The Penns Valley Rams turned a possible disaster into the winning touchdown on Sept. 15 in Philipsburg against the Mounties, and Bald Eagle Area improved to 4-0 with a 41-22 win over Tyrone at home.
State College entered Mid Penn Conference play with a convincing win over Altoona, and Bellefonte slipped to 0-4 after a gritty effort at home against Clearfield.
This week, the old Mountain League teams begin two weeks of playing against each other, and State College will see old nemesis Central Dauphin in Harrisburg.
Here’s a closer look:
State College (3-1) at Central Dauphin (3-1)
Friday, Sept. 22
It was still a game in State College until Little Lions quarterback Eddie Corkery started throwing long balls against Altoona on Sept. 15.
Ahead 21-7 in the second quarter, Corkery completed passes of 51 yards to Diamear Coad, 77 yards to Ty Salazar and 73 yards to Cooper Brushwood as State High ran away from the Mountain Lions, 49-7.
Altoona scored first in the game on a 23-yard pass from Brennen Freiwald to Josiah Treese as the second quarter began, but a Corkery pass to Michael Gaul and two short runs by D’Antae Sheffey gave State High a 14-point lead.
From there, it was bombs away.
The pass to Daimear came with less than a minute left in the second quarter, and the one to Salazar came 21 seconds into the third quarter and put the Lions ahead 35-7.
Brushwood scored with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter, and then Travis Bechtel wrapped up the scoring with a seven-yard run in the last quarter.
Corkery for the night was 12-of-14 for 300 yards and four touchdowns.
This week, the Lions will travel to perennial Mid Penn power Central Dauphin on Sept. 22.
The Rams so far are 3-1 with wins over Wilson West Lawn, 36-35 in overtime, Coatesville, 35-13 and Chambersburg, 35-7. Their loss came at the hands of Central York in the season opener.
Miles Cooper is the top running back, with an 81.8 yards per game average, and quarterback Key’Ron Plummer throws for 103 yards per game with seven touchdowns.
Plummer has also run for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Last season, State College edged CD, 19-8, at home and went on to an undefeated regular season.
This one looks to be at least that close, if not closer.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Harrisburg.
Bellefonte (0-4) at Penns Valley (3-1)
Friday, Sept. 22
The Penns Valley Rams escaped from Philipsburg on Sept. 15 with a come-from-behind 43-32 win after scoring two touchdowns in the final minutes of the game.
Behind 32-29 with 42 seconds left and with a third down on the P-O three-yard line, the snap sailed far over quarterback Jackson Romig’s head.
A broken play here and PV loses, but Romig caught up to the ball, rolled to his right, and threw a rainbow into the end zone that was caught by Dan Kerstetter for the go-ahead (and winning) touchdown.
P-O took over with seconds to play, and freshman quarterback Archer Baughman’s pass was picked off by Jarrett Stover and returned for the final touchdown of Penns Valley’s third win of the season.
The game was a back-and-forth affair all night with big plays on seemingly every possession.
There was a called back defensive touchdown by P-O, a kickoff return for a touchdown by PV, Stover’s pick-6, and exciting performances by players on both teams.
But PV’s two big plays in crunch time proved to be the difference.
This week, the Rams will be at home against old Mountain League foe Bellefonte for their first meeting in the new Laurel Highlands Conference.
Bellefonte is 0-4 but the Raiders have shown improvement from week to week. On Sept. 15, Bellefonte held on with 3-1 Clearfield at home and eventually fell 26-7 to the Bison.
But it was just 12-7 at halftime, and Clearfield needed two quick scores in the beginning of the third quarter to secure its third win.
Raider quarterback Liam Halterman had a solid game, throwing for 93 yards and a touchdown and running 16 times for 60 yards.
Along with 61 more ground yards by Sherman Lowry, Bellefonte racked up over 230 yards of offense against the Bison.
Yet the difference came with the Clearfield defense not allowing a score in the second half.
There will be no secrets between these two old rivals, and the Raiders will be looking again to make progress.
For the Rams, another victory will keep them in the running for LHAC honors even though Bellefonte begins a very tough stretch in their schedule, with Clearfield, Central and Somerset on the horizon.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Spring Mills.
Philipsburg-Osceola (1-3) at Bald Eagle Area (4-0)
Friday, Sept. 22
Philipsburg-Osceola played its best game of the season on Sept. 15. Despite the tough loss to Penns Valley, the Mounties showed they can be a force.
In Wingate, Bald Eagle Area has already demonstrated that four times this season in wins over Bishop Guilfoyle, Central Cambria, Penns Valley and Tyrone.
Against Tyrone on Friday, a 41-22 win, Carson Nagle passed for 309 yards, Cameron Dubbs ran for 188 yards and Gavin Burns and Camron Watkins combined to catch 16 passes for 236 yards.
The Eagles stormed past Tyrone by outscoring the Golden Eagles 20-3 in the second half and holding them without a point in the fourth quarter.
BEA with its balanced offense and stingy defense (especially after halftime) is on a roll and looking for its fifth win without a loss.
P-O, however, played without its starting quarterback on Friday and played right along with a good Penns Valley team (and could easily have won the game).
P-O will have to start the game well and avoid mistakes, but the Mounties could make this one very interesting.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Wingate.
