Here’s what to look for and how to watch Week 7 of Centre County high school football
The playoffs are finally here in Centre County — sort of. Two teams will begin the postseason, while three continue their regular seasons this week.
Bald Eagle Area and State High will both head on the road for playoff games, while Philipsburg-Osceola and Penns Valley will continue their season despite being eliminated from the playoffs. Bellefonte will take on P-O in a game that will impact their opportunity to make the Class 4A playoffs, which begin next week.
Let’s take a look at the four matchups in Week 7.
Bald Eagle Area (2-3) at Bellwood Antis (5-0)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Bellwood-Antis Live Stream on YouTube
Coaches: BEA — Jesse Nagle; BA — Nick Lovrich
Players to watch: BEA — Garrett Burns, QB; BA — Zach Mallon, RB
The skinny: Bald Eagle Area opens its 2A playoff run as a No. 8 seed playing the top-seeded Blue Devils on the road.
For the Eagles to pull off the upset, they’ll need QB Garrett Burns to hit his open targets and allow them to make plays in space. The senior quarterback had his share of struggles last week when Bald Eagle played its rival Bellefonte in the Curtin Bowl. He left a few big plays on the field with his passing but has shown in the past he can find his weapons, most notably junior wide receiver Owen Irvin.
While the Eagles are the lower seed in this game, they’ll have a good shot to win after dropping down from 3A last year to 2A this year.
Earning that win will mean Bald Eagle has stopped — or at least slowed down — running back Zach Mallon. He’s been dominant for Bellwood-Antis this season as its leading rusher. Mallon has 652 yards and 13 touchdowns on only 55 carries. He’s averaging an absurd 11.9 yards per carry and has 30+ yard runs in four of his teams five games this season. Bald Eagle should be a step up in the competition he’s faced, but Mallon is good enough to excel regardless.
State College (2-1) at Altoona (2-2)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: MLTV Live on YouTube
Coaches: SC — Matt Lintal; A — Vince Nedimyer Jr.
Last meeting: State College 48-0, last season
Players to watch: SC — Conrad Moore, QB; A — Marcus Day, QB
The skinny: State College will take on Altoona in Mansion Park Friday for the District 6 Class 6A Championship Friday night in the Little Lions’ fourth game of the season.
They defeated Carlisle Monday night and will have to take on the Mountain Lions after only three days of rest this week. QB Conrad Moore will be crucial in overcoming that short break and will be looking to build off a dominant performance on Monday.
He completed 10-of-15 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added 108 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries to lead his team to a 38-29 victory. Moore has taken on an important role this season and Friday will be another chance for him to prove how good he’s been.
QB Marcus Day has been excellent for the Mountain Lions in what should be a matchup between talented dual-threat quarterbacks. The Altoona senior was crucial as a runner in both of his team’s wins this season. He has 39 carries for 313 yards and six touchdowns in the team’s wins, but only 20 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown in its two losses.
His performance could make or break the Mountain Lions’ chances this weekend.
Bellefonte (2-3) at Philipsburg-Osceola (1-4)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: Link can be found on Philipsburg-Osceola social media pages
Coaches: B — Shanon Manning; PO — Jeff Vroman
Last meeting: Bellefonte 55-7, last season
Players to watch: B — Jalen Emel, RB; PO — Kaleb Stamm, RB
The skinny: The Red Raiders can lock themselves into next week’s class 4A regional championship game with a win over the Mountaineers. They’re in line to get that win if their offense can find consistency.
Bellefonte has options on that side of the ball but it was running back Jalen Emel who stood out last week. He’s a threat in the running game and as a receiver for the Red Raiders and showed that off in the Curtin Bowl.
The senior ran the ball eight times for 83 yards and caught three passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns. The Bellefonte rushing attack hasn’t been as powerful this season up the middle, but Emel has found a way to make plays on the edges of the offense.
The Mountaineers — who have already been eliminated from the playoffs which start this weekend — have their own power run game to show off Friday night in this matchup. They rely heavily on Kaleb Stamm to lead their rushing attack, and he’s been able to shoulder the load thus far. Through five games the senior running back has 537 yards on 93 carries to lead the team and has been crucial in keeping the offense rolling this year.
If Philipsburg-Osceola wants to upset the Red Raiders, they’ll need Stamm and the rest of the offense to control the clock and the game.
Penns Valley (1-3) at Huntingdon (0-6)
Time: 7 p.m.
How to watch: N/A
Coaches: PV — Martin Tobias; H — Shane Thomas
Last meeting: Penns Valley 43-28, last season
Players to watch: PV — Aidan Brinker, QB; H — Tyson Cook, WR
The skinny: Penns Valley — like Philipsburg-Osceola — has already been eliminated from the playoffs this season, but will continue to play due to a PIAA rule allowing teams to complete up to a 10-game season this year.
They’ll continue this week with a matchup against a Bearcat team that doesn’t have the talent to stack up with the Rams.
The Penns Valley offense will be led by QB Aidan Brinker, who leads the team as its quarterback while also being the team’s second-leading rusher. He’s a powerful dual-threat who has had ups and downs this season but should be able to have a big game Friday night. His rushing ability should be able to exploit a Huntingdon defense that’s been gashed by nearly every team it’s played.
The Bearcats offense has struggled nearly as much as its defense this year, but did see a big game from Cook in their game against Bellefonte. He hauled in three passes for 136 yards and a touchdown in that game and showed he could open the game up with big plays. With that being said, the game was an outlier for the senior this season, and he’s unlikely to replicate the performance against a stout Penns Valley defense.
