State College, Bald Eagle Off to Hot Starts

Last season, Bald Eagle Area raced out to a 2-0 start with two impressive wins, but beginning in the third game the Eagles ran into some tough times.

Not this year.

BEA went to 3-0 for the first time since 2013 with a 33-6 Mountain League win over Penns Valley.

In State College, the Little Lions won their second game without a loss when they dumped Hollidaysburg, 55-27, at Memorial Field. And in Philipsburg, Bellefonte got back on track by beating Philipsburg-Osceola, 42-8, for its second win of the season and first conference victory.

St. Joseph’s Academy, the final Centre County team in action, scored 21 points, but couldn’t keep up with Perkiomen School in a 50-21 loss.

Except for St. Joe’s, which is on a bye week, everybody will be playing again this week. Here’s a look at the schedule:

Bald Eagle Area (3-0) at Chestnut Ridge (2-1)
 

Friday, Sept. 15

Chestnut Ridge was stunned when Allegany, Md., scored just 14 seconds into the game Sept. 8 and later took a 15-8 first quarter lead.
That was all the Campers would get until garbage time; however, as CR went ahead in the second quarter and kept on the pressure in a 38-23 win.

Senior quarterback Logan Hauk ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions, and he also completed 8 of 11 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Phillip Dull caught three passes for 89 yards and a score, and running back Noah Dillow (67 yards) scored two touchdowns.

Hauk, Dillow and Dull, along with wide receiver Justin McCoy, account for most of the CR offensive numbers in the wins against Everett (49-0) and Allegany. The Lions’ loss came at the hands of Musselman, W.Va., by the score of 35-23.

BEA this season has been effectively moving the ball, to say the least. Against Penns Valley, the Eagles had 15 first downs and more than 400 yards of offense, almost evenly divided between the run and pass.

Gave McClenahan ran 18 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams while Jaden Jones completed 15 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scoring passes were to Matthew Reese, one for 54 yards and the other 5 yards.

So far this year, BEA has outscored its opponents by a total of 114 to 19, and the Eagles will be looking to keep that going against the Lions.

Game time is 7 p.m.

State College (2-0) at Mifflin County (0-2)
 

Friday, Sept. 15

Mifflin County is 0-2 so far this season, with losses to two very good teams: Williamsport (49-26) and Cedar Cliff (42-9). Williamsport, of course, went deep into the PIAA 6-A playoffs last season, a run that included a win over State College, and Cedar Cliff is 2-0 and has yet to give up more than nine points in a game.

Against Cedar Cliff, Mifflin fell behind by 21-0 by halftime, and then the Colts wrapped things up with another 21 points in the third quarter.

It was mostly a case of the Huskies being overmatched by the Cedar Cliff defense. Mifflin gained just 25 yards on the ground and 68 passing and scored all of its points in the last quarter when the game was long over.

Junior quarterback Noah Wright completed seven passes for 45 yards, including a touchdown to Isaac Matthews.

So far for the season, MC is averaging just 148 yards of offense per game, with Wright accounting for 78 of those yards.

State College, on the other hand, caught Hollidaysburg coming in with a 2-0 record and the Little Lions asserted themselves from the very beginning of the game.

After Hollidaysburg got to within 14-13 in the second quarter, SC ran off three unanswered touchdowns to take a 34-13 lead by halftime.

A 35-yard run by Tristan Lyons in the beginning of the third quarter made it 41-13, and then Isaiah Edwards helped SC pull away with a 72-yard bolt as the third quarter ended.

In all, SC ran for over 470 yards on 42 carries and piled up 539 yards of total offense in the game. Edward ran for 169 yards, quarterback Drew Friberg got 130 and Lyons added 113.

For Mifflin in this game, there are two huge challenges: get some running yards and quality possessions and somehow try to stop what is a very fast and varied SC offense.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Central Mountain (0-3) at Bellefonte (2-1)
Friday, Sept. 15

There are no signs of panic yet, but there is a certain amount of uneasiness in Mill Hall after Central Mountain’s 0-3 start to the 2017 season.

