County teams ready for another gridiron test

There are four games featuring local teams this week.

Bald Eagle Area hosts Tyrone for homecoming, and Bellefonte travels to face a streaking Clearfield team with first place in the Mountain League on the line.

Penns Valley is on the road at Philipsburg-Osceola in a Mountain League contest, while State College begins Mid Penn Conference Commonwealth Division play at Carlisle.

Here’s a look at the matchups.

Tyrone (3-2) at Bald Eagle Area (3-2)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: T — Jason Wilson; BEA — Jesse Nagle (first season)

Last meeting: Tyrone 42, BEA 14, last season

Players to watch: T — Brandon Loose, RB; BEA — Tanner Kresovich, QB

The skinny: The Eagles will be hoping to rebound after a 50-0 drubbing last week against Central. The Scarlet Dragons moved the ball with ease on the ground, tallying 265 yards and five touchdowns on 40 carries (6.6 yards per rush).

Now the Eagles face another rushing threat in Tyrone tailback Brandon Loose. A junior, Loose recorded 138 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries for the Golden Eagles against Bellefonte last week.

He also caught three passes, so Loose will provide a tough test for BEA’s front seven.

Offensively, Tanner Kresovich will be crucial in moving the chains. The quarterback has showcased his athletic ability this season (558 passing yards, 202 rushing yards, nine total touchdowns). The signal-caller had a difficult week against Central, but perhaps he can bounce back against the Golden Eagles.

Bellefonte (3-2) at Clearfield (4-1)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: B — Shanon Manning (fourth season); C — Tim Janocko

Last meeting: Clearfield 42, Bellefonte 7, last season

Players to watch: B — Dexter Gallishaw, RB; C — Seth Caldwell, RB

The skinny: With each team sporting 3-0 records in Mountain League play, the top spot in the conference will hang in the balance at Bison Stadium.

The Red Raiders were able to grind out a 14-13 road win over Tyrone last week, guided on the ground by Dexter Gallishaw. The junior popped the Golden Eagles’ defense for 108 rushing yards on just 10 carries, pushing him to 253 yards on the season.

Like Bellefonte, Clearfield will focus on pounding the rock.

Senior running back Seth Caldwell is a major part of the offense, racking up 575 rushing yards and eight touchdowns thus far.

Sophomore dual-threat quarterback Isaac Rumery is dangerous, as well. Rumery has 821 passing yards and 311 rushing yards so far this year, averaging 226.4 all-purpose yards per game.

During Clearfield’s four-game winning streak after opening the season with a loss to DuBois, the Bison’s average margin of victory has been 12.75 points.

The Red Raiders are in for a stiff contest.

Penns Valley (1-4) at Philipsburg-Osceola (0-5)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: PV — Martin Tobias (21st season); P-O — Mike Mann (first season)

Last meeting: Penns Valley 26, Philipsburg-Osceola 7, last season

Players to watch: PV — Marcus Woodford, WR; P-O — Daniel Slogosky, QB

The skinny: In order for the Mounties to earn their first win of the season, they’ll need to cut down on the turnovers. P-O has three fumbles lost and 14 interceptions through five games, averaging 3.4 giveaways per contest.

So far, P-O quarterback Daniel Slogosky has thrown 12 interceptions.

P-O has been behind in games, throwing to try and catch up, so if the Mounties can stay closer to the Rams, Slogosky won’t hit his 16.4 passing attempts per game average against Penns Valley. But the Mounties will need to take care of the football, and Slogosky in particular needs to be more careful.

For Penns Valley, look for quarterback Andrew Tobias to continue growing his relationship with wideout Marcus Woodford. The senior caught six passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 55-27 loss to Huntingdon, could have a nice game against the Mounties.

P-O has allowed 281 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and an 82 percent completion percentage (18 of 22) in its last two games, so Tobias (679 passing yards, eight touchdowns this season) should be able to move the ball through the air.

And if he does, Woodford could have a big night.

State College (4-0) at Carlisle (3-1)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: SC — Matt Lintal (third season); C — Patrick Conrad (first season)

Last meeting: State College 40, Carlisle 21, last season

Players to watch: SC — Pete Haffner, RB/LB; C — Prince Gaye, RB

The skinny: The Little Lions have outscored opponents 175-30 to open the season, but don’t expect such a runaway against Carlisle.

While they were shellacked 55-21 by Central Dauphin last week, the Thundering Herd blew out Mechanicsburg in Week 1 and earned close wins against Red Land and South Western in the following weeks.

Carlisle averaged 130 rushing yards per game in its first three contests, but was held to just 14 yards on the ground against Central Dauphin.

State College’s defense, led by its front four and linebacker Pete Haffner, has been stout, and should pose the toughest test yet for Carlisle running back Prince Gaye and the Thundering Herd backfield.

On offense, expect more Haffner in the red zone. The senior has six rushing touchdowns on the year, including two last week against Mechanicsburg.

Haffner’s power out of the Wildcat and Tristen Lyons’ speed hitting the hole will be difficult for Carlisle to deal with.

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "County teams ready for another gridiron test."