Week 8 HS Football: State College looks to stay undefeated, Penns Valley has a big test
Week 8 will pit each Centre County team with an opponent from outside of the region.
Bellefonte heads to Clearfield on Friday while Bald Eagle hosts Huntingdon and Penns Valley welcomes Tyrone and Philipsburg-Osceola travels to North Star. State College will take on Harrisburg on Saturday afternoon to attempt to extend the team’s undefeated record.
Here’s what to know about each team’s matchup in Week 8 of the regular season:
Bellefonte (1-6) @ Clearfield (5-2)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Vaughn Donmoyer (Bellefonte), Tim Janocko (Clearfield)
Players to Watch: RB Jamal Saunders (Bellefonte), QB/LB Brady Collins
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2021 (48-0, Clearfield)
The Skinny: Bellefonte is coming off of a 36-12 loss to Huntingdon last week. The Red Raiders struggled to stop the run, allowing multiple rushing touchdowns. Bellefonte can continue to push against Clearfield, but it’ll take a consistent effort from both the offensive and defensive fronts.
Clearfield is still an incredibly strong program. While the Bison fell 21-14 to Tyrone on Oct. 7, it was a hard-fought loss. Brady Collins, who doubles the team’s starting quarterback, had 14 tackles and one for loss, to go with a pass deflection. His effort was emblematic of what head coach Tim Janocko demands out of his teams and it’ll be fully expected to be on display on Friday.
Huntingdon (2-5) @ Bald Eagle (4-3)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Shane Thomas (Huntingdon), Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle)
Players to Watch: QB Eric Mykut (Huntingdon), QB Carson Nagle (Bald Eagle)
Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 2021 (42-0, Bald Eagle)
The Skinny: Huntingdon is coming off of its second win of the season in a 36-12 Oct. 7 victory over Bellefonte on the road. The Bearcats were lifted up by quarterback Eric Mykut, who went 6-for-10 on passes for 109 yards and a touchdown pass and eight carries for 37 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Running back Lincoln Miller will also be a point of emphasis for Bald Eagle’s defense, as he had 20 rushes for 124 yards and a touchdown of his own.
Bald Eagle will have to stick to their plan of opening up deep passes with the screen game and power running from running backs Tre Greene and Cameron Dubbs. The duo has consistently softened up the defense, allowing quarterback Carson Nagle to find his receiving weapons. He has plenty — Cam Watkins, Kahale Burns, Gavin Burns, Elliot Splain and Gavin Eckley have all caught touchdown passes from the sophomore quarterback in 2022.
Philipsburg-Osceola (1-6) @ North Star (2-5)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Jeff Vroman (Philipsburg-Osceola), Bob Landis (North Star)
Players to Watch: RB Jakodi Jones (Philipsburg-Osceola), QB Connor Yoder (North Star)
Last Meeting: N/A
The Skinny: Philipsburg-Osceola fell 42-13 to Bald Eagle last week. The Mounties had an encouraging march back by scoring two rushing touchdowns late in the game by Jakodi Jones and Dawson Snyder. They should have an easier time against an opponent that has seen struggles of its own.
North Star has a talented quarterback in junior Connor Yoder. Yoder has thrown for 1,297 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions and rushed 88 times for 270 yards and a touchdown. Despite his stats, the Cougars offense has been either all or nothing and more nothing than all. North Star has been shut out twice this season and lost 54-0 on Oct. 7 to Berlin Brothersvalley.
State College (7-0) @ Harrisburg (5-1)
Time: 1 p.m. Saturday
Coaches: Matt Lintal (State College), Calvin Everett (Harrisburg)
Players to Watch: QB Finn Furmanek (State College), RB Mahkai Hopkins (Harrisburg)
Last Meeting: Nov. 27, 2021 (16-13, State College)
The Skinny: The undefeated Little Lions enter their road matchup against Harrisburg with a chip on their shoulders. State College fell 15-13 last season on Oct. 23 against the Cougars in the regular season and followed up with a 16-13 victory on Nov. 27 in the 6A state quarterfinals. Little Lions senior quarterback Finn Furmanek has gone 40-for-64 (62.5%) on passes for 699 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s added 32 carries for 184 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
State College has been impressive and so has Harrisburg. The Cougars have outscored opponents 226-56 and are coming off of four consecutive victories. Their biggest victory of the season was just last week in a 52-0 win over Central Dauphin East. Senior running back Mahkai Hopkins has 74 carries for 548 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Hopkins has 19 total tackles (11 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Tyrone (6-1) @ Penns Valley (5-2)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: John Franco (Tyrone), Martin Tobias (Penns Valley)
Players to Watch: QB Ashton Walk (Tyrone), RB Ty Watson (Penns Valley)
Last Meeting: Oct. 8, 2021 (28-18, Penns Valley)
How to Watch: NFHS Network
The Skinny: Tyrone fell to Bald Eagle 31-7 at home on Sept. 30. The Golden Eagles immediately bounced back with a 21-14 road victory against Clearfield on Oct. 7 to tie for the Mountain League lead. They’ll have to continue to rely on sophomore quarterback Ashton Walk, who’s provided them with 1036 passing yards, 15 touchdown passes and just three interceptions to go with 67 carries for 173 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Penns Valley fought hard against Conemaugh Valley on Oct. 7, defeating the Blue Jays 48-7. Quarterback Jackson Romig had two touchdown passes to Danin Kerstetter and Miles Brooks. Running back Ty Watson rushed for 161 yards on six carries and three rushing touchdowns. Watson has 108 carries for 808 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns, along with 12 receptions for 155 yards and one touchdown as a receiver.
