That’s right, it’s the final week of the regular high school football season here in Centre County.
All five schools will be in action finishing what can definitely be called a very interesting and successful season.
As it stands now, four of those five teams will be heading to the playoffs, and all four of them will poised to make some noise at the District 6 level.
But, first things first. Here are the final matchups for the season:
Bald Eagle Area (8-1) at Bellefonte (7-2)
Oct. 26, site to be determined, 7 p.m.
District 6 Playoff Standings: BEA is ranked No. 1 in 3A, and Bellefonte is No. 2 in 4A.
It has been a long time since these two teams came into The Curtin Bowl with 15 wins between them. Yet that’s the case in 2018, and consequently the game shapes up as one of the most meaningful and exciting in recent memory.
Although it would be hard to imagine a more exciting victory than the one BEA pulled out at Jersey Shore on Oct. 19.
The Bald Eagles scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the game against the Bulldogs to pull out an improbable 24-23 win at Thompson Street Stadium.
Down by two touchdowns with less than four minutes to play, BEA’s Jaden Jones, who had been intercepted three times in the second half, completed two long passes down to the 1-yard line. He did the honors himself from there to pull the Eagles to within 23-18, but there was only 1:42 to play and the Bulldogs would be taking the ball.
The BEA defense held in a monumental effort, as did the clock, yet there were just 13 seconds left to play when Jersey Shore punter Koby Peacock lined up at his own 19-yard line.
It was at this point that fate stepped in on the side of the Eagles. A low snap to Peacock allowed BEA to tackle him there and take over possession with time for maybe one more play.
Jones took the snap and saw Blake Roberts running open at the goal line. Jones’ pass, however, was high and Roberts could only jump and tip it, and as it floated back it was tipped again by a Bulldog. With the ball still in the air, BEA receiver Kael Gardner saw his chance, dropped to his knees, and caught it in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown.
So in less than 20 seconds, BEA tackled a Jersey Shore punter and completed a double-tipped, last-ditch touchdown pass to run its record to 8-1. Just another day at the office.
Speaking of which, it didn’t take long for Bellefonte to get down to business against Bishop Carroll in Ebensburg on Oct. 19.
Quarterback Kyle Myers took the first play of the game 69 yards for a touchdown, and from there it was all Bellefonte in a 63-14 win.
By halftime, it was 35-0, and the Raiders were well on their way to racking up 450 yards of offense and their seventh win of the season.
Myers finished the game completing seven of his 14 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns and running for that touchdown and another 70 yards. C.J. Funk scored four touchdowns for Bellefonte, two rushing, one on an 18-yard pick-6, and the last on a 48-yard punt return.
The win was the second in a row for the Raiders, and puts them back on solid footing going into the showdown with BEA.
This is a game that should have it all: two long-time rivals with a total of 15 wins, two potent offenses, terrific quarterbacking, and shut-down defenses with relentless pass rushes.
Throw in the fact that it is scheduled to be the inaugural game at the new facility on the Bellefonte High School campus, and it has all the makings of an instant classic.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
State College (8-1) at Cumberland Valley (3-6)
Oct. 26, Mechanicsburg, 7 p.m.
D-6 Playoff Ranking: SC is No. 1 in 6A
Three weeks ago, it looked like State College could just about mail in a win over Cumberland Valley in the final regular season game for both teams.
But that was before Cumberland Valley got it together and went on a three-game winning streak to raise its record to 3-6.
After starting the season with six consecutive losses, CV finally broke through with a win over Carlisle, 35-14, on Oct. 5. That was followed by a 24-21 home win over Altoona, and then a surprisingly easy 48-17 blowout at Central Dauphin East.
Now, on Friday, Oct. 26, the Eagles will be hosting State College with a renewed confidence and, more importantly, a very potent running game.
Against East, CV did not throw the ball much. Quarterback Jared Plessinger completed just four passes for 75 yards, although that total included a 22-yard touchdown pass to Maximos Dell’anno.
But Cumberland Valley ran the ball 50 times for 346 yards and six touchdowns. Dell’anno did the most damage with 15 carries, 182 yards and three touchdowns, but senior running back Jake Hart also threw in 82 yards on 20 carries and Plessinger had 42 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
Playing at home, on Senior Night, with a possible four-game winning streak to finish the season will be a big incentive for CV that State College will have to overcome.
Although there is no question that a team that’s gone through a Mid Penn Conference schedule has pretty much seen it all, and State College has done that so far with just one blemish.
A win here for the Little Lions will put them at 9-1 for the year and in a tie for first place if Harrisburg somehow slips up in the final weeks.
At home on Oct. 19 against Altoona, SC kept pace with a 49-14 win over the Mountain Lions.
SC scored on six of seven possessions, broke out to a 42-7 lead in the first half and then coasted out from there. Isaiah Edwards ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions, Keaton Ellis (a Penn State recruit) ran for 79 yards and Dresyn Green ran for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Tommy Friberg, playing only in the first half, completed seven of nine passes for 75 yards and a touchdown as he led an offense that racked up 380 yards on the ground and 510 yards total for the night.
State College, now ranked No. 1 in the District 6 6-A standings, will have to keep it going against CV in what will be a tuneup for the D-6 championship matchup, probably against Mifflin County.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Penns Valley (6-3) at Philipsburg-Osceola (1-8)
Oct. 26, Philipsburg High School, 7 p.m.
District 6 Standings: PV is No. 4 in 2A
The Penns Valley Rams have been an dependable offensive machine this season, but when it came down to it in perhaps their biggest game of the season, PV turned things over to its defense.
Playing at home against a 4-4 Tyrone team they haven’t beaten in 18 tries, PV twice intercepted late red-zone passes and held off the Golden Eagles for a hard-fought, 13-7 win.
The Rams spotted Tyrone an early touchdown and then scored once in the second quarter and again in the third quarter. Aaron Tobias, who was 21-30 for 190 yards on the day, scored the first one on a one-yard run, and Ryan Ripka got the next one, also from a yard out.
Tyrone was not finished, however, and the Eagles advanced inside the Ram 38 four times in the second half. And four times came away with no points, mostly due to two clutch plays by the Rams’ Logan Snyder.
Snyder picked off two fourth-quarter Tyrone passes, both after the Eagles had driven inside the Rams’ 15-yard line. The first, from the 13, was early in the quarter, and the second, from the 9, was late and essentially saved the PV win.
Snyder also caught nine passes for 96 yards in the game as PV outgained Tyrone by just under 100 yards.
The win was the fourth in a row for PV and its fifth in its last six games. It also sets up a chance for the Rams to finish the season 7-3 with a win at local rival Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday, Oct. 26.
The Mounties did not have as much luck at Clearfield on Oct. 19.
The Bison, going for an unbeaten season, had little trouble with P-O. They scored 35 points in the first quarter, 49 by halftime, and coasted out to a 62-0 win.
The Mounties could get nothing going all night. They had negative-25 yards rushing and finished the game with just 37 yards total.
On the other hand, Clearfield marched up and down to the tune of 540 yards and nine touchdowns.
P-O will enter the Penns Valley game with one win in nine tries, but the Rams are on a roll and need a win to keep pace in the D-6 AA playoff race. Don’t look for any kind of PV letdown in this game.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
