Here’s 5 takeaways from Week 5 of Centre County high school football
Centre County had all five high school football teams take the field Friday night with a mixed bag of success.
Bald Eagle, Bellefonte and State College all found victory in Week 5, while Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola were unable to find the winning formula.
Let’s take a look at five takeaways from Week 5.
1. State College earns victory in only home game of the season
The Little Lions had their homer opener, home finale and senior night all wrapped into one game Friday night. Mix those three occasions in with the re-opening of Memorial Field for a football game for the first time since Nov. 2018, and it would’ve been easy for the team to disappoint. Instead, the Little Lions took care of business on their way to a 31-0 victory against Cumberland Valley.
State College senior quarterback Conrad Moore helped the team get on track early with a 66-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play from scrimmage and added another rushing touchdown with a 44-yard run in the third quarter. His production helped mitigate some of the production lost without senior running back Dresyn Green, who played a limited number of snaps. The win was the Little Lions’ first of the season.
2. Bellefonte earns its first win
The Red Raiders struggled to open the season, losing all three of their first games. They used Friday night against Huntingdon to get back on track during the shortened season. Bellefonte defeated the Bearcats, 62-20, in blowout fashion. Their scoring output was by far their best this season — a good sign for an offense that didn’t score more than 14 points in any of its first three games.
The win was big for the Red Raiders considering what lies ahead. They take on Bald Eagle next week in the annual Curtin Bowl rivalry matchup. Following the Curtin Bowl, they’ll take on Clearfield at home. The Bison are 2-1 on the season and should be 3-1 after they take on Huntingdon next week. The Red Raiders are currently third in District 6 and will need to make up ground on DuBois to make the playoffs.
3. Penns Valley takes one of the league’s best to the brink
Friday night was nearly a big win for the Rams, but instead they walked off the field with heartbreak. They took Tyrone right to the edge but were unable to finish in their 27-21 loss to the team tied atop the Mountain League. The Rams’ special teams scored two touchdowns in the game, one on a blocked punt by Gage Ripka and another when Ripka returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score. The latter tied the game at 21 before the heartbreak came.
The Golden Eagles scored with 1:38 and the Rams were unable to answer, giving Tyrone the 27-21 victory. Even with the disappointing outcome, Penns Valley proved it can hang with some of the Mountain League’s best.
4. Bald Eagle stays the course in victory
The Eagles earned their second win of the year to get back to .500 Friday night against Philipsburg-Osceola. They started off slow and fell behind 6-0 early but cruised from there on their way to a 28-6 win. The Bald Eagle offense has been stagnant at times but its go-to connection was on once again in Philipsburg. Junior quarterback Garrett Burns has gone to junior wide receiver Owen Irvin when it matters most and it usually pays off in the form of big plays. On Friday night, that meant a 78-yard touchdown from Burns to Irvin to give Bald Eagle a 7-6 lead, and they never looked back.
The win puts the Eagles’ record at 2-2 with three games left on their schedule.
5. Philipsburg-Osceola has plenty of growth ahead
The Mountaineers looked like they would have a chance in Friday’s game against Bald Eagle, but that proved not to be the case in the 28-6 loss. They got on the board with a pick-six by Aaron Depto but that was the end of their scoring in the game.
Philipsburg-Osceola struggled to finish drives throughout the game and that led to their lack of scoring. Head coach Jeff Vroman has implemented a run-heavy attack that needs to finish drives with touchdowns, otherwise it can fall behind quickly. The offense isn’t built to come back from large deficits, and that proved to be true once again against Bald Eagle as the Mountaineers fell to 1-3.