The Wildcats have lost to Williamsport (34-7), Hughesville (31-13) and Shikellamy (48-7) so far, and things will not get easier for them with a visit to 2-1 Bellefonte on Friday, Sept. 15.

Over those three games, Central Mountain is averaging 220 yards of offense per game — 116 rushing — and it has scored just four total touchdowns. Senior quarterback Austyn Carson leads the team in passing (285 yards) and running (146 yards) and has accounted for all four scores. Senior Asher Corl (98 yards) and junior Zach Eck (77 yards) are the leading receivers.

In the Shikellamy game, CM fell behind 34-0 by halftime then 48-0 at the end of the third quarter. The Wildcats scored a late touchdown on a 38-yard run by Rocco Stark to avoid a shutout.

Bellefonte, after a satisfying opening-night win over Jersey Shore, took a step back with a 52-31 loss to Huntingdon in Week 2. That loss could be attributed to three non-offensive touchdowns scored by the Bearcats that accounted for the difference in the score. They scored on a kickoff return, a punt return and an interception return, and each one blunted whatever momentum Bellefonte was able to build up.

In Week 3 against Philipsburg, those problems did not return and, in fact, the Raiders were the ones taking the ball away. Bellefonte had three interceptions in the game and a fumble recovery as it shot out to a 42-0 lead before P-O scored a late touchdown. Couple that with a stingy defense and 440 yards of offense and it adds up to a solid, overall effort by the Raiders.

Quarterback Dylan Deitrich ran for 120 yards and a touchdown and passed for 105 and three touchdowns, while Dexter Gallishaw added 117 yards and a touchdown.

For Bellefonte against Central Mountain, it will be all about avoiding mistakes and big plays. If the Raiders play as under control as they did against P-O, a 3-1 start is a real possibility.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Philipsburg-Osceola (1-2) at Tyrone (0-3)
Friday, Sept. 15

Don’t be fooled by that 0-3 Tyrone record. Those losses came to Bellwood-Antis in overtime (13-10), powerful Central (31-14) and improving Huntingdon (26-14). The Golden Eagles did not play badly in any of them although they were hurt by mistakes and turnovers, especially against Huntingdon.

And it is a good bet that they are hungry for their first win of 2017.

Against Huntingdon, the Eagles actually outgained the Bearcats, 250-206, but a fumble and an interception deep inside their own territory led to two big Huntingdon touchdowns. Quarterback Denver Light, running back Brandon Loose and receiver Parker Mitchell do most of the damage for Tyrone, a team that runs an offense balanced between the pass and run.

For Philipsburg-Osceola, it is imperative that the mistakes and turnovers that have emerged in the last two losses are minimized. Against Bellefonte, three first-half interceptions and a fumble quickly took the Mounties out of what could have been a much closer game. 
With Tyrone coming back home still winless, P-O will have to especially try to prevent a fast start by the Eagles.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Central (2-1) at Penns Valley (1-2)
Friday, Sept. 15

Penns Valley can’t get a break. At least it won’t this week, anyway.

After a tough, close win over Punxy in Week 1, the Rams have had two losses to always-good Clearfield and very-hot BEA.

Now, they will host Central on Friday, Sept. 15, in their third Mountain League contest in a row.

After a 30-20 loss to 5-A Hollidaysburg in Week 1, Central returned to being itself in the past two weeks. The Dragons took out Tyrone in Week 2, 31-14, and then hit high gear in a 42-14 thrashing of Clearfield on Sept. 8.

In the Clearfield game, the Dragons spotted the Bison a 14-7 lead and then roared back into the lead at halftime by a score of 35-14.

Another third quarter score made it 42-14 and closed out the scoring.

Central threw just four passes against Clearfield for 14 yards, but it ran the ball 45 times for 352 and all six touchdowns. Trystan Detweiler (165 yards), quarterback Noah Muther (80) and Jared Smith (64) did most of the damage running the ball, while the defense shut down Clearfield after the first quarter.

For Penns Valley, the emphasis will have to be on its run defense and avoiding turnovers — the Rams had four against BEA. Penns Valley will know what the Dragons are going to do. The problem will be trying to stop them.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.