Here’s what to look for in Week 4 of Centre County high school football
Week 3 brought more clarity to Centre County football with a bounce back game for Bald Eagle, and continued success for the undefeated Penns Valley Rams and State College Little Lions.
Bald Eagle will test its might against Penns Valley in an away matchup on Friday. Bellefonte is set to travel to Tyrone to take on the Golden Eagles. Philipsburg-Osceola is set to host Clearfield. And State College has a battle with fellow Mid Penn Conference and 3-0 squad Altoona.
Here’s what to know about each team’s matchup in Week 4 of the regular season:
Bald Eagle (1-2) @ Penns Valley (3-0)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle), Martin Tobias (Penns Valley)
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2021 (14-0, Bald Eagle)
Player to Watch: WR/KR/PR Kahale Burns (Bald Eagle), RB Ty Watson (Penns Valley)
How to Watch: NFHS Network
The Skinny: Bald Eagle played a nearly perfect game against Bellefonte on Friday, defeating the Red Raiders 48-0. Everything went well including sophomore quarterback Carson Nagle owning a 82.6% completion rate for 357 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, to sophomore linebacker Wyatt Spackman making six tackles, two for loss and two interceptions and a touchdown, along with 4.5 sacks by the defense as a whole.
Kahale Burns is a junior slot receiver for Bald Eagle. He set the tone for the Eagles in their Sept. 9, 48-0 victory over Bellefonte. He totaled seven catches for 217 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Burns has 22 catches for 297 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Penns Valley is coming off a game where it broke down Huntingdon piece-by-piece and scattered it into the wind. Junior quarterback Jackson Romig had another efficient day at the office by going 14-for-20 (70%) for 198 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 95.4.
Ty Watson went off for 18 carries for 117 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on Sept. 9 against Huntingdon. The junior running back is the team’s leading rusher with 51 carries for 323 yards and seven touchdowns on the year.
Bellefonte (0-3) @ Tyrone (3-0)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Vaughn Donmoyer (Bellefonte), John Franco (Tyrone)
Last Meeting: Sept. 10, 2021 (21-0, Bellefonte)
Player to Watch: RB Jamal Saunders (Bellefonte), QB Ashton Walk (Tyrone)
The Skinny: Bellefonte had no answer for Bald Eagle on Saturday. The Red Raiders will have their toughest test of the season against Tyrone. The Golden Eagles just came off of a 49-0 victory over Philipsburg-Osceola last Friday. John Franco is one of the most accomplished coaches and has a team that is looking to make amends for its 5-6 season last year. This isn’t the same Tyrone team and it all starts with the quarterback.
Sophomore quarterback Ashton Walk is accurate, he scans the field as if he were kin to Robocop and he does everything that his coaches ask of him. He’s completed 34-of-54 (61.1%) for 504 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception.
Clearfield (2-1) @ Philipsburg-Osceola (1-2)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Tim Janocko (Clearfield), Jeff Vroman (Philipsburg-Osceola)
Last Meeting: Oct. 1, 2021 (49-0, Clearfield)
Player to Watch: RB Brady Collins (Clearfield), RB Jakodi Jones (Philipsburg-Osceola)
How to Watch: NFHS Network
The Skinny: Clearfield found its offense on Sept. 9 at home against DuBois. The Bison beat the Beavers 41-7 much in part to sophomore running back Brady Collins’ game where he had 16 carries for 161 yards and three touchdowns. In three games, Collins has 49 carries for 331 yards and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry, 110.3 yards per game and has four rushing touchdowns on the year in three games.
Philipsburg-Osceola is entering the game coming off of a 49-0 loss to Tyrone. While the Mounties couldn’t get their offense going against the Golden Eagles, they have to figure out a way to feed junior running back Jakodi Jones the football. He had just seven carries for three yards last Friday, but he’s the team’s leading rusher with 135 yards. He has no touchdowns yet this year, but that could change with improved blocking by the offensive line.
State College (3-0) @ Altoona (3-0)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Matt Lintal (State College), Vince Nedimyer (Altoona)
Last Meeting: Oct. 29, 2021 (21-7, State College)
Player to Watch: RB D’Antae Sheffey (State College), RB Alexander Yost (Altoona)
The Skinny: State College blasted Hollidaysburg 45-3 on Sept. 9. Senior quarterback Finn Furmanek went 6-for-8 (75%) on passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Junior quarterback Owen Yerka went 5-for-8 (62.5%) for 61 yards and a touchdown. Then, a freshman running back took charge of the offense.
D’Antae Sheffey had 17 carries for 207 yards and three rushing touchdowns in State College’s 45-3 victory over Hollidaysburg on Sept. 9. Sheffey has totaled 40 carries for 411 yards and six touchdowns this season.
This is one of the biggest tests that State College has had since last season’s semifinal game. Altoona is coming off of three wins to open up the season and the team has outscored opponents 92-23 on the year. The Mountain Lions opened up with a 19-9 victory over Hollidaysburg on Aug. 26, followed by a 35-14 victory on Sept. 2 over the high school made famous by the likes of rappers Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, Taylor Allerdice, and they picked up a 38-0 win against Mifflin County on Sept. 9.
Senior running back Alexander Yost is the perfect fit for Altoona’s smashmouth style of play. He’s carried the ball 60 times for 416 yards and four touchdowns this season. His best game this season was a 21-carry, 165-yard and two-touchdown performance in the win over Hollidaysburg.
