Bald Eagle Area keeps Iron Bell trophy after hard-fought battle with Penns Valley

Penns Valley and Bald Eagle Area came together Friday night for yet another Battle for the Old Iron Bell.

With both teams entering the contest undefeated, Bald Eagle was in possession of the Iron Bell trophy following last year’s win. The Eagles will hold on to it for a little longer after defeating Penns Valley 28-23 in the annual rivalry game.

An iron bell is often symbolic of war, and that’s exactly what the contest became.

In the Battle for the Bell, Penns Valley started fast, jumping out to a 17-0 lead largely due to the play of senior Ty Watson, who made multiple big plays throughout the night.

But instead of putting their heads down and giving up, the Eagles continued to battle with their physical brand of football in an attempt to get back into the contest.

“We’re a very physical team,” coach Jesse Nagle said.

In the first half, the team got after senior Jackson Romig and even forced a safety, with three players in on the tackle.

Despite their physical play, the Rams still had them in the first half, leading 17-2.

Senior Camron Watkins said at halftime that they preached family and togetherness, which aided them in their comeback.

Watkins himself contributed two touchdowns to this mix, but he didn’t do it alone, as junior Wyatt Spackman and senior Cameron Dubbs also played big roles in the contest.

The third quarter was where the Eagles really shined, bringing the contest to 22-17 before a Penns Valley touchdown had them trailing by one going into the fourth.

Another element of war is tough decisions, and the Eagles decided to go for it on multiple occasions instead of kicking the field goal and extra point. These decisions didn’t work out, but the squad kept its heads up and kept battling.

On the other side, as shown with the touchdown, the Rams didn’t lay down and give up when down in the contest — they just fought back.

The teams traded blows throughout the fourth. They even had a sequence where senior Gavin Burns hauled in an interception before Watson recovered a Dubbs fumble the very next play — putting the ball back in Penns Valley’s hands.

Late in the game, the Eagles had a field goal that was blocked, and they trailed, still needing to get the ball back with under five minutes to go.

Still, the Eagles wouldn’t wave the white flag as they forced a punt. Not long after, Spackman unleashed a big run to get the team down to the one-yard line — putting the bell within the Eagle’s reach.

Dubbs then ran it in for a touchdown, leaving the Rams’ side of the battlefield stunned.

Penns Valley had one more opportunity to win the game, being down five, but they were unable to get the ball down the field, and the victory bell rang for the road squad.

“They caught us off-guard in the first half,” Watkins said. “We made adjustments, we knew we had to have fun ... and we won the game.”

Penns Valley Coach Martin Tobias commended both teams for a hard-fought game, as Bald Eagle is a tough team.

The Eagles celebrated and rang the Iron Bell once again — moving on to 3-0. The squad will take on Tyrone in its next contest.

For Penns Valley, it will get the chance to battle back and take on Philipsburg-Osceola next week.

Other scores from Centre County

Bishop Guilfoyle 49, Bellefonte 6

Clearfield 44, Philipsburg-Osceola 7

State College’s game at Hollidaysburg was postponed due to weather.

This story was originally published September 9, 2023 at 12:30 AM.