Here are 5 takeaways from Week 4 of Centre County high school football
Week 4 of Centre County football continued to roll on Friday.
Bald Eagle Area defeated Huntingdon, 42-0, and State College rolled 38-22 over Chambersburg. Bellefonte lost 41-0 against Hollidaysburg, while Penns Valley stumped Philipsburg-Osceola 35-20.
Let’s take a look at five takeaways from the fourth week of the 2021 high school football season in Centre County.
Bald Eagle QB Carson Nagle is a steady freshman
Most freshmen enter a varsity football team’s locker room and have to ease themselves in and gain the trust of their teammates. Nagle has done that and more, playing strong football and being an easygoing leader in the locker room. He had two early touchdown passes in a 42-0 blowout victory over Huntingdon.
If you want to win, put Finn Furmanek in
“Y’all want to win? Put Boobie in.”
Just like the old quote from Derek Luke, who played James Earl “Boobie” Miles Jr. in “Friday Night Lights,” you’ve got to watch Furmanek spin — or do his thing. The junior quarterback has continued to have a marvelous season, throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another in a 38-22 win over Chambersburg. He’s up to seven passing touchdowns on the season and has four rushing touchdowns. He’s definitely a talent to keep an eye on as State College improved to 3-1 on the year.
Philipsburg-Osceola has to cut down on turnovers
Four interceptions isn’t ideal for any team to win. Some of those come from poor protection on the line and others come from errant throws when the quarterback doesn’t set his feet. Either way, if Ben Gustkey eliminated the four interceptions, Philipsburg-Osceola has a much better chance to win the football game. The blame doesn’t fall squarely on his shoulders, though, because he had two touchdown passes and looked fine until the second quarter. The line has to protect him better. If it had, the Mountaineers could’ve turned around a game that resulted in the 35-20 defeat.
Struggles continue for Bellefonte
Bellefonte lost another game by a wide margin in a 41-0 rout against Hollidaysburg. The offense couldn’t get the ball moving and the defense couldn’t get stops. It’s not an ideal situation to be down 1-3 on the year and losing in big ways. There is a way to overcome it and it’s by winning, which will be tough to come by next week against an undefeated Clearfield (4-0) team.
Ty Watson got it done when it mattered most
One of the highlights of the game was the play of Watson, who scored a 10-yard rushing touchdown and finished with nine rushes, 107 yards and two rushing touchdowns on the night. Watson’s second rushing touchdown followed his interception, with Philipsburg-Osceola bearing down in Penns Valley territory. Then, two plays after the Rams got the ball back, Watson rushed 80 yards to the end zone to salt the game away.
And one more thing: He was the team’s placekicker all night.
