Here are 5 takeaways from Week 4 of Centre County high school football
Bald Eagle staved off a third quarter comeback by Penns Valley to win 42-27 on Friday. Other Friday games included State College’s 55-14 victory over Altoona, Bellefonte’s 37-7 loss at Tyrone and Philipsburg-Osceola’s 55-0 loss at home to Clearfield.
Here are five takeaways from Week 4 of the 2022 high school football season in Centre County.
Bald Eagle breaks even in style
Not only did Bald Eagle bounce back from an 0-2 start, the Eagles accomplished it through outscoring opponents 90-27 in two games. Bald Eagle defeated Bellefonte 48-0 on Sept. 9 and followed up with a 42-27 victory over Penns Valley – earning both the Curtin Bowl and the Victory Bell. Two Mountain League victories. Two pieces of hardware. A 2-2 record.
Bellefonte’s record isn’t indicative of its fight
The Red Raiders held Tyrone scoreless in the first quarter and found themselves down just 14-7 at halftime. That didn’t last. The Golden Eagles poured on 23 unanswered points to outlast Bellefonte. Bellefonte has held teams closely in the first few quarters of the game — namely in its game against Penns Valley on Sept. 2 with a 20-14 lead at halftime. It all sputtered away in the second half, just as it did on Friday against Tyrone. 0-4 isn’t what this team looks like, but it is what it is.
Clearfield may be back
The Bison defeated Philipsburg-Osceola 55-0 on Friday night. While not much could be said about the Mounties, as they fought as valiantly as possible given their low numbers, Clearfield struck with as much firepower as possible. It’ll make for a competitive Mountain League schedule with the Bison (3-1), Tyrone (4-0), Penns Valley (3-1) and Bald Eagle (2-2).
Penns Valley makes great halftime adjustments despite loss
The Rams are consistent in making the correct adjustments at halftime, especially when down in a game. Head coach Martin Tobias and his staff saw the team down 20-7 in the middle of the contest with Bald Eagle on Friday. They didn’t shut down or complain, they just worked together as a unit to correct the issues in the second half.
With Bald Eagle punting the ball away, Penns Valley began on its own 44-yard line. The Rams finished off an 8-play drive on a one-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Ty Watson with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter. They followed up with a 3-play, 22-yard drive to be finished off with an 11-yard rushing touchdown by junior quarterback Jackson Romig with 2:04 left in the third and a 21-20 lead. While Penns Valley’s comeback effort didn’t finish the way the team would’ve hoped for, it shows that much success can come through coming together to solve problems.
State College overpowers Altoona
The Little Lions had another instance where they completely dismantled an opponent. This time, it was rival Altoona that took the brunt of a lion-sized beatdown by a score of 55-14 on Friday night. State College scored 14 points in the first quarter, 21 points in the second, 13 points in the third quarter and seven additional points in the final quarter to cap off the win. Altoona was undefeated entering Friday’s game.
Though the team isn’t looking too far in advance, fans are looking forward to their matchup with fellow 4-0 squad Cumberland Valley on Oct. 21. Both teams lead the Mid-Penn with a 1-0 in-conference record.
This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 9:42 AM.
