Here’s what to look for and how to watch Week 2 of Centre County high school football
Week 2 of the high school football season is set to kick off Friday night and all four of Centre County’s Mountain League teams will be back in action.
Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte and Philipsburg-Osceola will all play league games at home with Penns Valley traveling to Philipsburg to take on the Mountaineers.
The Eagles, Red Raiders and Rams will all be trying to bounce back from Week 1 losses while P-O is coming off its first league win since 2013.
Let’s take a look at how this week’s matchups are shaping up.
Penns Valley (0-1) at Philipsburg-Osceola (1-0)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Link will be provided on P-O Athletics social media accounts
Coaches: PV — Martin Tobias; P-O — Jeff Vroman
Last meeting: Penns Valley 1-0 (forfeit), last season
Players to watch: PV — Aidan Brinker, QB; P-O — Kaleb Stamm, RB
The skinny: The Rams have a chance to bounce back this Friday after getting shut out by Clearfield last week. To do so, they’ll need Brinker to take a step forward in his second career start at quarterback.
The senior struggled to get the ball moving for the Rams last week, and miscues by him — and the rest of the Rams — prevented Penns Valley from getting on the scoreboard.
They have enough weapons for Brinker to get the ball to, but he’ll need to distribute it well in order for the Rams to get on the board with a win this weekend.
Philipsburg-Osceola should be riding high after notching a 35-20 win over Huntingdon last week.
The Mountaineers featured Vroman’s run-heavy Wing-T offense and it led to 365 yards on the ground in the win. The team was led by senior Kaleb Stamm, who racked up 156 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in the win. He’ll be key as P-O tries to earn its first multi-win season since 2011 in Vroman’s first stint as the team’s head coach.
Central (1-0) at Bellefonte (0-1)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Bellefonte Athletics Streaming on YouTube
Coaches: C — David Baker; B — Shannon Manning
Last meeting: Bellefonte 54-7, last season
Players to watch: C — Jeff Hoenstine, QB; B — Jamal Saunders, RB
The skinny: Bellefonte fell to Tyrone last week by a score of 21-13 in a game that it felt like they should’ve been in control of throughout. The Red Raiders’ rushing attack was virtually unstoppable, led by senior quarterback Ethan Rossman. Rossman’s tallied 21 carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, but didn’t have enough help to earn the win.
This week, he’ll need a backfield mate to step up and put together a good performance in order to take down Central.
Saunders is in position to take on that secondary role and help the senior quarterback. He’s a sophomore with limited experience but was the team’s second-leading rusher last week with eight carries for 29 yards. He’ll have to improve on that as the Red Raiders try to keep the ball away from Hoenstine and Central’s offense.
Their offense scored 33 points in a Week 1 victory over Bald Eagle, and it was Hoenstine, a sophomore, who stole the show. The quarterback was dominant with his arm and his legs in the win, finishing the game 15-of-23 for 208 yards and three touchdowns through the air and eight carries for 41 yards on the ground.
He’s elusive and difficult to bring down, and may be the best player in the Mountain League this season. It will be up to Bellefonte’s defense to slow down the Hoenstine hype to earn a victory Friday night.
Huntingdon (0-1) at Bald Eagle Area (0-1)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Eagle Ambassadors, Inc. on YouTube
Coaches: BEA — Jesse Nagle; H — Shane Thomas
Last meeting: Bald Eagle Area 34-0, last season
Players to watch: BEA — Owen Irvin, WR; H — Myles Baney, RB
The skinny: The Eagles are in need of a bounce back after Central beat the young team, 33-9, last week. The team’s offense showed flashes as the game progressed forward and junior quarterback Garrett Burns gained more comfort at the helm of the offense.
He frequently found Irvin — who led the team in receiving yards with 103 — and started to form an on-field connection with the junior wide receiver that should carry over into this week’s matchup with the Bearcats.
Irvin has the size and athleticism to be effective on the outside as a deep threat and showed that off in the game, hauling in multiple deep balls and frequently beating defensive backs over the top. It will be up to Burns to find a way to get the ball in his teammates hands and build some momentum this weekend.
The Bearcats struggled mightily on offense against P-O last week, with Baney leading the team in rushing with 40 yards on 10 carries. It’s likely that Huntingdon will go back to him frequently with the hope that his size — he’s listed on MaxPreps at 6-foot, 200 pounds — will wear down the Eagles and keep their offense off the field.
This should be an excellent chance for a young Bald Eagle team to get its first taste of victory this season.
