A big rivalry game and playoff prep await area high school football teams Friday
We’ve finally reached week 10 of the regular season and four teams are primed to make the playoffs. There are only three matchups featuring local teams as two of those matchups will feature two teams in the area. State College travels to take on Cumberland Valley, while Penns Valley heads to Philipsburg to take on the Mounties. But first, a rivalry game between two very good teams as Bald Eagle takes on Bellefonte.
Bald Eagle (8-1) at Bellefonte (7-2)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: BEA – Jesse Nagle (third season); B – Shanon Manning (sixth season)
Last meeting: Bellefonte 42-14, last season
The skinny: Bald Eagle closes its regular season with its biggest matchup of the year, taking on the rival Red Raiders. The Eagles come into the game after a hard-fought 24-23 victory over Jersey Shore last week. The Red Raiders are hoping to extend their winning streak to three this Friday. They’re coming off a lopsided 63-14 victory of Bishop Carroll.
Bellefonte will likely try to control the game on offense using its powerful rushing attack. Junior running back C.J. Funk will lead the way in that regard. Funk has been dominant all season, rushing for at least 100 yards in eight of the Red Raiders’ nine games. He’s up to 1,286 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 137 attempts this season.
State College (8-1) at Cumberland Valley (3-6)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: SC – Matt Lintal (fifth season); CV – Mike Whitehead (sixth season)
Last meeting: Cumberland Valley 36-21, last season
Players to watch: SC – Keaton Ellis, Sr., WR; CV – Maximos Dell’anno, Jr., RB
The skinny: State College will finish its regular season on the road this Friday when it takes on Cumberland Valley. A win would avenge a loss to the Eagles last season. Cumberland Valley enters the game looking for an upset over the Little Lions. The Eagles started the season 0-6 but have won three in a row to bring their record to 3-6 on the year.
Friday will be the final regular season game for Penn State commit and Little Lion cornerback/wide receiver Keaton Ellis, who has been a big-play threat on offense all season, averaging 16.1 yards per reception and 23.8 yards per rush. Ellis has 12 touchdowns on offense this season and two touchdowns on special teams. He’ll likely play defense at Penn State, but his dynamic ability on offense should be on full display this Friday.
Cumberland Valley is trying to close the regular season strong with a major upset. The Eagles have caught fire in their last three games, scoring 107 points. That streak has coincided with the emergence of junior running back Maximos Dell’anno, who has rushed 47 times for 382 yards and six touchdowns in that span. He’s also gained 105 receiving yards on five catches. Dell’anno’s impact will have to be big if the Eagles want to extend their win streak to four.
Penns Valley (6-3) at Philipsburg-Osceola (1-8)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: PV – Martin Tobias (23rd season); P-O – Brian McGonigal (first season)
Last meeting: Penns Valley 48-24, last season
Players to watch: PV – Ryan Ripka, Sr., RB; P-O – Daniel Slogosky, Sr., QB
The skinny: Penns Valley is riding a wave of momentum right now, having won three straight games. The Rams have a strong chance to extend that streak to four as they enter the playoffs. Philipsburg-Osceola will play its final game of the season against the Rams. They’re looking to win their second game this year at home.
The game is a great opportunity to showcase the Rams’ dominant offense, and senior running back Ryan Ripka will be at the center of that. Ripka has had four games this season with over 200 all-purpose yards and he should be in for another this week. Ripka was electric three weeks ago when the Rams took down Bellefonte, rushing for 80 yards and catching six passes for 131 yards, while adding 38 yards in the return game for 249 all-purpose yards. Expect that kind of performance from Ripka Friday.
The Mounties will send off their seniors in the final home game of the season, and senior quarterback Daniel Slogosky will be a part of that. Slogosky has thrown for 985 passing yards this year, which means he should surpass 1,000 passing yards on the year for the second time in his career at P-O. Slogosky has thrown for more than 3,000 yards in his career with the Mounties and his final game in Philipsburg will give him the opportunity to add to that in a big way. The Rams’ offense will be firing on all cylinders and he’ll have to really sling it to keep up.
An earlier version of this story mistakenly listed Bald Eagle’s Gage McClenahan as a player to watch. He is out with an injury. We regret the error.
This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 3:45 PM.