Previewing Friday’s high school football matchups

The Curtin Bowl is the big game on the local slate this week as Bellefonte looks to clinch a share of the Mountain League title with a win over Bald Eagle Area.

State College hosts winless Chambersburg, Penns Valley travels to Cowanesque Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola closes the season against Curwensville.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy is off this week and set to finish the year next week.

Here’s a look at this week’s matchups:

Chambersburg (0-8) at State College (6-2)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: C — Mark Luther; SC — Matt Lintal (fourth season)

Last meeting: State College 37-0, last season

Players to watch: C — Keyshawn Jones, RB; SC — Tristen Lyons, RB

The skinny: State College has outscored its opponents by at least 20 points in its six wins this season. This Friday should follow the same trend as the Little Lions host winless Chambersburg.

It will serve as a tune-up for State College before a tough regular-season finale on the road against Central Dauphin. The Little Lions head into this week’s game after a 51-28 loss to Harrisburg — a game that was competitive early in the second half.

The Little Lions were tied with Harrisburg 21-21 in the third quarter before the Cougars pulled away. Tristen Lyons led State College’s rushing attack with 123 yards on 19 carries, marking his second straight game with 100-plus yards on the ground. Lyons could be one of many standouts this Friday against the Trojans, who are coming off a 44-7 loss to Central Dauphin and fell 82-3 to Harrisburg earlier this season.

Bellefonte (7-2) at Bald Eagle Area (4-5)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: Bel — Shanon Manning (fifth season); BEA — Jesse Nagle (second season)

Last meeting: Bellefonte 35-0, last season

Players to watch: Bel — Dylan Deitrich, QB; BEA — Blake Roberts, RB

The skinny: Bellefonte’s Dylan Deitrich has already set the county record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback with 1,101.

He’s been one of the driving forces behind the Red Raiders’ success, burning opposing defenses to power an explosive offense until he was limited to 33 yards in last week’s loss to Chestnut Ridge. Bellefonte struggled offensively, finishing with its fewest points (21) since Deitrich lined up at wide receiver in its season-opening 17-13 win over Jersey Shore. The Red Raiders offense had scored at least 30 points in seven straight games heading into the matchup with Chestnut Ridge, and Bellefonte will look to get back on track in its final game before postseason play.

The Red Raiders will take on a Bald Eagle Area defense that has often kept the Eagles close in the first two quarters.

BEA trailed Chestnut Ridge 7-6 at halftime before falling 43-6, trailed Huntingdon 7-0 late in the first half of a 45-0 loss and trailed Jersey Shore 14-7 heading into the break last week. It will be a challenge to slow down the Bellefonte offense for four quarters, and the Eagles will need a better effort offensively to have a shot at pulling the upset.

Against Chestnut Ridge, Huntingdon and Jersey Shore, the Eagles were held scoreless in the second half. They’ve been limited to seven or fewer points in four of their losses.

Penns Valley (2-7) at Cowanesque Valley (2-7)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: PV — Martin Tobias (22nd season); CV — Dylan Smith

Last meeting: Penns Valley 55-15, last season

Players to watch: PV — Aaron Tobias, QB; CV — Seth Huyler, QB

The skinny: Aaron Tobias has made some history with his prolific passing performances in the past few weeks.

The Penns Valley quarterback has thrown for more than 300 yards twice, and both rank in the top 5 for most passing yards in a game in county history. After throwing for 343 yards against Bellefonte, he finished with 335 yards passing last week against Tyrone.

In both games, the Rams failed to capitalize as they fell 35-20 to Bellefonte and 28-6 to Tyrone. But they could finish the regular season on a high note against a struggling Cowanesque Valley team. Cowanesque Valley lost 26-19 to Bucktail last week. And Bucktail has one of the smallest enrollments in the PIAA and has two wins over St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy this season.

Cowanesque Valley also proved to be overmatched in a 55-15 loss to the Rams last season. Penns Valley running back Ryan Ripka finished with 210 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the 2016 matchup between the teams.

Philipsburg-Osceola (1-8) at Curwensville (7-2)

Time: 7 p.m.

Coaches: P-O — Mike Mann (second season); C — Andy Evanko

Players to watch: P-O — Daniel Slogosky, QB; C — Nick Stewart, RB

The skinny: Philipsburg-Osceola has yet to close the gap against its Mountain League competition. The Mounties couldn’t keep pace with any of their league opponents in a season filled with blowout losses after a season-opening win over West Branch on the road.

They’ll leave the area again to finish the year against Curwensville, a Class A team out of District 9. The Mounties will need to limit Curwensville running back Nick Stewart, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.

And they’ll need the type of offensive effort they got back in August against West Branch. P-O scored a season-high 32 points in its lone win, thanks to a balanced attack. Quarterback Daniel Slogosky had one of his best games in the win over West Branch, going 10 for 22 for 199 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. But it’s been a struggle for Slogosky and the Mounties offense for much of the season, as P-O is averaging 10 points during its eight-game losing streak.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Previewing Friday’s high school football matchups."