Here’s 3 takeaways from Week 3 of Centre County high school football
Only one Centre County high school football team took the field Friday night, but was unable to come away with a victory, as Philipsburg-Osceola fell 40-14 to Central.
While Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley and State College didn’t take part in the week’s action, all four schools are expected to resume play next Friday.
Here are three takeaways from the week’s only game and what’s to come next week for the four teams on the sidelines.
1. Philipsburg-Osceola isn’t there — yet
The Mountaineers weren’t able to keep pace with Central Friday night, but the program showed positive signs that it’s headed in the right direction. Mistakes ruled the day for Philipsburg-Osceola and allowed Central to build an early 26-0 lead in the first half. However, the Mountaineers — led by head coach Jeff Vroman — showed flashes of what’s to come in his second tenure leading the program.
The Mounties ran a run-heavy offense that kept the defense off-balance by frequently utilizing a Wing-T offense. Vroman added in plays out of the shotgun formation that featured plenty of motion and options for his quarterback to give the Scarlet Dragons different looks. The Mountaineers were unable to secure a victory against arguably the best team in the Mountain League, but Vroman has the team competing at a higher level than any P-O football team has since he ended his first tenure as head coach.
2. Mountain League teams will have to shake off the rust
Bald Eagle and Bellefonte will come off an unplanned bye week, while Penns Valley will be coming off a two-week absence. All three teams missed this week of play after a Clearfield football player tested positive for COVID-19 following the Week 1 game against the Rams. The Eagles and Red Raiders were set to play the Rams and Bison, respectively, this week. Bald Eagle was unable to find a new opponent to play Friday night, while Bellefonte chose to have its senior night this week instead.
Now both teams will have to shake off the rust and get back into league play next week. Fortunately for both teams, they were able to practice and stay fresh. That wasn’t the case for Penns Valley. The Rams quarantined until 14 days passed after their contact with Clearfield. They will only have one week of practice before they take on the Red Raiders next Friday night.
3. State College will make its 2020 debut
The county’s only non-Mountain League team will take the field against an opponent for the first time this season on Oct. 2. State High will travel to Central Dauphin to take on the Rams. The State College Area School District’s fall athletics plan during the pandemic stated the football team could only take part in competition if the school was taking part in in-person learning. The district decided Thursday night to move in that direction and opened the door for the Little Lions to play next week.
Their game will be the final season opener for senior running back Dresyn Green, who should be a focal point for the Little Lions’ offense this season.
