Conrad Moore scored on the first play from scrimmage in State College’s 31-0 win over Cumberland Valley Friday night at the newly renovated Memorial Field.
Moore helped the Little Lions improve to 1-1 on the season following a three-touchdown performance against the Eagles, who fell to 1-2. In State High’s only home game of the regular season, the Little Lions jumped out to an early lead and maintained it on senior night.
It marked the Little Lions’ first game at Memorial Field since November 2018 as last year the downtown stadium underwent a $14.3 million renovation project that added new locker rooms, restrooms, pedestrian plazas, home-side seating and concessions. In 2019, State College played its games at the South Track field on the high school campus.
This year the season got off to a delayed start — first as the Mid Penn Conference pushed back its start because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then as State College waited for in-person classes to resume, a stipulation of the school district’s health and safety plan for returning to competition. The Little Lions opened on the road last week before making their long-awaited return on Friday night.
And they made sure to bring some excitement to their first game back.
Moore, a senior quarterback and co-captain, opened the game with a 66-yard run up the middle. Fellow senior Nehemiah Howell took a handoff 49 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with 2:30 to go in the first quarter.
“I saw the [linebackers] going with the running back, and I was able to find a hole,” Moore said of his opening touchdown. “Michael Dincher had a great block on the D-end, opened up a hole, and from there, I just saw green and took off.”
Moore continued his strong night with a 61-yard touchdown pass to two-way standout Sammy Knipe, whose wheel route gave the Little Lions a three-score lead a little over two minutes into the second quarter. Knipe is verbally committed to the United States Naval Academy.
Four minutes later, State High kicker Aiden Spitler drilled a 28-yard field goal to make it 24-0 over the Eagles, who had a familiar face roaming their sideline. Former Penn State and NFL defensive lineman Jordan Hill is in his first season as a member of Cumberland Valley’s coaching staff.
Moore capped the scoring with a 44-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter before the Little Lions buckled down and preserved the shutout. It was also the second consecutive year State College beat CV in a special setting. Last October the Little Lions downed the Eagles in the inaugural Beaver Stadium Classic, the first ever regular season high school football game played at Penn State’s stadium.
State College quarterback Conrad Moore lines up in the backfield with running back Dresyn Green during a 31-0 Little Lions’ win against Cumberland Valley on Oct. 9, 2020 at Memorial Field. Photo by Ethan Kasales
State College’s defense looked much better than it did in a 35-13 loss to Central Dauphin in last week’s season opener. The Little Lions will play Carlisle on the road next Friday at 7 p.m.
“Coming off the loss last week, I feel like we looked a lot sharper earlier in the game, scoring on the opening play from scrimmage,” Knipe said. “You love to see it. It got us moving early. Let’s just keep that going for the rest of the season.’
Parents of the players were in attendance for the reopening of Memorial Field, but it was far from a normal senior night for the Little Lions. State High held a remote viewing party at the new North Athletic Field on the high school campus for students interested in cheering on their classmates.
“This is something we’ve been looking forward to for so long, but at times it kind of looked like we wouldn’t get to experience it,” Knipe said. “Being here is an unreal feeling. I just love it.”
(See more photos by Heather Weikel and Ethan Kasales in the gallery below)
Here’s a look at what happened elsewhere Friday night in Centre County high school football
By Geoff Rushton
Bald Eagle 28, Philipsburg-Osceola 6
Philipsburg-Osceola got on the board first but couldn’t hold off visiting Bald Eagle on Friday night.
The Mounties’ Aaron Depto jumped a route and picked off a Garrett Burns pass near midfield, returning it for the pick-six score. A failed two-point attempt gave P-O (1-3) a 6-0 first quarter lead.
BEA (2-2) bounced back as a Burns pass across the middle deflected off Camron Watkins’ hands and into the arms of fellow Eagle Owen Irvin, who raced for a 78-yard catch-and-run TD. The PAT gave the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish in what was often a tough defensive battle.
What looked to be another P-O interception was undone by a pass interference call. The Eagles capitalized and after a 2-yard TD run by Burns, BEA took a 14-6 lead into the half.
Both teams traveled deep into opponent territory early in the second half, only to be stymied by a defensive stand. On a fourth-and-goal from the 18, BEA’s Irvin pulled in a Burns pass but was stopped short at the 1. The Mounties couldn’t do much with their possession and were forced to punt from their own 3.
The Eagles expanded the lead after Irvin’s 20 yard return set up BEA at the Mountie 27. On the next play, Burns got hit hard as he threw but found Watkins, who ran in for the TD and a 21-6 Eagle lead with 5:17 left in the third.
