Week 10 HS Football: Can State College cap off an undefeated regular season?
The tenth and final week of regular season football in Centre County football is here.
Bellefonte is set to host Brookville, Bald Eagle will bring in Purchase Line and Philipsburg-Osceola has a home game against Ridgway at 7 p.m. on Friday. State College is set to travel to Chambersburg and Penns Valley will head to Bellwood-Antis.
Here’s what to know about each team’s matchup in the final week of the regular season:
Brookville (4-5) at Bellefonte (1-8)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Scott Park (Brookville), Vaughn Donmoyer (Bellefonte)
Players to watch: RB Jackson Zimmerman (Brookville), OLB Wesley Badger (Bellefonte)
Last meeting: N/A
The Skinny: Brookville has senior running back Jackson Zimmerman as their leader. Through eight games, Zimmerman had 160 carries for 916 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He also had nine catches for 44 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Bellefonte has one lone victory on the season, defeating Philipsburg-Osceola 9-8 on Sept. 23. It’s senior night and it could allow for linebacker Wesley Badger to end his career on a high note. Badger has 38 total tackles (35 solo), a tackle for loss and four passes deflected on the year.
Penns Valley (7-2) at Bellwood-Antis (6-3)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Martin Tobias (Penns Valley), Nick Lovrich (Bellwood-Antis)
Players to watch: RB Ty Watson (Penns Valley), QB Gaven Ridgway (Bellwood-Antis)
Last meeting: Nov. 5, 2021 (49-28, Bellwood-Antis)
The Skinny: These two teams aren’t the same as the ones that faced off last year. While they may feature many of the same players, Penns Valley has grown significantly as a unit. It all starts with the Rams’ running game, specifically the uber-talented Ty Watson. He has 153 carries for 1,068 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns, along with 16 receptions, 211 receiving yards and a touchdown. Watson has 17 total tackles (13 solo), three tackles for loss, two sacks and a blocked punt.
Bellwood-Antis is coming off of a 41-35 victory over West Branch on Oct. 21. The Blue Devils have outscored opponents 264-145 on the season. Quarterback Gaven Ridgway is at the head of Bellwood-Antis’ offensive attack. He has 764 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. Most of the damage he’s done has been on the ground, with 121 carries for 791 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
Purchase Line (4-5) at Bald Eagle (6-3)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Matt Falisec (Purchase Line), Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle)
Players to watch: RB/LB Andrew Beer (Purchase Line), RB/Tre Greene (Bald Eagle)
Last meeting: N/A
The Skinny: Purchase Line began the season 1-4 and things seemed to be falling apart. The Red Dragons fought back and have gone 3-1 since with their one loss coming in a 20-19 thriller against United Valley co-op on Oct. 14.
Senior running back Andrew Beer has been at the top of his game this season. He has 74 carries for 281 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns and six catches for 106 receiving yards on offense. Defensively, Beer has 69 total tackles (33 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and one interception.
Bald Eagle has an opportunity to finish the season 7-3 against a tough Purchase Line team. The Eagles will be led by quarterback Carson Nagle, wide receivers Cam Watkins, Kahale Burns, Elliot Splain, Gavin Eckley and running backs Tre Green and Cameron Dubbs. They are coming off of a 35-7 victory against Wellsboro at home on Oct. 21.
Greene has 80 carries for 720 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go with six receptions for 111 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. On defense, Greene has 76 total tackles (53 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Ridgway (2-7) at Philipsburg-Osceola (2-7)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Mark Heindl (Ridgway), Jeff Vroman (Philipsburg-Osceola)
Players to watch: RB Jakodi Jones (Philipsburg-Osceola)
Last meeting: N/A
The Skinny: Ridgway struggled through a majority of the season, losing its first five games, before notching back-to-back wins. However, the team has lost two straight games against Brockway, 41-13 on Oct. 14, and Union-Allegheny-Clarion Valley, 26-19 on Oct. 21. Ridgway is led by junior quarterback Cameron Larkin. Larkin has 847 passing yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions, along with 193 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Philipsburg-Osceola is also looking for its third win of the season after its dismantling of Montgomery in a 64-7 victory on Oct. 21. P-O racked up five sacks and found the end zone eight times. Junior running back Jakodi Jones leads the team with 104 carries for 481 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He’s added 38 total tackles (29 solo) and one tackle for loss.
State College (9-0) at Chambersburg (3-6)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Matt Lintal (State College), Mark Luther (Chambersburg)
Players to watch: QB Finn Furmanek (State College), N/A (Chambersburg)
Last meeting: Sept. 17, 2021 (38-22, State College)
The Skinny: State College is looking for its first undefeated regular season since 2016. The Little Lions have continued to play with an equal amount of speed and physicality throughout the year, combining the two for an explosive outcome. State College has outscored opponents 352-141 on the season.
Senior quarterback Finn Furmanek has the most total touchdowns on the team with 18. He has gone 64-for-99 (64.6%) on passes for 1,071 yards, 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He’s additionally rushed 55 times for 383 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, along with 13 catches, 152 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
