HS football: Can area teams continue their winning ways as the season winds down?

We’re down to two games left in the regular season and four of the five area teams sit with winning records. Bellefonte, Penns Valley, and State College will try to keep to their winning ways, while Bald Eagle will try to bounce back from its first loss of the season, a 42-7 pummeling by Clearfield. Philipsburg-Osceola will get its turn against Clearfield this week, in a game that the Mounties hope to keep competitive. Up first, the Penns Valley Rams, who have won two in a row and four of their last five games.

Tyrone (4-4) at Penns Valley (5-3)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: T – Jason Wilson (fifth season); PV – Martin Tobias (23rd season)

Last meeting: Tyrone 28-6, last season

Players to watch: T – Denver Light, Sr., QB; PV – Aaron Tobias, Jr., QB

The skinny: Tyrone travels to Penns Valley looking for answers after losing four straight games. The Golden Eagles’ last loss was to Hollidaysburg by a score of 28-13. Penns Valley will try to stay hot this week, with its only loss in its last five games being a one-point overtime defeat at the hands of Midd-West. The Rams are averaging 39.8 points on offense in their wins this season.

For Tyrone to get back on track it’ll need senior quarterback Denver Light to step up. Light, who committed to Penn State as a preferred walk-on linebacker, has struggled in the last four weeks. He’s thrown for 420 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions during Tyrone’s losing streak. During the Golden Eagles’ first four games, Light threw for 659 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions. The team went 4-0 in that span, a clear sign that Light’s passing ability has a big impact on the Tyrone offense.

Penns Valley junior quarterback Aaron Tobias, unlike Light, has been lights out lately. In the Rams’ last five games, he has thrown for 1,389 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions. He’s been dominant throughout the stretch, and especially in the last two games, throwing for 580 yards and eight touchdowns, helping the Rams score 84 points in that span. Another big performance from Tobias would go a long way as Penns Valley chases its sixth win.

Bald Eagle Area (7-1) at Jersey Shore (4-4)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: BEA – Jesse Nagle (third season); JS – Tom Gravish

Last meeting: Jersey Shore 31-7, last season

Players to watch: BEA – Jaden Jones, Jr., QB; JS – Koby Peacock, Sr., WR

The skinny: Bald Eagle will have to shake off its first loss of the season, a 42-7 blowout by Clearfield last week. That game was the first time the Eagles were held under 30 points all season. Jersey Shore enters Friday after a 25-7 victory over Lewisburg last week. The Bulldogs are 3-1 when playing at home this season.

After a hot start to the season, Bald Eagle junior quarterback Jaden Jones has cooled off in the last two weeks. Jones has thrown three interceptions and only one touchdown during those games. In the Eagles’ loss to Clearfield last week, Jones had 104 passing yards and an interception in what was his worst performance of the season. Jones has to bounce back to get the Eagles’ offense rolling again.

For Jersey Shore to upset Bald Eagle, senior wide receiver Koby Peacock has to lead the offense. Peacock is capable of the task, with two huge games already this season. In the Bulldogs’ first win of the season over Montoursville, Peacock dominated, scoring four touchdowns on eight catches for 184 yards. His second big performance came in their win over Shamokin, hauling in nine passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Peacock will need to put up similar numbers for Jersey Shore to keep up with the Eagles.

Bellefonte (6-2) at Bishop Carroll (2-6)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: B – Shanon Manning (sixth season); BC – Sean Billings

Players to watch: B – C.J. Funk, Jr., RB; BC – Jake Zazvrskey, Jr., QB

The skinny: Bellefonte has a good opportunity to earn another victory this week when it takes on the Huskies. The Red Raiders rebounded from two straight losses when they defeated Central last week, 21-12. Bishop Carroll is looking for its second victory over a Mountain League team this season this Friday at home. Their first was a 31-13 victory over Philipsburg-Osceola in mid-September.

Junior running back C.J. Funk has been the driving force for the Bellefonte offense this season, and he has a chance to break 200 rushing yards in a game for the fourth time this season. Funk enters the game with 1,186 yards and 14 touchdowns on 128 carries. He’s broken 100 rushing yards in every game but one this season, and has done so in his last six games. Expect more of the same this week in what should be a big win for the Red Raiders.

If Bishop Carroll has any chance to upset Bellefonte, junior quarterback Jake Zazvrskey will have to lead the way. He leads the team with 318 passing yards, and has also rushed for 399 yards on the season. The Huskies’ run-heavy offense will need to maintain possession to stay in the game, and Zazvrskey will need to occasionally pick up a first down with his arm.

Altoona (3-5) at State College (7-1)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: A – Nick Felus (third season); SC – Matt Lintal (fifth season)

Last meeting: State College 36-7, 2009

Players to watch: A – Conner McCarthy, Sr., QB; SC – Dresyn Green, So., RB

The skinny: Altoona will have an opportunity to avenge its last loss to State College after nine years. The Mountain Lions have lost two games in a row. State College is trying to close the season strong after beating Central Dauphin last week, 35-28. The Little Lions will play at home for the first time since September 28 when they defeated Central Dauphin East.

Altoona is eying an upset of the Little Lions and will be reliant on senior quarterback Conner McCarthy to do so. McCarthy will need to repeat his performance from the Mountain Lions’ first game of the season. He threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Hollidaysburg. His passing ability will come into play as State College should make this game a high-scoring one.

The Little Lions had a breakout performer last week in their 35-28 victory over Central Dauphin. Sophomore running back Dresyn Green was electric for State College. He scored two touchdowns in the game, one receiving and one rushing. Green carried the ball 15 times for 151 yards and also caught three passes for 61 yards for 212 total yards. All three of those yardage totals led State College for the game.

Green’s presence next to Cohen Russell and Keaton Ellis has added to an already high-powered offense, and should allow for plenty of points from State College this week.

Philipsburg-Osceola (1-7) at Clearfield (8-0)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: P-O – Brian McGonigal; C – Tim Janocko (34th season)

Last meeting: Clearfield 49-7, last season

Players to watch: P-O – T.J. Thompson, Sr., WR; C – Brett Zattoni, Jr., RB

The skinny: Philipsburg-Osceola will face an uphill battle this week when it takes on Clearfield. The Mounties haven’t beaten the Bison since 2011. Clearfield is riding high into this weekend’s matchup, outscoring their last four opponents by a total of 133 points. The Bison have allowed 41 points combined in their last six matchups with the Mounties, with 17 of those points coming in their 2015 game.

Keeping up with the Bison offense will be a tall task for the Mounties this week, and they’ll need to attack the Bison through the air to do so. Senior wide receiver T.J. Thompson, who has shown he can have big performances this season, should be at the forefront of the Mounties’ game plan. He has four touchdowns on the year and two games in which he’s caught four passes for at least 95 yards. If the Mounties have any hope of staying competitive this week, they’ll need to get Thompson involved early and often.

Clearfield is likely to get up big early and then turn the game over to its ground game to salt away the clock. Junior running back Brett Zattoni should receive the bulk of that rushing work. Zattoni has 620 carries and nine touchdowns on 113 carries this season, including two games with at least 100 rushing yards. He has a good opportunity to reach the century mark for a third time this Friday in a game that shouldn’t be close.