a year ago.
Columbus, OH — The circumstances were much more intense, but opening night felt like so many previous summer afternoons tossing the football around the yard for Bishop Watterson senior Drew Bellisari and his junior cousin Carter Bellisari.
Watterson put together a perfect run to the Division III state championship last fall as Drew shined at quarterback and Carter started at cornerback, but they looked as natural as could be Friday against Big Walnut with Carter now taking on the No. 1 wide receiver role.
While the Golden Eagles have state title aspirations of their own after reaching a Division II state semifinal last fall, the Eagles showed that they’re likely going to be in the discussion for another title in their division as well after winning a highly-anticipated season opener Friday 37-15 at Ohio Dominican University.
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Watterson, which scored the game’s final 37 points after trailing 15-0, looked especially powerful through the air — highlighted by Drew connecting with Carter seven times for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
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“We’ve been running around since we were little kids,” Drew said. “He grew up in Michigan, and I’d see him twice a year in the summer. All we’d do is play football.”
Carter, who joined Drew at St. Andrew in the Catholic Diocese beginning in sixth grade, made a momentum-saving 9-yard touchdown with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the first half when he took away a near-interception in the end zone from Cole Hysell.
He also had a 22-yard touchdown catch with 4:57 left in the third quarter that made it 30-15.
“A big part of it is with my cousin, Drew, it’s like playing catch in the back yard,” Carter said. “(Big Walnut) gave us their best shot. We had mistakes on our side, and it’s just about trust and brotherhood.”
Watterson has won 17 consecutive games and is 43-4 since the beginning of the 2022 season, and it responded like a championship-caliber program after a slow start.
Big Walnut defender Dallas Biehl was all over Watterson’s Carter Bellisari, but Bellisari held onto the ball for a big reception.
Big Walnut made it 8-0 when junior running back Nolan Buirley —who rushed for more than 2,000 yards last season — scored on a 7-yard run with 3:03 left in the opening quarter. That score was set up by a 60-yard pass from junior quarterback Eli Stumpf to senior tight end Owen Pollock, a Florida Atlantic commit.
In the opening quarter, Watterson was whistled for three holding penalties and turned it over when Drew Bellisari was intercepted by Brady Taylor with 1:36 left.
Watterson also fumbled it away early in the second period, setting up a short field that Big Walnut took advantage of when Stumpf connected with senior wide receiver Brody Hatfield for a 6-yard touchdown with 5:27 to go before halftime.
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Big Walnut, which lost 20-0 in last year’s opener to Watterson but bounced back to win its next 13 games, is hoping a similar scenario plays out after it fell to 0-1 for the third consecutive season.
Owen Pollock celebrates a two-point conversion as Big Walnut strikes early against Watterson.
“First off, hats off to coach (Brian) Kennedy and his staff,” Golden Eagles coach Curtis Crager said. “They’re probably going to be right back where they were last year. In the first half, we came out and executed. We let them back in when we were up 15-0, and you can’t let a team back in. In the second half, we made way too many mistakes, and championship-level teams don’t do that. If you’re going to be an elite team like Watterson has been the past three to four years, you have to execute everything.
“I think we can still be a very good team as well. This game doesn’t define us, but we have a long way to go to get better.”
Watterson drove 66 yards in 10 plays for its first touchdown, which was capped by a two-point conversion pass from Drew Bellisari to junior wide receiver Nate Henderson following Carter Bellisari’s first touchdown reception.
The Eagles then took advantage of a bad snap that went over Stumpf’s head for a 9-yard loss that forced Big Walnut into a fourth-and-27 from its own 1 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
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After taking over at the Golden Eagles’ 22, Watterson cut it to 15-14 on the final play of the first half on 6-yard touchdown pass from Drew Bellisari to Henderson.
Big Walnut QB Eli Stumpf shows grit and determination after having his helmet ripped off by a defender. The play was called dead for safety reasons.
“We definitely got punched in the mouth a little bit, and it definitely wasn’t our best game, but I’m proud of our team and proud of myself,” said Watterson junior defensive lineman Michael Foley, who had three tackles for loss to spearhead a defense that limited Big Walnut to four first downs in the second half. “We didn’t do all the little things right, but I’m happy. We’ve got some younger guys, but I trust all 11 of them. I’m confident we’ll get better and learn from it.”
Watterson senior running back Jack McCoy finished with 18 rushes for 102 yards, including running for two scores in the second half.
Drew Bellisari went 14-for-19 passing for 255 yards and three touchdowns, including completing a pass that Thompson grabbed in double coverage downfield and sprinted for 66 yards to set up the Eagles’ final touchdown.
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Nate Henderson celebrates as Watterson turns a close game into a rout of Big Walnut.
“I like it when Drew throws to Carter Bellisari and Nate Henderson,” Kennedy said. “Both had really good summers and both are phenomenal athletes. I thought our offensive line did a tremendous job with protection.
“Credit to Big Walnut because they came out with a real good game plan. I thought they showed some more energy than we did to start the game and really punched us in the mouth. We got a little tired and got our heads down a little bit, but you know what? Our kids understand what adversity is, and after the first quarter, I thought our kids really responded. I don’t love how many turnovers we had tonight, and we had some really bad penalties at inopportune times, but at the end of the day, it’s the kids making plays.”
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