Here are 5 takeaways from Week 3 of Centre County high school football
The results for Centre County’s high school football teams were all over the place this week, but one thing was for certain: Bald Eagle Area and State College can bounce back from anything.
The two schools bounced back from last week’s losses with Bald Eagle winning 50-7 against North Penn-Mansfield and State College defeating Hollidaysburg 34-20 in a physical game. Philipsburg-Osceola nabbed its first victory of the season in a 7-6 game against Huntingdon. Bellefonte lost 21-0 to a tough Tyrone squad and Penns Valley lost to Clearfield 53-7.
Let’s take a look at five takeaways from the third week of the 2021 high school football season in Centre County.
Bald Eagle Area can score in a number of ways
Whether it was two passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns or a number of special teams scores, Bald Eagle Area got it done on Friday night. The Eagles won 50-7 with freshman quarterback Carson Nagle tossing a screen pass to Cam Watkins, who took it for 69 yards, and a 19-yard back-shoulder fade to Watkins. Michael Snyder had a rushing touchdown and was followed by Garrett Burns’ two rushing touchdowns of nine and 36 yards. Gavin Eckley and Owen Irvin had punt and kick returns, respectively, for touchdowns. Not too shabby.
Penns Valley shouldn’t get too down because Clearfield is really, really good
Penns Valley struggled against Clearfield, and the Rams wouldn’t be the first team to do so this season. Clearfield had back-to-back shutouts against DuBois (27-0) and Bald Eagle (21-0). A 53-7 loss against what is arguably the best team in the Mountain League is isn’t fun, but the Rams shouldn’t get discouraged. They actually scored points — an interception for a touchdown by Miles Brooks.
Philipsburg-Osceola hung in there and was rewarded
The Mountaineers gained their first win of the season in a 7-6 dogfight against Huntingdon. Both teams have low numbers and not a lot of depth and were evenly matched. The Mounties got on the board first, with a 65-yard touchdown reception by Nick Johnson from QB Ben Gustkey in the second quarter. P-O maintained its lead until Huntingdon connected on a 79-yard pass for a touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion, P-O led 7-6 with 2:24 left in the game, and was able to hang on for the win to improve to 1-2.
Trust in Finn Furmanek
Furmanek had his third consecutive performance with solid stats. Furmanek rushed 16 times for 69 yards and went 15-for-25 on passes for 251 passing yards in a 34-20 win over Hollidaysburg. He didn’t make any mistakes and had no turnovers. His steady play is something to look forward to in future games as State College has a litany of quarterbacks who provide even-keeled play.
Turnovers crushed Bellefonte
Missed field goals, turnovers on downs, fumbles and interceptions were all ingredients in Bellefonte’s shutout loss to Tyrone. Bellefonte couldn’t keep possession of the ball and Tyrone capitalized on it with a 21-0 victory. On the bright side, the running game was pretty strong with Nicholas Way rushing 20 times for 106 yards.
