Here’s what to look for and how to watch Week 4 of Centre County high school football
Week 4 of the Centre County high school football season has arrived, and it’s the most packed week on the schedule so far this fall.
All five teams will be playing on the same night for the first time this season, as State College is set to make its season debut. The Little Lions had their season delayed until Sept. 26 by the Mid Penn Conference, and then delayed another week because of the district’s policy not to allow contact sports competition until students were back to in-person learning.
The four Mountain League schools will also play, with two of the schools — Bellefonte and Penns Valley — facing off in Bellefonte, while Bald Eagle Area takes on Tyrone at home and Philipsburg-Osceola goes on the road to play Clearfield.
Let’s take a look at the four matchups in Week 4.
Philipsburg-Osceola (1-1) at Clearfield (1-0)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Link will be provided on P-O Athletics social media accounts
Coaches: P-O — Jeff Vroman; C — Tim Janocko
Last meeting: Clearfield 1-0 (forfeit), last season
Players to watch: P-O — Ryan Whitehead, QB; C — Jake Lezzer, WR
The skinny: Philipsburg-Osceola will try to bounce back Friday night when it takes on a team that hasn’t taken the field in two weeks in Clearfield.
The Bison haven’t played since Sept. 11 after a player on their team tested positive for COVID-19 after their game against Penns Valley.
Whitehead — who took more snaps out of the shotgun formation last week than in Week 1 — will have to make plays when he’s called upon for Philipsburg-Osceola to come away with the victory.
The senior quarterback is a good runner who can find holes for rushing yards, but he needs to improve as a passer if the Mountaineers want to be as diverse offensively as they tried to be last week. Whitehead attempted 12 passes after only attempting four in Week 1.
Clearfield will rely on Lezzer and quarterback Oliver Billotte to lead the way on offense. The wide receiver caught eight passes for 128 yards in the team’s only game, while Billotte ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more. The senior duo will have a chance to present problems for the Mountaineers all game long.
Penns Valley (0-1) at Bellefonte (0-2)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Bellefonte Athletics Streaming on YouTube
Coaches: PV — Martin Tobias; B — Shanon Manning
Last meeting: Penns Valley 14-6, last season
Players to watch: PV — Aidan Brinker, QB; B — Ethan Rossman, QB
The skinny: Penns Valley will get back on the field for the first time since Sept. 11 when it lost to Clearfield in its season opener. The Rams quarantined for two weeks as a precaution after a Bison player tested positive for COVID-19.
They’ll be taking on a fellow winless team that didn’t play last week in the Red Raiders.
Bellefonte was set to take on Clearfield last week, but that game was canceled while the Bison quarantined. Instead, they come into Friday’s matchup with an 0-2 record that isn’t necessarily indicative of how good the team is.
The Red Raiders have a very good rushing attack led by Rossman and faced two challenging opponents — Tyrone and Central — in their first two games of the season but still managed to move the ball. They’ve already been tested by the Mountain League’s best and that should shine through Friday night.
The Rams, on the other hand, struggled to generate offense in their only game and will need to see Brinker take a step forward in his second career start at quarterback. He accrued more yardage as a rusher (49) than as a passer (48) in the Rams’ loss to Clearfield. The senior quarterback has a chance Friday to show he and the Rams are capable of more than they showed in Week 1.
Tyrone (2-0) at Bald Eagle Area (1-1)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Eagle Ambassadors, Inc. on YouTube
Coaches: T — John Franco; BEA — Jesse Nagle
Last meeting: Bald Eagle 31-0, last season
Players to watch: T — Damon Gripp WR, QB; BEA — Garrett Burns, QB
The skinny: This game will be Bald Eagle’s first opportunity to prove its win over Huntingdon wasn’t a coincidence two weeks ago. The Eagles shellacked the Bearcats, 46-8, to earn their first win of the season.
They’re returning a limited group of starters from last year’s state semifinal team, but the new class has the talent to compete in the Mountain League.
Burns broke out on his way to earning the Centre Daily Times’ Athlete of the Week honor for his performance against Huntingdon. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more while racking up 249 yards through the air and 78 on the ground.
He’ll need to keep up his high level of play against a talented Tyrone defense.
One of those defenders is Gripp, who doubles as an elite receiver. He caught five passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns — along with reeling in two interceptions at cornerback — in the Golden Eagles’ Week 1 win over Bellefonte. Gripp is one of the best players in the Mountain League and could wreck the game on both sides of the ball.
State College (0-0) at Central Dauphin (1-0)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: N/A
Coaches: SC — Matt Lintal; CD — Glen McNamee
Last meeting: Central Dauphin 34-13, last season
Players to watch: SC — Dresyn Green, RB; CD — Max Mosey, QB
The skinny: State High finally gets to take the field Friday night when the Little Lions travel to take on Central Dauphin. The game is the school’s first after the district returned to in-person learning for the week leading up to the game — which was required for the football team to face other schools.
The Little Lions will showcase senior running back Dresyn Green who led the team in rushing last season. He racked up 1,204 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground on 196 carries to lead the team in all three categories.
He’s a dynamic threat who can break big plays at any moment, and State College will need him to be at his best to keep pace with Central Dauphin.
The Rams are led by Mosey, who led the team in last season’s victory over the Little Lions. He was dominant in their week one victory over Chambersburg. He led them to a 62-10 victory while tallying 235 yards and four touchdowns on 11-of-20 passing, and he added five carries for 54 yards on the ground for good measure.
The Little Lion game plan should start and end with slowing down Mosey. If they can do that, Friday night should be a close game.
