Here’s what to look for in Week 5 of Centre County high school football
Week 5 football in Centre County means that the regular season is nearly halfway complete.
Each Centre County team will play at 7 p.m. Friday. Bald Eagle will travel to Montoursville, State College will host Central Dauphin, Penns Valley has a road meeting with Clearfield and Philipsburg-Osceola and Bellefonte will have their annual Luther Trophy clash.
Here’s what to know about each team’s matchup in Week 5 of the regular season:
Bald Eagle (2-2) @ Montoursville (3-1)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle), Mike Boughton (Montoursville)
Last Meeting: N/A
Player to Watch: RB/LB Trey Greene, RB/LB Matt Conklin
How to Watch: NFHS Network
The Skinny: While Bald Eagle had a 20-7 lead at halftime, Penns Valley came roaring back in its Sept. 16 matchup. The Eagles had just a 28-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter before they had two rushing touchdowns to seal the 42-27 victory.
Senior running back Trey Greene had seven carries for 184 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns and a one reception and six yards for a touchdown. Greene has 38 carries for 334 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on the year. Defensively, he has 40 total tackles (29 solo), four tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Montoursville senior running back and linebacker Matt Conklin has had a strong season on both ends of the ball. Conklin has 66 carries for 341 rushing yards for three touchdowns and has gone over 100 yards in two separate games. On defense, Conklin has 19 total tackles (13 solo), four tackles for loss, one sack and a quarterback hurry.
Central Dauphin (1-3) @ State College (4-0)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Glen McNamee (Central Dauphin), Matt Lintal (State College)
Last Meeting: Oct. 8, 2021 (42-21, Central Dauphin)
Player to Watch: Devin Shepard (Central Dauphin), D’Antae Sheffey (State College)
The Skinny: Central Dauphin opened up the season with three consecutive non-conference losses to Central York (Aug. 27), Wilson (Sept. 2) and Coatesville (Sept. 9). The Rams bounced back with a 42-35 win against Chambersburg on the road on Sept. 16. Senior running back Devin Shepard had an offensive outburst with 24 carries, 207 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the win. Shepard has 56 rushes for 362 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
State College pounded Altoona in a 55-14 victory on Sept. 16. The Little Lions scored 14 points in the first quarter, 21 points in the second, 13 points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth to win. No team seemingly has an answer for State College’s rushing attack featuring senior Matt Wall and freshman D’Antae Sheffey. Sheffey has 536 rushing yards on 53 carries and seven touchdowns. Wall has added 20 carries for 194 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Penns Valley (3-1) @ Clearfield (3-1)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Martin Tobias (Penns Valley), Tim Janocko (Clearfield)
Last Meeting: Sept. 10, 2021 (53-7, Clearfield)
Player to Watch: RB Ty Watson (Penns Valley), RB Brady Collins (Clearfield)
The Skinny: Penns Valley fell 42-27 last Friday to Bald Eagle. The Eagles had a comeback attempt spearheaded by junior quarterback Jackson Romig and junior running back Ty Watson’s rushing touchdowns. Watson had a one-yard rushing touchdown with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter. Romig had an 11-yard rushing touchdown with 2:04 left in the third and had a 21-20 lead.
Romig is 51-for-85 (60%) on passing attempts for 693 yards, seven touchdown passes and five interceptions. Watson has 66 carries for 372 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go with 11 receptions for 122 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Head coach Tim Janocko’s Clearfield team took a 20-7 loss to Juniata on Aug. 27 to open the season. Following the Bison’s loss, the team defeated Bald Eagle 7-3 on Sept. 2, DuBois 41-7 on Sept. 9 and Philipsburg-Osceola 55-0 last week. Clearfield has a 3-1 record and is 2-0 in Mountain League play, outscoring opponents 110-30.
Sophomore running back Brady Collins has been at the head of the team’s offensive attacks. He has 49 carries for 331 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Defensively, he’s added 19 total tackles to go with an interception.
Philipsburg-Osceola (1-3) @ Bellefonte (0-4)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Jeff Vroman (Philipsburg-Osceola), Vaughn Donmoyer (Bellefonte)
Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2021 (22-6, Bellefonte)
Player to Watch: RB Jamal Saunders (Bellefonte), RB Jakodi Jones (Philipsburg-Osceola)
How to Watch: NFHS Network
The Skinny: Both teams need this victory more than any other this season. Each program is coming off a significant loss with the Mounties losing 55-0 at Clearfield last Friday and Bellefonte fell 37-7 on the same night. However, it’s a time to play for pride and for the Luther Trophy on Friday and each team could use some added momentum heading into the second half of the year.