Midway through the fourth, Burns handed off to Irvin, who rolled out and passed to Watkins for a 32-yard gain into P-O territory. BEA’s Gavin Eckley ran 20 yards for a touchdown on the next play to finish out the scoring at 28-6.
Next up, BEA travels to Bellefonte for the Curtin Bowl rivalry game on Oct. 16. P-O will look to get back in the win column at undefeated Tyrone.
Bellefonte 62, Huntingdon 22
Bellefonte broke out big for its first win of the season, going on the road and overpowering Huntingdon from start to finish in a 62-22 romp.
The Red Raiders (1-3) got things started on their first possession as running back Jamal Saunders broke through several Bearcat tacklers to go 70 yards for the score. A Daniel Persicko PAT made it 7-0 early.
After a 37-yard Jalen Emel punt return, quarterback Ethan Rossman rushed 11 yards to the end zone to put Bellefonte ahead by two scores. A 16-yard Emel run set Rossman up again for a score, as the Raider QB powered in on a 4-yard keeper as Bellefonte took a 21-0 lead still in the first quarter.
With 10 minutes left in the half, Huntingdon (0-5) still didn’t have a first down, but Darin Harman hauled in a wobbly pass from Braylon Ronk and went 66 yards to get the Bearcats on the board. After a failed conversion attempt, Bellefonte led 21-6.
The Raiders struck back quickly as Rossman connected with Ryan Fitzgerald in the end zone for a 9-yard TD throw. Bellefonte opened things up further on its next possession as Rossman found the edge and ran 11 yards untouched for his third rushing score of the night and a 35-6 lead.
Huntingdon kept fighting and Tyson Cook snagged a 50-yard touchdown pass from Harman. A double reverse two-point conversion made it a 35-14 game with 20 seconds left in the half.
Bellefonte responded with a 46-yard Saunders run down to the 9 and Persicko hit a 26-yard field goal to put the Raiders ahead 38-14 at the half.
In at quarterback for most of the second half, Logan Houser accounted for both of Bellefonte’s touchdowns in the third. The first came as he rolled out and threw a dart to Emel at the pylon for a 15-yard score. On Bellefonte’s next possession, the Raider line opened a massive hole and Houser ran 32 yards to the Huntingdon 5. He kept it again on the next play, rushing untouched up the middle as Bellefonte took a 52-14 lead.
Huntingdon tacked on another Ronk-to-Harman touchdown and a two-point conversion, but the game was already well in hand for the Raiders.
Persicko connected on a 42-yard field goal as the ball bounced off the top of the crossbar and through. QB Trevor Johnson hit William Spratt, who sprinted 64 yards down the sideline to round out the scoring.
Next week Bellefonte hosts rival Bald Eagle in the Curtin Bowl game.
Tyrone 27, Penns Valley 21
Penns Valley (1-2) came up short in a back-and-forth affair against unbeaten Tyrone (4-0) Friday night in Spring Mills.
In an early defensive struggle it was the Rams who took the early lead. After pinning Tyrone back at its own 5, PV’s Tanner Ilgen broke through to block Ross Gampe’s punt and Gage Ripka recovered it in the end zone. Ripka’s PAT put the Rams in front 7-0 with 3:14 left in the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles answered as Brandon Lucas tossed to Keegan Gwinn for a 17-yard score, and the PAT knotted the game at 7-7 with 49 seconds left in the first.
A 5-yard TD run by Tyrone’s Tommy Hicks, put the Eagles up 13-7 with 6:02 left in the half. PV blocked Kendall Markley’s extra point attempt, and that’s where the score remained into halftime and throughout the third quarter.
Things heated up in the fourth as a 5-yard touchdown pass by Rams quarterback Aidan Brinker to Ripka and Ripka’s extra point gave Penns Valley a 14-13 lead with 10:32 remaining.
Tyrone put together a drive capped off by Hicks’ 1-yard touchdown run. On the two point conversion Lucas threw a jump pass at the line of scrimmage to Hicks for a 21-14 Eagles lead with 5:52 left in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, it was Ripka again for the Rams, this time going 95 yards for the return touchdown and tying the game at 21-21 with 5:37 left.
Though a Mason Lieb interception of Lucas gave the ball back to PV at their own 35, the Rams were forced to punt.
After moving into PV territory, Lucas dropped back and found an open Damon Gripp streaking down the sideline for a touchdown with 1:38 to go. Markley’s missed extra point kept Tyrone’s lead 27-21.
Penns Valley had one last chance and got to its own 48. But on fourth and long, a final pass was off the mark. Tyrone’s offense kneeled to end the game.
Penns Valley travels to Central (5-0) next week.
