Tracking the area’s high school football stat leaders after 2 weeks

After last Friday’s action, Bellefonte’s Dylan Deitrich joined the area’s leaders in rushing and passing.

Deitrich, who opened the year at wide receiver, filled in at quarterback for injured starter Nick Paloskey against Huntingdon and immediately made big plays with his arm and legs to lead the Red Raiders offense. Deitrich was the only new name to break into the top 5 in passing and rushing, but there are three new receivers in this week’s rankings.

State College has played one fewer game than the rest of the county’s teams and hasn’t cracked the top 5 in passing, rushing or receiving yet. The Little Lions seemed to have a different standout on each scoring drive in their dominant win over J.P. McCaskey in the season opener. But there’s plenty of time for them to catch up this season.

Let’s break down the categories after the first two weeks of action:

Passing

Deitrich and Penns Valley’s Justin Sands both surpassed the 100-yard mark to lead the county’s quarterbacks statistically, but their performances came in losing efforts.

In the Red Raiders’ 52-31 loss to Huntingdon, Deitrich completed 10 of 16 passes for 133 yards, good enough to rank fourth overall in the area for the season so far. His performance gave the Bellefonte offense a different look after the team managed just four yards through the air against Jersey Shore, but Deitrich also threw two interceptions last Friday against Huntingdon.

Sands led the area last week with 162 yards passing to move to third overall for the season with 205 yards.

But the Penns Valley quarterback wasn’t nearly as efficient (8 for 15) as the Jones brothers at Bald Eagle Area.

Jaden Jones was perfect against P-O (7 for 7; 78 yards), while Jordan Jones was nearly perfect (5 for 7; 88 yards; three passing touchdowns). Jaden now sits second in the rankings, and Jordan rounds out the top 5.

It’s worth keeping an eye on State College quarterback Tommy Friberg moving forward — Friberg went 6 for 7 for 79 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Little Lions’ opener.

Rushing

Deitrich made his mark as the area’s top rusher last week. He showed his athleticism in the opener against Jersey Shore with a 55-yard touchdown run on a reverse, and he made use of that speed to burn Huntingdon for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries last Friday. Deitrich was the lone player from the area to surpass the 100-yard mark.

Gage McClenahan turned in another strong effort with 74 yards on 10 carries to maintain his spot as the county’s leading rusher (235 yards).

The rest of the top 5 failed to match their production the previous week as P-O’s Matt Johnson, Penns Valley’s Ryan Ripka and Bellefonte’s Dexter Gallishaw each ran for fewer than 35 yards last Friday.

Tristen Lyons led State College in rushing (nine carries, 61 yards), but he saw nearly all of his action on the team’s first drive (eight carries, 48 yards) as the Little Lions spread the wealth in a blowout win.

Receiving

We missed a TJ Thompson reception initially, but the correction has been made: And he remains atop our leaderboard.

Penns Valley’s Cole Breon is close behind in second with 11 catches for 141 yards in two games. He hauled in three passes for 49 yards against Clearfield last week.

Bellefonte’s Cade Fortney turned in the area’s top receiving effort through two weeks to take over at No. 3. Fortney was Deitrich’s go-to target and finished with seven catches for 121 yards last Friday.

BEA’s Matthew Reese and Penns Valley’s Nic Kubalak also broke into the top 5 after solid performances Friday.

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Tracking the area’s high school football stat leaders after 2 weeks."