NEW BETHLEHEM — Weather dictated that Thursday night's high school football game between Union/A-C Valley and Redbank Valley would be decided on the ground.

Advantage Bulldogs.

Redbank's rushing attack sparked the team to a pair of second-quarter touchdowns in a 14-0 victory over the visiting Falcon Knights.

Much of the game was played in a driving rain.

“Coming into the season, I thought our offensive line was the strength of our team,” said Bulldog coach Ed Wasilowski. “They showed it tonight.”

After picking up just one first down over its first three drives, Redbank (3-2, 2-1) received a much-needed boost from junior fullback Clint Thurston.

Beginning their fourth drive at their own 38-yard line early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs fed the ball to Thurston three straight times for 31 yards. Moments later, the team was preparing to go for a 4th-and-3 from Union/A-C Valley's 29, but the Falcon Knights were whistled for encroachment, giving the Bulldogs a first down. From there, Curtis Mohney scored on a 24-yard run.

“We had them 4th-and-3 and get that offside penalty,” said Falcon Knight coach Dave Louder. “On the very next play, they score. We have to stop doing things like that.”

Louder's frustration would continue. Following a three-and-out by Union/A-C Valley's offense, the Bulldogs turned to Colten Mohney, who gained all of the yards on a 5-play, 45-yard drive that was capped by the senior's 13-yard scoring run.

The Falcon Knights' passing game was averaging 135 yards and two touchdowns per game entering Thursday.

But quarterback Lucas Bowser was handcuffed by the weather. Though it was only drizzling in the first quarter, the wind made it difficult for Union/A-C Valley to open things up. By the time the team began a drive at its own 13 with 7:14 left in the first half, the rain had arrived in full force.

Another factor was the absence of senior receiver Gavin Hawk, who left last week's loss at St. Marys with an ankle injury and did not play. He leads the team in receptions (13), yards (242) and is tied for the top spot in touchdowns (4).

“That definitely slowed us down, it's one less guy to throw to,” said Louder, who was also expecting Bowser to be able to make plays running the ball, but the junior gained yards on just three carries in the game. Many times, he would take the shotgun snap and look for running room, but was quickly dropped by the alert Bulldog defense. Bowser ended the night with minus-30 yards rushing on 10 attempts.

“Teams are blitzing us and we should be able to seal the gaps and take off running,” said Louder. “We're not sticking with the blocks up front.”

The Falcon Knights avoided falling further behind late in the first half. A 22-yard punt return by Chase Wiles set the Bulldogs up at Union/A-C Valley's 13, but a touchdown on the next play was nullified by a block in the back. The drive ended with a pair of incompletions from quarterback Keaton Kahle, the second one coming on fourth down with just over a minute left before halftime.

“I think we left some things on the field in the first half,” said Wasilowski, but in the rain, to win 14-0, I'll take that any day of the week.”

The Falcon Knights (2-3, 1-2) were outgained 152-63 in the first half.

With a two-score lead and the rain now serving as an ally, the Bulldogs played very conservative in the second half, gaining just six yards of offense and no first downs.

Union/A-C Valley had chances, one coming early in the third quarter when Wiles muffed a punt and Sean Barger recovered at Redbank's 42. But on 4th-and-2 from the 34, a bad snap led to a turnover on downs.

Bowser was picked off twice in the fourth quarter, both times by Colten Mohney.

Finally, the rain stopped late in the game in time for the Falcon Knights to begin a drive at their own 35 with 3:27 left.

Two passes worth a combined 26 yards were completed to Kody Wolfe, which helped move the ball to the Redbank 22. But Bowser couldn't handle the snap on first down and the Bulldogs' Logan Minich recovered with just over a minute remaining.

The Falcon Knights host Punxsutawney next Friday.

“We have to get better all around,” said Louder. “We have to find a way to get back on track.”

Redbank Valley 14, Union/A-C Valley 0

Union/A-CV 0 0 0 0 — 0

Redbank Valley 0 14 0 0 — 14

U/ACV RV

9 First Downs 8

41-105 Rushes-Yards 35-150

78 Passing Yards 8

9-17-2 Comp.-Att.-Int 3-8-0

183 Total Yards 158

4-1 Fumbles-Lost 5-2

9-57 Penalty Yards 4-30

Second Quarter

RV — Curtis Mohney 24 run (Clint Thurston kick), 7:21

RV — Colten Mohney 13 run (Thurston kick), 3:32

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Union/A-C Valley, Lane Chalmers 14-55, Jeff Ginn 4-16, Greg Duncan 13-64, Lucas Bowser 10-(-30). Redbank Valley, Colten Mohney 11-58, Keaton Kahle 9-7, Curtis Mohney 7-44, Brock Barrett 1-4, Clint Thurston 5-39, TEAM 2-(-2).

Passing: Union/A-C Valley, Lucas Bowser 9-17-78-2. Redbank Valley, Keaton Kahle 3-8-8-0.

Receiving: Union/A-C Valley, Jeff Ginn 2-12, Lane Chalmers 1-(-2), Trey Miles 3-15, Kody Wolfe 3-53. Redbank Valley, Chase Wiles 2-(-2), Jared Kespelher 1-10.