Here’s what to look for in Week 7 of Centre County high school football
Centre County teams are gearing up for their seventh game of the season and one team has risen to the top.
Bald Eagle Area is currently 5-1 on the season and will take on a 2-4 Philipsburg-Osceola team that is coming off of a 49-0 loss against the Mountain League-leading Clearfield (6-0). Bellefonte (1-5) is searching for its first win since a Week 2 victory (22-6) over Philipsburg-Osceola in a matchup against an 0-6 Huntingdon team. Penns Valley (3-3) is scrapping for a winning record with an away game against Tyrone. State College, also at 3-3, has an away date with Cumberland Valley on Friday.
Here’s a breakdown of the matchups in Week 7.
Huntingdon (0-6) at Bellefonte (1-5)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Shane Thomas (Huntingdon), Vaughn Donmoyer (Bellefonte)
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2020 (62-20, Bellefonte)
Players to Watch: OL/DL Thomas Korman (Bellefonte), OL/DL Mason Somers
The Skinny: Huntingdon is the one Mountain League team that has struggled more than Bellefonte has this season. The Bearcats allowed 162 points and have scored 27 on the year. While that differential is better than Bellefonte’s, they just can’t get push up front from their offensive line. Bellefonte can match up fairly well with Huntingdon hunting for its first victory on Bellefonte’s homecoming.
Bellefonte broke its scoreless streak last week by putting up 14 points against Penns Valley in a 41-14 loss. With a 1-5 record, Bellefonte has allowed 212 points on the season with just 36 points scored. The Raiders hold an 0-4 record on the road and are in the midst of a losing streak. The team has just 363 passing yards on the season and 407 rushing yards.
However, defensive lineman Thomas Korman has 3.5 sacks as an interior pass rusher. That should cause problems for Huntingdon, who has struggled to block strong defensive linemen.
Penns Valley (3-3) at Tyrone (2-4)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Martin Tobias (Penns Valley), John Franco (Tyrone)
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2020 (27-21, Tyrone)
Players to Watch: RB/OLB Ty Watson (Penns Valley), RB/CB Brady Ronan (Tyrone)
The Skinny: Penns Valley is coming off of another strong performance in a Mountain League matchup, rolling to a 41-14 victory over Bellefonte. Sophomore running back and outside linebacker Ty Watson has continued to impress with 36 carries for 245 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. On the defensive end, Watson has 20 tackles with three of them for loss, along with two sacks and two interceptions. Penns Valley as a whole has held teams to 20.33 points per game in 2021.
The Golden Eagles’ struggles continue to come after a 15-9 loss against Bald Eagle at home. Tyrone has also lost 33-13 to Bellwood-Antis, 32-13 to Juniata Valley, and 42-12 to Clearfield and their two wins have come against Bellefonte (21-0) and 0-5 Huntingdon in a forfeit. Brady Ronan is still the leading rusher on the team with 162 yards and two touchdowns, but is only averaging 3.2 yards per gain. It still won’t be an easy game, considering that Tyrone gave Bald Eagle a tough, defensive fight.
Philipsburg-Osceola (2-4) at Bald Eagle Area (5-1)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Jeff Vroman (Philipsburg-Osceola), Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle Area)
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2020 (28-6, Bald Eagle)
Players to Watch: RB/LB Matt Martin (Philipsburg-Osceola), RB/LB Garrett Burns (Bald Eagle)
The Skinny: Philipsburg-Osceola has fought for the two wins that it has gotten against Huntingdon (7-6) and Moshannon Valley (21-14). The key is that the Mounties simply played clean football. When they do that, especially in a triple-option offense that’s tough to defend, they can score points, as evidenced by their game against Moshannon Valley and their 35-20 loss to Penns Valley where they scored all of their points in the first half.
Their offense and defense run through Matt Martin. Martin has 63 carries for 358 rushing yards (5.7 yards per carry) and one touchdown as a rusher. Defensively, Martin has 42 tackles (3.5 for loss) and three pass breakups on the season.
Bald Eagle Area can get things done in a number of different ways. The Eagles can win ugly in victories over Penns Valley (14-0) and Tyrone (15-9). They can win pretty, like in their victories over Troy (20-0), North Penns-Mansfield (50-7) and Huntingdon (42-0). No matter how they do it, the Eagles are going to be vicious and play a hard-nosed brand of football on both sides of the ball, scoring 141 points to their opponents’ 37.
Running back Garrett Burns is the leader. He has 94 carries for 658 yards (seven yards per carry) and six touchdowns. Defensively, Burns has 35 tackles (six for loss).
State College (3-3) at Cumberland Valley (3-3)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Matt Lintal (State College), Josh Oswalt (Cumberland Valley)
Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 2021 (31-0, State College)
Players to Watch: LB JW Scott and TE/DE Kyle Kurzinger (State College), RB J.D. Hunter (Cumberland Valley)
The Skinny: State College is licking its wounds after dealing with a number of injuries over the course of the season. And despite its .500 record and with key players out, the Little Lions will continue to fight. That’s evident from their 178 points total and allowing 12 points less than they’ve scored.
JW Scott is the key to that, as his defensive play becomes even more important down the stretch. The junior linebacker leads the team with 44 tackles and has two quarterback hurries. Kyle Kurzinger is just as important, as the senior defensive end has 10 quarterback hurries, eight tackles and one for loss. Kurzinger also has a receiving touchdown.
The Eagles have had an interesting year as well. They’ve started 3-3, just like State College, with a 35-7 loss at the beginning of the year versus Manheim and a 21-3 loss against Central York. They bounced back with a close 23-19 victory over Spring-Ford on Sept. 10, following up with another win against Carlisle (27-24 on Sept. 17) and Altoona (27-14 on Sept. 24). Although they kept Central Dauphin in check offensively last week, they still lost 17-10.
Cumberland Valley’s J.D. Hunter has 59 carries for 210 yards (3.6 yards per carry) on the year. The junior is even better on the defensive end with 38 total tackles and an interception.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 5:59 PM.
