State College advances, Bellefonte football falls in PIAA 1st round. What to know

State College will move forward in the state playoffs, while Bellefonte’s season has come to an end.

The Little Lions cruised past Wilkes-Barre 52-0 Saturday afternoon in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A championships, while Bellefonte fell 42-13 Friday to undefeated Shamokin in the Class 4A first round. It was the Red Raiders’ first state playoff game in six years.

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.

State College 52, Wilkes-Barre 0: State College running back D’Antae Sheffey set the tone early by scoring four of the Little Lions’ touchdowns by halftime Saturday afternoon in the win at Alumni Field in Milton. The victory advances State College past the first round of the PIAA Class 6A championships.

The Little Lions’ offense slowed down in the second half, but their defense continued to dominate by not allowing Wilkes-Barre to score. State High forced two three-and-outs in the second half and secured its opportunity to move on to the PIAA second round. It will take on Pittsburgh Central Catholic (11-1) on Nov. 21 or 22 at a venue TBD.

Shamokin 42, Bellefonte 13: Shamokin walked into Rogers Stadium on Friday, but its backfield ran over Bellefonte. Shamokin’s Zakem Clinton started with a 35-yard run on the first play, and the Indians didn’t look back from there, going into halftime with a 21-7 lead.

In the second half, Shamokin’s offense didn’t let up as junior running back Noah Ringes added two touchdowns to the Indians’ total, including an 80-yard run in the third quarter. Shamokin’s defense didn’t disappoint either, coming up with two interceptions in the fourth quarter, ending any hope for a Bellefonte comeback. Shamokin now heads to the state quarterfinals next week against Southern Lehigh. Bellefonte, the District 6 Class 4A champ, closes the season at 6-7.

Helmet Stickers

Every week, After the Whistle highlights the players who made the biggest impacts on the field. Here are Week 13’s star performers:

D’Antae Sheffey, RB, State College: Sheffey scored four of the Little Lions’ seven touchdowns. He extended the lead to 35-0 only two minutes into the second quarter.

Ashten Howell, WR, Bellefonte: Howell scored the first touchdown for Bellefonte, briefly tying the game at 7-7.

Clara Slowinski, Mashiah Mitchell and Kassandra Vasellas contributed to this story. Photos by Sam Simonic.

Check out this week’s highlights from Penn State’s Bellisario College’s After the Whistle on its YouTube channel.