District 6 Quarterfinals HS Football: Will Bald Eagle and Penns Valley match up next week?
Two Centre County teams are set to compete in the District 6 Class 2A playoffs.
Bald Eagle is the No. 3 seed and set to host No. 6 seed Bellwood-Antis on Friday at 7 p.m. No. 2 seed Penns Valley has a home matchup against No. 7 seed Mount Union at the same time.
After Friday, the winner of each game will face off. The lower-seeded team will travel to the higher-seeded team’s stadium for a Nov. 11 matchup. As the No. 1 seed in District 6 Class 6A, State College has a bye week and will take on the winner of No. 2 seed Altoona vs. No. 3 seed Mifflin County in the District 6 Class 6A championship game on Nov. 11.
Here’s what to know about Bald Eagle and Penns Valley, along with their District 6 playoff opponents:
Bellwood-Antis (6-4) at Bald Eagle (7-3)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Nick Lovrich (Bellwood-Antis), Jesse Nagle (Bald Eagle)
Players to Watch: QB Gaven Ridgway (Bellwood-Antis), RB/CB Nick Kost (Bellwood-Antis), WR/FS Dylan Andrews (Bellwood-Antis), QB Carson Nagle (Bald Eagle), RB/LB Tre Greene (Bald Eagle), WR/OLB Cam Watkins (Bald Eagle), WR Kahale Burns (Bald Eagle)
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2020 (35-21, Bellwood-Antis)
The Skinny: Bellwood-Antis is coming off of a 42-0 loss to Penns Valley on Oct. 28. Not only were the Blue Devils beaten in the trenches, but the Rams dismantled them by getting the ball into Miles Brooks’ hands. Brooks had two receiving touchdowns and an interception return for a touchdown against Bellwood-Antis. The Blue Devils will need all it can get from its playmakers against Bald Eagle, who beat Penns Valley 42-27 on Sept. 16 this season.
Blue Devils wide receiver Dylan Andrews has stepped up this season with 18 receptions, 360 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions. Andrews has 31 total tackles (26 solo), a tackle for loss, one sack, four interceptions and four pass deflections.
The key is getting him the ball, which will come from quarterback Gaven Ridgway, who has gone 51-for-138 (37%) on passes for 774 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. While he’s struggled in the passing game, he has 133 carries for 832 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
Bellwood-Antis also has running back Nick Kost, who has 832 rushing yards on 133 carries and 10 rushing touchdowns. He’s added 10 catches for 67 receiving yards for two receiving touchdowns. Kost has 29 total tackles (23 solo), four tackles for loss, along with two interceptions and six pass deflections.
The Eagles have won five straight games against Tyrone on Sept. 30 (31-7), Philipsburg-Osceola on Oct. 7 (42-13), Huntingdon on Oct. 14 (51-0), Wellsboro on Oct. 21 (35-7) and Purchase Line on Oct. 28 (19-0). Bald Eagle has outscored teams 301-110 and are 4-2 in home games. The only two home losses that Bald Eagle had were against Troy (20-9, Aug. 26) and Clearfield (7-3, Sept. 2).
Bald Eagle quarterback Carson Nagle has taken a massive step up from last season. In 2021, Nagle went 168-for-289 (58.1%) on passes for 1,897 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 11 games played. In 10 games this season, he has been more accurate and more deadly — completing 164 of 251 (65.3%) passes for 2,139 passing yards, 22 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
It doesn’t hurt for Nagle to have a number of weapons in tow — including running back Tre Greene, along with wide receivers Cam Watkins and Kahale Burns.
Greene has been used as a battering ram to soften up defenses, with 89 carries for 766 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go with eight receptions for 124 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Greene is also the team’s leading tackler with 83 total tackles (57 solo) with 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Watkins really stands out on the defensive side of the ball with 42 tackles (35 solo), 18 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. The junior is no slouch on offense either, providing 35 receptions for 517 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions.
Mount Union (6-4) at Penns Valley (8-2)
Time: 7 p.m. Friday
Coaches: Anthony Sottasante (Mount Union), Martin Tobias (Penns Valley)
Players to Watch: QB Bryce Danish (Mount Union), RB/LB Josh Ryan (Mount Union), WR Cainen Atherton (Mount Union), RB Ty Watson (Penns Valley), QB Jackson Romig (Penns Valley), WR Miles Brooks (Penns Valley)
Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2020 (54-0, Penns Valley)
The Skinny: Mount Union finished fifth in the Inter-County Conference behind Northern Bedford, Bellwood-Antis, Southern Huntingdon and Juniata Valley with a 5-3 record. The Trojans lost to Bellwood-Antis 25-22 on Oct. 7 and Penns Valley just dismantled the Blue Devils 42-0 last week. Mount Union 6-4 on the season and is coming off of a 26-22 loss to Juniata Valley on the road on Oct. 28.
Bryce Danish has used his talents in a multitude of ways for Mount Union. Danish completed 93 of his 155 passes (60%) for 1,341 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s also rushed 147 times for 1,069 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. It doesn’t hurt that he has wideout Cainen Atherton to throw to, compiling 921 yards of total offense for the Trojans this season and 10 total touchdowns. Atherton has 47 total tackles (18 solo), four interceptions and one fumble recovery.
The Rams have been a buzz saw this season. They started off with three straight wins, followed by two consecutive losses to Bald Eagle (42-27, Sept. 16) and Clearfield (42-14, Sept. 23). Penns Valley has battered the rest of its opponents with a tough running game, strong defensive play and high-flying theatrics by its offensive weapons.
Penns Valley has its not-so-secret weapon in running back Ty Watson. He has caused defenses to crash down on him during play action passes, opening up the quarterback-wide receiver connection of Jackson Romig and Miles Brooks. Watson has 172 carries for 1116 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns, along with 17 catches for 221 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Watson has added 17 total tackles (13 solo), three tackles for loss, two sacks and one blocked punt.
Romig has been surgical in his junior season, going 110-for-167 (65.9%) on passes for 1,741 yards, 22 passing touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s added 70 carries for 201 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Brooks has 48 receptions for 806 receiving yards and 12 touchdown receptions. Defensively, he’s added 48 total tackles (25 solo), four tackles for loss, two interceptions, one interception returned for a touchdown, one pass deflection and two fumble recoveries.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
