Margaretta rolls, 60-0; Bodey sets receiving record

CASTALIA — Gage Bodey broke a record, Margaretta scored on five of its first seven plays, and the Polar Bears didn't have much to worry about in Week 4. The final score: Margaretta 60, Fremont St. Joseph 0 in an SBC River Division opener. "We took it to them so there was no doubt right from the get go," Margaretta coach Gary Quisno said. Bodey became the Polar Bears' (2-2, 1-0 SBC River) all-time leading receiver early in the second quarter. He's up to 1,443 receiving yards, which surpassed Ben Palomo's 1,435. "He catches it and after the catch, he's special, too," Quisno said. "He's got track speed now, and that shows up on the football field. He does everything for us." Bodey had two catches after entering the night needing 17 yards — a six-yard snag and then an 18-yard reception down the right sideline to become the record holder. Bodey is a second-generation Polar Bear — his father, Jim, is a middle-school coach at Margaretta now and watched from the sideline as his son secured his receiving legacy. "It feels good to get past that goal," Bodey said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was little… I definitely wouldn't be here without (my dad). Shoutout to my mom and my grandparents for all the support and effort they put into me. It means the world to me." The game had long-since been decided by the time Bodey took the top spot on that career leaderboard. Margaretta's first touch was a Julian Washington punt return. It went 55 yards to the house. After Dylan Gibson forced a fumble, the Polar Bears' first play from scrimmage was a Judah Keller pass in the flat that Kaine Smetzer took 48 yards to the end zone. "We just wanted to put it away early and make sure we got the job done," Bodey said. Bodey had a punt return touchdown called back to start the next possession, but it took just a couple plays for Keller to run 33 yards for his own TD. Washington doubled his punt return magic, this time with a 40-yard scamper up the right sideline to paydirt, for a 27-0 lead. "Julian is a special kid," Quisno said. "Him and Gage both back there to return, that's a couple of weapons." Margaretta added a defensive TD when Ayden Miller intercepted a pass toward the sideline and sprinted all the way to the other side of the field en route to a 45-yard return touchdown. The Polar Bears scored twice in the second quarter — Jordan Luzader pounded it in from a yard out, then Jake Bouy did similarly on a six-yard run. Margaretta took a 48-0 lead to halftime against the Crimson Streaks, who had 20 players in full uniform Friday night. The Polar Bears' chances were limited in the second half with the running clock, but their youngsters still got in on the fun. Tripp Limberios, a freshman running back, squeaked through a hole in the line and went 47 yards up the right sideline for a score. Another freshman, Christian Keegan, scored from 3-yards out after a 27-yard run by sophomore Bren Smith got the Polar Bears in close. "It's important for the future for sure," Bodey said. "We have a lot of young athletes who will really be good football players someday. And some of them are shining already." Carter Luzader, part of that freshman group as well, leaped for a deep ball for an interception. "You can see the excitement," Quisno said. "A lot of those young guys, it's their first time out here in good action. And they made plays, on both sides of the ball. We were happy to see that." Margaretta will travel to Woodmore for Week 5 to take on the SBC's newest team. They'll certainly be in good spirits after everyone got a chance to take the field on this high-scoring, one-sided Friday night. "It was a good team win," Quisno said. "Everybody got to play. Everybody got to play a lot. We saw some bright spots with the young kids. It was good." SJCC 0 0 0 0 — 0Marg 34 14 12 0 — 60 M — Julian Washington 55 punt return (Gage Bodey kick) M — Kaine Smetzer 48 pass from Judah Keller (Bodey kick) M — Keller 33 run (Bodey kick) M — Washington 40 punt return (kick failed) M — Ayden Miller 45 interception return (Jake Bouy kick) M — Jordan Luzader 1 run (Bouy kick) M — Bouy 6 run (Bouy kick) M — Tripp Limberios 47 run (kick failed) M — Christian Keegan 3 run (kick failed)