Bald Eagle football staves off second-half Penns Valley surge in taking home Victory Bell
Bald Eagle cruised to a 20-7 lead at the half Friday night and Penns Valley answered swiftly.
The Rams scored two touchdowns — first, a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Ty Watson on an eight-play drive and then a three-play drive resulting in an 11-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Jackson Romig.
But Bald Eagle quarterback Carson Nagle hit wide receiver Elliot Splain — later following up with two thunderous runs by running back Trey Greene. The Eagles never looked back and won 42-27 in taking down the previously undefeated Rams (3-0) and taking home the Victory Bell for its rivalry win.
“They made a great halftime adjustment,” Bald Eagle head coach Jesse Nagle said. “They went tight end over and two tight on us. Our guys were getting out of position, so we re-adjusted. Offensively, you can’t say enough about (our guys). They drove the ball at will all of the time and they did a great job up front. We had the running game and passing game going. If we can handle guys up front like that, we’ll be OK.”
The key to Bald Eagle’s success came in the fourth quarter. With 11 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game and just a 28-27 lead, the Eagles started with the ball at their own 25-yard line. Greene broke off a 9-yard run to advance the ball to the Bald Eagle 35-yard line. Nagle went on to hand off the ball to Greene for the second consecutive time — this time it was a 66-yard touchdown run.
After regaining possession, Bald Eagle was at its own 18-yard line with 9:13 to go and a 35-27 lead. Greene needed just one play — an 82-yard rushing touchdown with 9:01 left to give the Eagles a 42-27 lead. He credits his offensive line for paying attention to detail.
“We talked all week about how the runs might hit the back side (of the play), but when I got the ball, I saw the front side,” Greene said. “The wall of white was in front of me and I just followed them and when it opened up, I just took off toward the end zone.”
Bald Eagle began the year 0-2 with losses to Troy and Clearfield. The Eagles defeated Bellefonte 48-0 last Friday and followed up with the victory this Friday to even their record at 2-2.
Nagle felt that many people in the area counted the team out, and he and the rest of the team set out to prove them wrong.
He finished with three touchdown passes on the night. And just like that, fans sang the Eagles’ praises.
“They thought, ‘Bald Eagle is 0-2. They’re not going to be that good this year,’” Nagle said. “But we bounced back as a team. We came together in practice, and we’ve been flawless there. It’s been amazing. Finally, the offense is clicking, and it feels amazing for me especially since I’m only an offensive player.”
Bald Eagle opened up with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Nagle to Greene with 6:33 left in the first quarter. Penns Valley answered with quarterback Jackson Romig plunging into the end zone from 1 yard out to tie it at 7-7 with 3:36 remaining in the first.
Bald Eagle scored twice late in the second quarter – first, Cameron Dubbs had an 8-yard rushing touchdown (1:49) and Nagle tossed his second touchdown to Kahale Burns for 20 yards for the Eagles to take a 20-7 lead with 9 seconds left in the first half.
Penns Valley came back firing on all cylinders in the third quarter with the adjustments by head coach Martin Tobias and his assistants..
Following a Bald Eagle punt, the Rams pushed from their own 44-yard line and capped off an 8-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Watson to trail 20-14 with 6:47 left in the third quarter. After Bald Eagle punted once more, the Rams finished off a three-play, 22-yard drive with an 11-yard rushing touchdown by Romig with 2:04 left in the third and a 21-20 lead.
Bald Eagle answered with a flurry of scores in the fourth. Nagle hit Splain for a 32-yard touchdown and Gavin Eckley scored on a 2-yard rush for the two-point conversion.
While Penns Valley had its own response with a Romig and Watson connection for a 54-yard touchdown, the extra-point attempt was blocked as Bald Eagle took the 42-27 lead and ultimately, the victory.
“The difference was, they made big plays,” Penns Valley head coach Martin Tobias said. “That was the difference. It’s very difficult to defend a team as balanced as they are in the run and in the pass. If you try to take one thing away, they come back with the other. They did it. They got us tonight with big plays,and hats off to them for their team’s effort and performance.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 11:35 PM.
