What to know from Week 10 of Centre County HS football: Scores, highlights, key players
Bald Eagle Area’s postseason hopes were revived with a shutout victory Friday over Central Cambria, after Mount Union forfeited the remainder of its season. State College, meanwhile, failed to capitalize on four turnovers as Bishop McDevitt defeated the Little Lions 36-20. Friday marked the end of the regular season for teams in Centre County with the District 6 high school football playoffs approaching.
Here are the highlights from local games covered by After the Whistle, the high school sports coverage team at Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications.
Bald Eagle Area 21, Central Cambria 0: Both the Eagles and the Red Devils came into this game with 4-5 records with the winner advancing to the District 6 Class 2A playoffs. BEA quarterback Grady Fisher torched the Central Cambria defense, rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 29 attempts. Defensively, Bald Eagle Area had its best performance of the year, forcing three turnovers. Jackson Millward picked off Mason Pittsinger twice and Jacob Gardner forced and recovered a fumble, as the Eagles blanked the Red Devils to keep their season going.
Bellefonte 31, Greater Johnstown 19: Gavin DuFour returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown with a minute to go as Bellefonte closed out its regular season with a win. The Red Raiders’ three-headed rushing attack combined for 225 yards. Ashten Howell and his brother Alten Howell ran for 82 and 81 yards, respectively, with Isaac Gall adding 64 yards. Alongside the fumble return, DuFour added an interception in a season-defining performance for the cornerback.
Penns Valley 28, Westmont Hilltop 0: Carter Ironside threw for 159 yards and three touchdowns as the Rams trounced the Hilltoppers. Ironside’s brother Fletcher caught two of his three touchdowns as the brothers connected four times for 58 yards. The Penns Valley quarterback stayed true to his gunslinger reputation as Ironside completed just 10 of his 23 attempts but averaged over 15 yards per completion.
Philipsburg-Osceola 28, Bedford 6: Philipsburg-Osceola took control on its first drive of the game with a 36-yard touchdown run courtesy of Jaiden Jones. Later in the first half, Robert McClenahan took a reverse 12 yards to the end zone for the Mountaineers’ second touchdown. McClenahan also had three receptions for 73 yards in the game. Running back Colton Chapman rushed for 157 yards, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Defensive back Aaron Davis also had an interception for Philipsburg-Osceola.
Bishop McDevitt 36, State College 20: Bishop McDevitt turned the ball over four times, but it didn’t stop the Crusaders from mounting a second-half comeback against State College. McDevitt trailed 14-9 at the half but retook the lead when Partick Wright returned the second-half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders put the game to bed with a 94-yard kick return touchdown from Jerome Larue Jr., putting them up 29-20. McDevitt has two weeks off as it now prepares for the District 3 Class 5A tournament.
Helmet Stickers
Every week, After the Whistle will highlight the players who made the biggest impacts on the field. Here are Week 10’s star performers:
Colton Chapman, RB, Philipsburg-Osceola: Chapman had 31 rushes for 157 yards, hitting his 1,000 yard rushing mark for the season.
Fletcher Ironside, WR, Penns Valley: Ironside had two touchdowns in four receptions for 58 yards.
Gavin DuFour, CB, Bellefonte: DeFour had a 60-yard fumble return and an interception.
Jenny Karamus, Clara Slowinski, Michael Fechter, Evan Pochas, Owen Cameros and Kassandra Vasellas contributed to this story. Photos by Ryan Gerstenzang, Westley Bressler and Jenny Karamus.
Check out this week’s highlights from Penn State’s Bellisario College’s After the Whistle on its YouTube channel.
