Curtin call

Eagles cap season with victory over rival Red Raiders

Walt Moody

BELLEFONTE — Bald Eagle Area’s Stevie Eisenhuth grabbed the Curtin Bowl Trophy and made a bee line for the far end zone at Bellefonte’s Rogers Stadium.

CDT photo/Michelle Bixby

Bald Eagle Area’s Stevie Eisenhuth, right, runs past Bellefonte’s Torin Miller during the first half of the Curtin Bowl on Friday at Rogers Stadium. Eisenhuth rushed for 72 yards on nine carries and a touchdown to lead the Eagles to a 20-0 win over the backyard rival Red Raiders.

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Given the way he played Friday, you couldn’t blame the Eagles senior for wanting to start the celebration with his teammates as soon as possible.

Eisenhuth rushed for a career-high 72 yards on nine carries, scored his first touchdown of the season, intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble and was in on multiple tackles as BEA blanked its Centre County rival 20-0.

Quarterback Justin Taylor passed for 150 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown strike to Tyler Womer, and snuck over for a score as the Eagles amassed 381 yards of offense.

But the big standout was Eisenhuth, one of the more polarizing players in the county. With his long locks flowing and wearing the special No. 31 honorary jersey (which remembers BEA great Steve Dorman), Eisenhuth was a standout on both sides of the ball.

“You could just tell in his eyes before the game that he was focused and ready to go,” Eagles coach Jack Tobias said. “Once he touched the ball and got a couple of big hits, he was just pumped.

“He’s an outstanding football player and he’s a special kid to coach,” Tobias added. “He’s made a lot of changes this year and I’m proud of him for everything he’s done. He came out tonight and took control of the game — running the ball and making big hit after big hit.”

While both teams had long drives in the first quarter, the contest remained scoreless until BEA began a 70-yard march late in the second quarter after the Red Raiders turned the ball over on downs.

Taylor was 3-for-3 for 27 yards on the march, that appropriately Eisenhuth capped. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end came in motion and took the ball on a counter play, bowling over a couple of Red Raiders at the goal line for a 17-yard score. Bellefonte’s Malik Breon blocked the extra point to make it 6-0 with 1:26 left in the half.

“It was amazing,” said Eisenhuth, who had 15 carries for 30 yards coming into the game. “The line did a really good job blocking — just getting bodies on bodies.”

Eisenhuth nearly had another score before the half as he picked off a Ty Warner pass and raced 60 yards up the left sidelines before Warner tracked him down at the 10 with 20 seconds left.

“I told (defensive back Chris) Gribble, ‘I’m getting an interception this play,’ said Eisenhuth, who was disappointed he did not score on the play. “I tried to cut back inside and my foot got caught in the grass.”

Bellefonte’s Matt Grieb picked off Taylor on the next play to make the score 6-0 at the half.

The Eagles’ offense dominated the final 24 minutes, pushing the Bellefonte defense with it’s ground attack. Bellefonte had the ball just five plays in the third quarter, losing the ball on one possession when Eisenhuth recovered a fumble.

On the opening series, the Eagles went 65 yards, culminating in Taylor’s one-yard sneak.

The second drive was 69 yards to the Raider 1 before a penalty and a big Bellefonte defensive play on fourth down halted the march.

“We didn’t get a lot of opportunities,” Bellefonte coach Zac Wynkoop said of the second half. “To Bald Eagle’s credit, they had a lot of drives the chewed up a lot of the clock and they methodically moved down the field.”

The Eagles put the game away midway through the fourth quarter. On third-and- 3 from their own 42, Taylor hit Womer in stride on a quick slant and the speedy Womer made a tackler miss and was off to the races. Taylor then hit Dillon Schall with a two-point conversion pass to make the score 20-0 with 6:47 left.

Taylor, a junior, finished 12-of-15 for 150 yards and surpassed the 1,000-yard passing mark for the season (1,147 yards).

“He’s really grown into the role,” Tobias said. “He’s starting to feel more comfortable with the offense. He does a great job as a leader out there. ... He’s still got a ways to go, but over the course of the season he’s really matured. I’m proud of him and look forward to coaching him again next year.”

The Eagles amassed 231 yards on the ground on 45 carries and had 24 first downs as they won for the third time in their final five games after opening the season 0-6.

“I just wish we could have started this way,” Eisenhuth said.

Bellefonte, opened the game in the I-formation, and ran well. Travis Struble and Grieb ran well on the opening drive, which moved 48 yards to the Bellefonte 26 before ending with a Brock Bathurst pick-off of Warner.

Bellefonte (1-9), which had four turnovers, never got closer to scoring.

“I was really pleased with how the kids played,” said Wynkoop, whose team has been beset by injuries this season. “Just again, it was a case of just shooting ourselves in the foot and drives stalling and not taking care of the football. We’ll do better at that next year.”

The Eagles will have until next year to hold onto that Curtin Bowl trophy, something that means much to Tobias and his players.

“You still own the bragging rights and it doesn’t matter how many years go by,” Tobias said. “I love it for the kids, for the school and for the community.”