Week 5 was an up-and-down affair for Centre County high-school football teams. On the up side, State College romped over Mechanicsburg, and St. Joseph’s picked up its first win of the season against Bucktail. In the game of the week, Bellefonte broke a 23-year losing streak against Tyrone with a come-from-behind 14-13 victory over the Eagles in Tyrone.
The down side was way down. Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and Bald Eagle all endured 20-plus point losses.
Everybody resumes play Friday, Sept. 30, except for idle St. Joe’s, and here is the lineup:
State College (4-0) at Carlisle (3-1)
As usual, most of the Mid-Penn Colonial teams are tough outs, and Carlisle can certainly be counted in that group.
The Thundering Herd is 3-1 after wins over Mechanicsburg, South Western and Red Land. Last week, Central Dauphin scored 41 first-half points on the way to a 55-21 win over the Herd in Carlisle.
CD ground out 269 yards on the ground and 420 overall in the win, and the Rams intercepted three Carlisle passes that led directly to points in the game.
Nonetheless, Carlisle was the first team this season to score in double digits against the acclaimed CD defense, and the Herd has some dangerous skill people.
Carlisle is led by quarterback Eric Harris, who CD head coach Glen McNamee calls, “a special, special player.” Harris completed 19 of 36 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns, but he also suffered the three interceptions.
Harris’ favorite target is Nate Barns, who had both touchdown catches and 127 receiving yards on seven catches overall. Another dangerous player for Carlisle is running back/receiver Gavyn Barns. Barns has two kick returns this season for touchdowns, returning a kickoff 96 yards for a score against CD.
State College counters with speed everywhere and a stingy defense of its own led by All-Conference Defensive Player of the Year Pete Haffner.
The Little Lions were tested early by J.P. McCaskey but since have been rolling. Carlisle will be amped for this game and prepared; the Herd cannot afford to go 0-2 in its first two conference games.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Carlisle.
Bellefonte (3-2) at Clearfield (4-1)
For the past decade at least, Clearfield, Tyrone and Central have dominated play in the Mountain League. Now, Bellefonte is trying to join that little party with its 3-0 league record going into Week 6.
The Red Raiders vanquished one of the three with their 14-13 win over Tyrone on Sept. 23, but they won’t have much time to enjoy it. This week the Raiders go on a trip to Clearfield, a team that is in its customary spot atop the league with a matching 3-0 record.
The Bison romped last year, 42-7, in Bellefonte, and this season have wins over Penns Valley, Huntingdon, Central Mountain and Central so far. The Bison held on against a furious Central comeback, at home on Sept. 9, for an exciting 30-28 win.
Clearfield’s only loss came to 6-A DuBois, 30-20, on opening night.
Clearfield teams always have moved the ball and this one is no exception. The Bison gain just under 400 yards each game with 208 of that yardage coming on the ground.
Senior Seth Caldwell is the leading rusher with 455 yards on 81 carries and seven touchdowns (through four games), but sophomore quarterback Isaac Rumery has also chipped in 261 yards and another two touchdowns.
In the passing game, Rumery is averaging 188 yards, with his leading receivers being Micah Heichel and Ryan Lezzer. Together, Heichel and Lezzer account for 168 of those 188 yards.
Bellefonte is flying high after the victory over Tyrone, but the Eagles were somewhat hampered by injuries.
Raider running back Dexter Gallishaw is an effective talent for Bellefonte and ran for 112 yards against Tyrone. Tight end Tanner Helms broke an 80-yard touchdown in the game, and Bellefonte also forced three turnovers and had a defensive score by Garrett Kutches.
Bellefonte will need continued production — and improvement — from all of them if it is to pull off its second big upset in as many weeks.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Clearfield.
Penns Valley (1-4) at Philipsburg-Osceola (0-5)
Penns Valley seemed to lose some steam in the second half of the Rams’ 55-27 loss to Huntingdon on Sept. 23. It’s no wonder, actually, considering the scheduling gauntlet the Rams have been through in their first five games. Still, Penns Valley amassed 27 points and 350 yards of offense against the Bearcats.
PV’s lone win is a solid victory over Bald Eagle Area, but its losses have come against the likes of Central, Marian Catholic (in OT), Clearfield and Huntingdon.
This week, the Rams travel to Philipsburg to play the winless Mounties. P-O’s losses have all been by 20 points or more this season, and in the last four games the Mounties have scored just two touchdowns.
Chestnut Ridge used a balanced attack against P-O on Sept. 23 and scored 28 unanswered points in the first half to essentially put the game away.
Penns Valley can show that kind of balance as well. With quarterback Andrew Tobias, running backs Colton Wenrick and Takota Bubb, and receivers Marcus Woodford and Jared Hurd, Penns Valley is very effective in the air and on the ground.
Philipsburg will be hard pressed to keep the PV offense under control although there may be some opportunities for the Mounties to score points in this game. Penns Valley will be aiming to come out fast and not give Philipsburg a chance to build any confidence.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Memorial Field in Philipsburg.
Tyrone (3-2) at Bald Eagle Area (3-2)
In this game, much will depend on the health of Tyrone quarterback Denver Light and running back Gary Weaver. Neither played in the one-point loss the Eagles suffered last week to Bellefonte.
Still, Tyrone rushed for 130 yards against the Raiders, but its passing game suffered the most and gained just 33 yards.
It was three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble recovery — that hurt Tyrone the most, and the Eagles will have to avoid a repeat of that against BEA.
The Bald Eagles are 3-2 as well, with wins over P-O, St. Joe’s and Chestnut Ridge (3-0 in overtime). But it was not a very fruitful trip to play Central on Sept. 23 as the Dragons piled up a 50-0 win.
BEA will be looking to recharge its spread offense this week against Tyrone. Even after the shutout loss at Central, BEA is moving the ball for over 350 yards per game.
Quarterback Tanner Kresovich, who leads BEA in passing and is among its leaders in rushing, had a difficult night in Martinsburg. BEA’s fortunes will depend heavily on how well he can bounce back against Tyrone.
There is no question that BEA can score points, but it is unknown right now which Tyrone offense the BEA defense will have to face.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Wingate.
