Here’s what to look for in the first week of postseason play for Centre County high school football
The first week of the high school football postseason is here and three Centre County teams are set to play.
Bellefonte is set to take on Juniata in the District 6 Class 4 championship at Altoona’s Mansion Park on Saturday, while Penns Valley is on the road against Bellwood-Antis and Bald Eagle Area hosts River Valley in the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs on Friday. State College, as the No. 1 seed in Class 6A, has a bye this week.
Here’s a look at the three playoff games set for this week.
Bellefonte (2-7) vs. Juniata (8-2)
Time: Sat., Nov. 6, 6 p.m.
Location: Altoona’s Mansion Park
Coaches: Von Donmoyer (Bellefonte), Kurt Condo (Juniata)
Last Meeting: Oct. 30, 2020 (24-21, Juniata)
Players to Watch: RB/OLB Nolan Weaver (Bellefonte), RB/LB Seth Laub (Juniata)
The Skinny: Bellefonte has struggled for the majority of the year with just two wins, against Philipsburg-Osceola (22-6) and another against Huntingdon (40-7). The Raiders have been outscored 90-314 this season and are coming off of back-to-back loss Bald Eagle Area (48-0) and Clearfield (47-14). In their loss to Bald Eagle, the Raiders had just 12 yards. They’ll face another tough matchup on Saturday against Juniata, who’s 8-2 on the year.
Juniata has outscored opponents 266-114 and has won six consecutive games. It has four shutouts on the year. Seth Laub has 32 carries for 444 rushing yards (13.9 yards per rush) for three rushing touchdowns. Laub also has 42 tackles (25 solo) with a sack and an interception.
Penns Valley (6-4) at Bellwood-Antis (9-1)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Martin Tobias (Penns Valley), Nick Lovrich (Bellwood-Antis)
Last Meeting: N/A
Players to Watch: QB Jackson Romig (Penns Valley), RB Connor Gibbons (Bellwood-Antis)
The Skinny: Penns Valley is coming off of a 45-14 thumping of Glendale, where the team fired on all cylinders. Quarterback Jackson Romig had three passing touchdowns and backup Jarrett Stover had a touchdown pass. The Rams coming off of three consecutive blowout wins and are set to take on a powerhouse in Bellwood-Antis.
Bellwood-Antis has only dropped one game all season, against Juniata Valley 26-7 on Oct. 22. The Blue Devils have outscored opponents 312 to 67 on the year and have a 3-1 record at home. Connor Gibbons has been their bell cow at running back with 152 carries for 1,166 rushing yards (7.7 yards per carry) for 14 rushing touchdowns.
River Valley (8-2) at Bald Eagle Area (8-2)
Time: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Jess Houser (River Valley), Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle)
Last Meeting: N/A
Players to Watch: RB/LB Angelo Bartolini (River Valley), WR/OLB Cam Watkins (Bald Eagle)
The Skinny: The majority of River Valley’s wins have come on multi-score leads. The Panthers have a 2-0 away record and have outscored opponents 325-144. Angelo Bartolini has dazzled as a runner this season. The senior has 1,273 rushing yards on 146 carries (8.7 yards per carry) for 20 rushing touchdowns. Bartolini has added 52 tackles (43 solo) on the year with six tackles for loss. He also has 8.5 sacks and an interception for 35 yards, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Bald Eagle Area has had a strong year so far. The Eagles have outscored opponents 245-85 and only have two losses to Clearfield (21-0) and Jersey Shore (48-5). Watkins has 30 receptions for 406 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He has 34 tackles on the season (25 solo) and 21 tackles for loss. He also leads the team in sacks with 9.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and two pass deflections.
