Week 3 is in the books, and three local teams — Penns Valley, Bellefonte and State College — stepped up big time in games against old rivals.
How scarily good Penns Valley can play should be readily apparent now after its 42-7 win over Bald Eagle on Sept. 6.
Bellefonte raced away from Philipsburg-Osceola after a big first quarter in Philipsburg on the same night, and State College emerged as the area’s only undefeated team following a 42-7 win over Hollidaysburg.
Everyone will be back in action in Week 4, and here’s a brief look at each game:
STATE COLLEGE (3-0) AT CARLISLE (1-2)
CARLISLE, SEPT. 13
It took just one play from scrimmage for State College to establish itself against Hollidaysburg in a 42-7 win on Sept. 6.
Little Lion running back Dresyn Green took a handoff on the first play of the game and ran 73 yards for a touchdown. Just like that, SC was ahead 7-0 and there was more to come.
By halftime it was 42-0, and Green had two more touchdowns and more than 120 yards rushing.
Lokey Howell, on a 50-yard pass from Brady Dorner and a 38-yard pick-6, and Isaiah Edwards, on an 18-yard run, took care of the other SC scores as the Little Lions went to 3-0.
Next on the schedule will be a trip to Mid Penn Conference rival Carlisle. The Thundering Herd is presently 1-2 with an opening night win over Mechanicsburg (24-10) and subsequent losses to Northeastern and South Western.
In recent years, the Little Lions have had Carlisle’s number, running up big victories, but this year’s Herd has been running the ball for more than 250 yards per game behind two solid running backs.
Senior Trystan Sulich averages 98 yards per game yards and two touchdowns and he’s beside junior Braydon Keller, who has a 78 yards-per-game average.
Both are dangerous and have kept the pressure off quarterback Owen Hacker (13-of-38, 132 yards and one interception).
Defensively, after holding Mechanicsburg to just 10 points, Northeastern and South Western put up a combined total of 48 points. Not terrible, but neither of those teams has the quick-strike ability that the Little Lions have.
At 3-0, SC will be the favorite here, but going away, after two home wins, into a Mid Penn Conference venue is never easy.
Game time is 7 p.m.
CENTRAL (2-1) AT PENNS VALLEY (2-1)
SPRING MILLS, SEPT. 13
If this looks like the third nasty Mountain League encounter in a row for the Rams, it certainly is.
Both of these teams have just one loss, and both lost to Clearfield in the last minutes of the game.
Otherwise, Central has wins over Northern Bedford (49-21) and Tyrone (12-7), and the Dragons seem to have reverted to their hard-nosed, defense-first style of play.
Even Clearfield, which had been running up big numbers all year, managed only 24 against them and had just seven in the second half.
Yet that lone second-half touchdown came with under two minutes to play and supplied the Bison with the winning points in a physical, 24-21 win.
All of that drama came after Clearfield built a 17-0 lead and then watched as Central roared back to actually lead, 21-17, as time began to run out. But Clearfield quarterback Oliver Billotte again rallied his team to a late win.
Penns Valley was also matched up with an unbeaten conference foe in Bald Eagle Area, but the Rams asserted themselves early on both sides of the ball and ran off with a 42-7 win.
The Ram defense was especially tough. PV picked off three BEA passes, held the Eagles to just seven points, and shut them out in the first half. BEA was hurt when it lost starting quarterback Jaden Jones, and Penns Valley took full advantage by holding BEA to just 32 yards passing in the game.
The key to this game will be how well the Rams can contain the Dragons’ running game and force them to put the ball up. Otherwise, this looks like it will go deep into the fourth quarter and every mistake by either team will be costly.
Game time is 7 p.m.
CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (0-3) AT BELLEFONTE (2-1)
BELLEFONTE, SEPT. 13
This is a non-conference game that at first glance is between two teams at very different places.
Central Mountain is struggling and is 0-3 so far this year. After one-sided losses to Williamsport (28-0) and Lewistown (48-18), which are both good teams, CM played Shamokin Area tough at home, but still lost 12-7.
Part of the issue for the Wildcats is they are only running the ball for an average of 32 yards per game. The passing attack, with senior quarterback Zane Probst, is gaining just under 190 yards with three touchdowns, but CM has not been able to complement that with any rushing yards.
This will be a problem against Bellefonte. The Red Raiders scored 27 points in the first quarter on Friday at Philipsburg-Osceola and coasted to a 55-7 victory.
Bellefonte gave up just 65 yards rushing to the Mounties and forced P-O to put the ball up. Quarterback Ryan Whitehead, under constant pressure, did hook up for a 78-yard touchdown with Hunter Weitoish, but otherwise he got just 51 yards and threw two interceptions.
So unless the Wildcats can somehow pose a running threat, look for the Red Raider defenders to mount an aggressive pass rush and hope for CM turnovers.
Kick off is at 7 p.m.
BALD EAGLE AREA (2-1) AT BISHOP CARROLL (2-1) EBENSBURG, SEPT. 21
Bald Eagle Area lost on Sept. 6 to Penns Valley, 42-7, while two of its biggest stars — quarterback Jaden Jones and running back Gage McClenahan — stood by on the sidelines with injuries. Both were hurt early, and without the two in the game for the Eagles, things turned quickly in favor of the Rams.
Penns Valley took advantage of the inexperienced passing game of BEA and held it to just 32 yards all night, while at the same time running up to a 28-0 halftime lead.
The season marches on, however, for BEA, and much will depend on the status of Jones and McClenahan when the Eagles travel to Bishop Carroll in Ebensburg this week.
Carroll is 2-1 after blowout early wins over Carrick and Fairfield and then a close and exciting home loss to Tyrone on Sept. 6 by a score of 28-20.
Tyrone scored touchdowns in every quarter and led 28-20 late in the game. But a safety on a sack in the end zone by BC made it a one-possession game, and Tyrone had to intercept a last-ditch pass by quarterback Hunter Dumm to finally pull out the win.
Nevertheless, Carroll put up more than 400 yards of offense for the night, led by Dumm’s 260 yards on 13 completions (and two touchdowns). Tyrone was able to prevail partly because of the three interceptions its defense snared.
With Jones and McClenahan, this is an offensive game with lots of points by both teams. Without the duo for BEA, especially Jones, BEA will have to find ways to stop BC and stay close into the fourth quarter.
Kick off is at 7 p.m.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (1-2) AT TYRONE (1-2)
TYRONE, SEPT. 13
This is one of those rivalry games where the record books are thrown out because anything can happen.
Yet, even though the two teams have the same record, Tyrone has two much-closer losses to two very good teams — Central (12-7) and Bellwood Antis (35-32 in overtime).
Last week, Tyrone held on against Bishop Carroll (2-1) for an exciting 28-20 win and its first win of the season. The Golden Eagles did give up more than 400 yards of offense to BC, but three interceptions and a touchdown in each quarter were enough to hold on for the victory.
P-O, after a Week 1 win over West Branch, has had two one-sided losses to BEA (32-7) and Bellefonte (55-7).
The Mounties were closer against BEA than the score indicated — the Eagles scored three times on fourth-down plays — but Bellefonte dominated from the beginning of the game.
There are many signs, however, that P-O is much improved over previous years, and this will be a game where much of that improvement can show up.
Quarterback Ryan Whitehead can be trouble for defenses, and if P-O can get some offense going, this could be competitive to the end. Mistakes and turnovers, by either team, could prove to be the difference.
Kick off is at 7 p.m.
