It was an action-filled Week 2 for local high-school football teams. Bellefonte scored two defensive touchdowns and went on to edge Philipsburg-Osceola and Penns Valley romped over Huntingdon as both the Raiders and Rams notched their first win of the season. However, State College and Bald Eagle Area suffered their first losses after starting with big wins in Week 1.
Week 3 will see Bellefonte, Penns Valley and Philipsburg in Mountain League showdowns while BEA and State College take on non-league foes. Here’s what’s happening:
STATE COLLEGE (1-1) AT HOLLIDAYSBURG (1-1) SEPT. 10, 7 P.M.
State College steadfastly stayed with Downingtown East last Friday night until almost the very end, but East finally pulled away late in a 42-21 victory over the Little Lions.
The loss evened the Lions’ record at 1-1, while Downingtown is now 2-0.
East went ahead by a touchdown after the first quarter, but SC tied it on a 6-yard TD reception by Jashuan Green.
Downingtown struck back quickly however and scored two touchdowns to go ahead 21-7 late in the second quarter.
But State College — as they had all night —kept pace again, but the Lions could not stop East and the half ended with Downingtown in the lead 28-14.
In the second half, the Little Lions were able to close to within 35-21 early in the fourth quarter, but East held on from there to take the victory.
State College’s Finn Furmanek had a busy night for SC. He started at quarterback and completed 7 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown, but then he moved outside to wide receiver and caught 4 passes for another 102 yards.
This week, the Lions will travel to non-league opponent Hollidaysburg.
The Tigers are 1-1 so far with a loss in Week 1 to Altoona, 20-3, and then a victory over Mifflin County last week by a score of 28-0.
Against Mifflin, Hollidaysburg went ahead 20-0 at halftime and never looked back. The Tigers did score another touchdown in the third quarter, but their defense was the story of the game.
They gave up just 127 total yards to Mifflin and six first downs. The Huskies completed just two passes, for 29 yards, but Hollidaysburg intercepted two and also recovered a fumble.
The Tigers, meanwhile, put up 250 total yards in the game, including 197 yards passing.
Quarterback Jake McGinnis completed 16 of 35 passes and threw three touchdown passes, all in the first half.
State College also faced Mifflin this season — a 51-6 victory in Week 1. SC’s defense showed up as well that night and limited Mifflin to just 153 total yards and one touchdown.
Friday’s game, then, will match two teams with solid defenses and offenses that score points. Hollidaysburg will have the home-field advantage, but State College seems to have a more balanced attack. It will likely come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes and avoids turnovers.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
TYRONE (0-2) AT BELLEFONTE (1-1) SEPT. 10, 7 P.M.
Defensive touchdowns can be devastating in high-school football games, especially in ones that are closely contested. Yet to come up with two on the same night — with both scored by the same player no less — is almost a sure bet that you are going to win the football game.
That’s what happened last Friday night in Bellefonte’s 22-6 Mountain League victory over Philipsburg-Osceola in Bellefonte. The Mounties actually scored first on a 17-yard Nate Gutsky pass to Matt Martin and took a 6-0 lead.
But then the Raider defense took over.
Early in the second quarter, Nolan Weaver scooped up a P-O fumble and raced into the end zone, giving his team the lead at 7-6.
Later, in the fourth quarter, Nick Way ran it in for a 15-6 Raider lead, and then Weaver sewed up the win with another defensive gem. With the Mounties having to move it quickly and going to the air, Weaver picked off a Gutsky pass and took it 25-yards for his second defensive score of the night.
The win marked the first victory for new Bellefonte head coach Vaughn Donmoyer, and it was the first of the season for the Raiders.
Donmoyer and the Raiders will be aiming for their second victory on Friday night at home against Tyrone.
The Golden Eagles so far are an unusual 0-2 after losses to Bellwood-Antis, 33-13, and Juniata Valley, 32-13.
In both games, Tyrone had difficulties on defense. Bellwood ran up a 27-0 lead and finished with 420 yards of offense, including 228 and 3 touchdowns passing.
Juniata Valley, on the other hand, stayed almost strictly on the ground and put up 332 yards and 5 touchdowns, including two runners who ran for over 100 yards.
At the same time, though, Bellefonte has not yet brought its offense together — just 121 yards against P-O — so Tyrone could present a good opportunity to gain some confidence and begin to move the football. If the Raiders do that, they can come away with their second win.
