CENTRE COUNTY — In Week 9 of the local high school football regular season, State College romped, Bald Eagle Area suffered a crushing, last-second loss, and Bellefonte could not get started against Bellwood-Antis.
The same could be said about Philipsburg-Osceola in Tyrone, and Penns Valley moved the ball but was still outscored by Huntingdon.
Here’s a look at each game, this week’s schedule and some District 6 Playoff Standings.
State College 58, Carlisle 8
The State College High School football team is in deep now as the Little Lions are set to visit fellow Mid-Penn Commonwealth power Bishop McDevitt on Friday night in Harrisburg.
SC and McDevitt are tied for second place in the conference with 7-1 records, one game behind undefeated Harrisburg, and will meet with the outside possibility of tying for the Championship with a Harrisburg loss.
The Crusaders come into the showdown on a seven-game winning streak.
The Crusaders run a balanced offense led by quarterback Sebastian Williams who has completed 79-of-115 passes for 1097 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He is backed up by three running backs who have run for over 300 yards led by Nazir Jones-Davis with 94 carries for 557 yards and 10 touchdowns.
They also have four receivers with at least 150 receiving yards led by Ishmael Palmer with 15 catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns.
The Crusaders average 309 yards per game with 168 on the ground and 141 through the air.
The McDevitt defense is also formidable with two shutouts this season and an average of just eight points per game given up over the last five weeks.
State College last week at Carlisle shot out to a 49-8 lead at halftime on the way to a 58-8 Mid-Penn victory.
Quarterback Connor Kulka threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns, while running back D’Antae Sheffey ran 8 times for 140 yards and another three touchdowns.
Daimear Coad, with two, and Hank Lustig caught touchdown passes, as the Lions ran up just shy of 500 yards of offense.
The win was the eighth this season for SC.
This week’s game, although it will determine at least second place in the Commonwealth Conference, will not impact the Lions’ No. 1 position in the District 6 AAAAAA rankings.
BEA falls on the game’s final play
Behind 25-19 to BEA with time running out, Central quarterback Jesse Muther connected with wideout Bentley Dickson for a 27-yard touchdown that, after the extra point, gave the Dragons an improbable 26-25 win over Bald Eagle on Friday night.
There was no time showing on the clock when Dickson caught the winning pass.
Less than two minutes earlier, the Bald Eagles took the 25-19 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Grady Fisher, but the Dragons took over after the kickoff and drove 70 yards for the winning score.
Bald Eagle scored in the first quarter on a 40-yard Fisher run, and then again in the third quarter on a halfback pass from Kollin Cunningham to Jackson Millward that drew the Eagles to within two points at 19-17.
Fisher and Cunningham finished with a total of 131 yards through the air, and Fisher led a 151-yard ground game with 98 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.
The loss dropped BEA to 4-5 for the season with 4-5 Central Cambria coming up in the LHAC East-West Crossover game at home on Friday night.
Central Cambria has wins this season over Penns Valley, Greater Johnstown, Central (32-22) and Somerset, but the team had a mid-season losing streak that hurt its playoff chances.
For BEA, now at No. 9 in the D6 AA rankings, a win is needed since typically eight teams qualify for the playoffs in AA.
Bellefonte stymied by Bellwood-Antis
On Friday night in Bellwood against Bellefonte, Bellwood-Antis pulled away from the Raiders in a 22-0 LHAC victory.
The Blue Devils scored three touchdowns and a safety, but it was their suffocating defense that carried the day.
Bellefonte didn’t score, was held to just 105 yards of total offense, and gave up three turnovers in the loss.
Bellwood scored twice in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead and then added another touchdown with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The loss dropped Bellefonte to 3-6 for the season, but the Raiders still maintained their No. 2 position in the District 6 AAAA rankings. They are two games behind No. 1 Juniata. The other two teams in the bracket, Johnstown and Central Mountain are a combined 1-17.
As of this writing, Bellefonte’s LHAC Crossover Game opponent has not yet been announced.
Tyrone holds off P-O
Despite a monster day by Philipsburg-Osceola running back Colton Chapman, the Mounties could only push across one touchdown in a 28-7 loss to Tyrone on Friday night in Tyrone.
Chapman ran the ball 35 times for P-O for 181 yards and the team’s only touchdown–a 7-yard run in the third quarter.
That score pulled the Mounties to within 14-7 with three minutes to play in the quarter.
But Tyrone’s Caleb Whitby returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown that restored the Eagles’ lead and essentially won the game for Tyrone.
Tyrone would go on to score again in the fourth quarter while its defense kept the Mounties under control and out of the endzone.
The game was a battle between two teams tied for the fourth and last District 6 AAA playoff position, and with the win, Tyrone takes a one-game lead over Philipsburg-Osceola going into the final week of the regular season.
P-O will finish its season with LHAC West foe Bedford at home, while Tyrone, now 5-4, will take on 4-5 Chestnut Ridge.
Bedford is 2-7 coming into the Week 10 game with wins over Central Cambria and Somerset, but the Bison have lost their last two games to Huntingdon and Richland.
A loss by Tyrone and a win by P-O would tie the two teams for No. 4 in District 6 and put the tiebreakers into effect.
Huntingdon pulls away from Penns Valley
The Huntingdon Bearcats have almost completed their impressive turnaround from last season with a 35-23 victory over Penns Valley in their Week 9 LHAC matchup.
Huntingdon did not win a game in 2024 and is now 7-2 and ranked No. 2 in the District 6 AAA Bracket just behind Penn Cambria.
The loss for Penns Valley put the Rams at 1-8 for the season with their crossover game against winless Westmont-Hilltop coming up on Friday night at home.
Westmont has not had many close games this season, and the Hilltoppers have been shut out in two of their last three games.
Penns Valley, on the other hand, has been putting up points and gaining yards, but still coming up short. The Rams have scored over 20 points in four of their last five games.
The Rams will rely on their top offensive players in this one–Carter and Fletcher Ironside and Spencer Althouse.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday night in Spring Mills.
