Tracking the area’s high school football stat leaders after 4 weeks

There are a few notable changes on the leaderboards this week — two players are tied with the most rushing yards, a new quarterback broke into the top 5 in passing and a handful of players shifted up and down in each category.

The leaders remain the same in passing and receiving, with Bald Eagle Area quarterback Jaden Jones and Bellefonte wide receiver Cade Fortney well ahead of their area counterparts. And with just three games so far and a balanced attack, State College again has one player represented this week.

Here’s a look at the leaders in passing, rushing and receiving after four weeks:

Passing

Bald Eagle Area’s Jaden Jones ranks first in passing with 571 yards — 130 more than No. 2 Daniel Slogosky, of Philipsburg-Osceola — but he’s no longer the area’s most efficient quarterback.

That title now belongs to State College quarterback Tommy Friberg, who is making his first appearance in the top 5 at No. 4 (279 passing yards) after a perfect performance against Mifflin County last Friday. Friberg completed 4 of 4 passes for 134 yards with one touchdown, improving his completion percentage for the season to 62.5 percent and adding to his area-best total of five passing touchdowns.

Jones, meanwhile, finished 15 for 32 for 199 yards with two interceptions in the Eagles’ first loss of the season to Chestnut Ridge. Jones led all area quarterbacks in yards last week, but he saw his season completion percentage drop from 70 to 59.7 percent.

Bellefonte’s Dylan Deitrich wasn’t far behind with 165 yards passing in his team’s thrilling win over Central Mountain in four overtimes, but he remains third in the rankings (405 yards), just behind Slogosky (441).

Rushing

Bald Eagle Area’s Gage McClenahan shares the No. 1 spot with Bellefonte’s Dylan Deitrich this week after being limited to 3 yards in the loss to Chestnut Ridge.

McClenahan averaged 9.9 yards per carry and surpassed the 100-yard mark twice in the first three games of this season before managing just 3 yards on seven carries last Friday. Deitrich picked up just enough on the ground to move into a tie with McClenahan with 358 yards. The Red Raiders quarterback finished with 55 yards rushing on 16 carries against Central Mountain, including a 10-yard touchdown run in the second overtime.

It was Red Raiders running back Dexter Gallishaw who delivered the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run in the fourth overtime. Gallishaw only managed 33 rushing yards in the win, but he still sits at No. 3 in the county with 262 yards.

Philipsburg-Osceola’s Matt Johnson (251 yards) and Penns Valley’s Ryan Ripka (241 yards) round out the top 5.

State College running backs Isaiah Edwards (229) and Tristen Lyons (218) may be one big night away from joining their quarterback among the area’s leaders.

Receiving

Bellefonte’s Cade Fortney, the area’s top receiver, made his biggest contribution to the Red Raiders’ win on the ground last week, rushing for a team-high 113 yards on eight carries. The dynamic threat also hauled in two catches for 39 yards to lead his team in receiving and maintain his No. 1 spot in the county (267 yards).

BEA’s Matthew Reese (183 yards) remains No. 2, while Eagles teammate Kael Gardner (173 yards) jumped from No. 5 to No. 3 this week after making three catches for 51 yards last Friday.

Philipsburg-Osceola’s T.J. Thompson ranks fourth (158) and Penns Valley’s Cole Breon ranks fifth (157).

State College has only needed its passing game to complement its dominant rushing attack so far, but wide receivers Keaton Ellis and Cohen Russell made big plays in last week’s win. Ellis and Russell are tied for the team-lead with 93 yards receiving, and with a few more explosive plays, they could close the gap in the rankings.

This story was originally published September 17, 2017 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Tracking the area’s high school football stat leaders after 4 weeks."