What Bald Eagle and State College must do in their HS football playoff games
Two local teams remain in the high school football playoffs. Bald Eagle advanced to the PIAA 3A state championships after a 21-16 win over Forest Hills last Friday. The win earned the Eagles the District 6 championship. State College advanced to the first round of the PIAA 6A state championships after a 55-20 subregional win over McDowell last week. Both teams have a strong chance of advancing to the quarterfinals and would do so with a win this week. First up, Bald Eagle and its matchup this Friday.
Bedford (6-5) vs. Bald Eagle (10-2)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Location: Windber
Coaches: B – Kevin Steele; BEA – Jesse Nagle
Players to watch: B – Dylan Arnold, Sr., RB; BEA – Blake Roberts, Sr., RB
The skinny: Bedford takes on Bald Eagle in the first round of the PIAA state championships after a two-game winning streak. The Bisons defeated Westinghouse in their first playoff game, 47- 16. Bald Eagle also comes into the matchup with a two-game winning streak, having defeated Forest Hills in the district final last week, 21-16.
Bedford features a run-heavy offense that relies on its lead back to carry them to victory. Senior running back Dan Arnold has been that lead back this season and has rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Arnold is averaging 5.6 yards per carry on 192 rushing attempts and 98.3 rushing yards per game. He’s also been the Bisons’ main source of scoring, punching the ball in for 17 touchdowns.
Arnold has been the key to victory for Bedford this season. They’re 6-1 when he rushes for at least 90 yards, and 0-4 when he doesn’t. If Bald Eagles can stop Arnold, they should leave Friday night with a victory.
Bald Eagle has utilized an explosive passing attack all season, and that has included senior running back Blake Roberts. Roberts accounted for all three of the Eagles’ touchdowns last week in their 21-16 victory over Forest Hills. One of Roberts’ three touchdowns was a passing touchdown out of the wildcat, when he completed a jump pass for a score. Roberts’ ability in the passing and running game will make his play a major key in this Friday’s game.
Delaware Valley (9-3) vs. State College (11-1)
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday
Location: Hazleton
Coaches: DV – Keith Olsommer; SC – Matt Lintal
Players to watch: DV –Josh Balcarcel, Sr., RB; SC – Tommy Friberg, Sr., QB
The skinny: Delaware Valley has won seven straight games and will try to extend that streak in the first round of the PIAA state championships. The Warriors have outscored their first two playoff opponents, 61-14. State College has been dominant since its 32-17 loss to Harrisburg on October 6. The Little Lions have scored 107 points on offense through two playoff games.
Delaware Valley has been reliant on senior running back Josh Balcarcel during its seven-game winning streak. The streak began on September 28 when Balcarcel rushed for 112 yards on 22 carries, notching his first game with at least 100 rushing yards on the season. Since then he has run for at least 98 yards in every game and has 11 rushing touchdowns. That includes the team’s two playoff games when he ran for a total of 300 yards and three touchdowns on just 35 carries. If Balcarcel can have a big game, then the Warriors will have a shot at the upset.
Efficiency has been the name of the game for the State College passing game this season thanks to senior quarterback Tommy Friberg. Friberg has a 67.1 completion percentage on his 173 passes this year.
That’s not to say Friberg can’t stretch the field as well; he’s averaging 16.2 yards per completion. In the playoffs, Friberg has completed 20 of his 26 passes for 286 yards and four touchdowns. Friberg’s continued success will have a major impact on how far the Little Lions can make it in the playoffs. It’d hard to imagine Friberg and the Little Lions’ season ends this week.