Game time is 7 p.m. in Bellefonte.
PENNS VALLEY (1-1) AT CLEARFIELD (2-0)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10, 7 P.M.
The Penns Valley Rams had an unexpected encounter with an excellent Richland football team on Aug. 27 when Mercyhurst Prep had to cancel because of COVID problems. As a very young team in its first outing, that did not go very well. The Rams took a 54-14 loss, even though as the game progressed PV began to move the ball.
In Week 2 against Huntingdon, that offensive progress accelerated and PV overwhelmed the Bearcats at home 40-7 last Friday night.
The Rams led 27-0 at halftime and coasted out from there, evening their record at 1-1. Jarrett Stover had two touchdowns, Mason Green, Tanner Ilgen, and Rylee Brungart each scored one, and Zach Braucht capped things off with a pick-6.
This week, PV will meet up with undefeated and very imposing Clearfield on Friday night in Clearfield. The Bison have two double-digit wins so far — 27-7 over DuBois and 21-0 over Bald Eagle Area.
Against BEA, the Bison defense dominated play, allowing the Eagles to gain just 63 net yards on the night. That included a -51 yards rushing, mostly due to eight Clearfield sacks.
The BEA defense played well, but Clearfield scored twice in the third quarter to go ahead 21-0, and then the Bison defense closed things out from there.
Penns Valley so far has been mostly run-oriented, and the Rams will be severely tested by the Bison run defense. If the Rams can keep quarterback Oliver Billotte and the Bison offense under control into the fourth quarter, and perhaps begin to move the ball like they did in Richland, anything can happen.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Clearfield.
HUNTINGDON (0-2) AT PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (0-2)
FRIDAY SEPT. 10, 7 P.M.
Huntingdon is 0-2, and Philipsburg is 0-2 so this will be a struggle between two teams trying to break through with a much-needed win.
Huntingdon so far has been beaten by Mount Union, 32-8, and Penns Valley, 40-7, and is having trouble holding teams back on defense.
PV raced out to a 27-0 lead at halftime and ended with five rushing touchdowns and a pick-6. The Bearcats did score in the fourth quarter, but it was far too late to have an effect.
Penns Valley moved the ball almost at will in the game.
P-O, on the other hand, has lost two close games. The Mounties lost in overtime at West Branch after losing a 21-7 halftime lead, and then they gave up two defensive scores at Bellefonte in a 22-6 loss there.
The problem so far, in both games, has been turnovers. P-O had three critical fumbles at West Branch, and it gave away three more turnovers at Bellefonte.
Otherwise, both games were statistically very close, with P-O actually having an advantage in the running game.
The Mounties are also having some injury concerns, so Huntingdon will present problems if P-O continues to turn the ball over or has to have its defense on the field for too long.
On the other hand, it will be the first home game in Philipsburg and the Mounties will be extremely excited to go after their first 2021 win in front of their home fans.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
NORTH PENN MANSFIELD (1-1) AT BEA (1-1)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10, 7 P.M.
Bald Eagle Area so far has been on both sides of shutout football games.
The Eagles blanked Troy in Week 1, 20-0, and then in Week 2 were stopped cold by Clearfield’s defense in a 21-0 loss to the Bison.
Now, BEA will entertain 1-1 North Penn Mansfield in a non-conference contest on Friday.
NPN so far has lost at Canton, 48-7, in Week 1 and then rebounded with a 28-18 win over Wyalusing Valley at home on Sept. 3.
The Panthers were down in the Wyalusing game at halftime by four points, 18-14, but blanked Wyalusing in the second half in the 28-18 comeback win.
Cameron Fabian ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns for NPN, while Kohen Lehman ran 21 times for 61 yards and the other two touchdowns.
Quarterback Karson Dominick threw for 100 yards in the game, but he also had two interceptions.
For the season so far, the Panthers average 206 yards of offense, including 130 passing.
BEA had more than 240 yards against Troy, but its offense at Clearfield did not gain 100.
So it will be important for the Eagles to get back on track offensively because NPM can score points and will move the ball.
The game will also be the first home game for the Eagles, and they will certainly be trying to impress their fans and bring home win No. 2.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
A version of this story appears in the Sept. 9-15 edition of the Centre County Gazette
