WINGATE — Bald Eagle Area entered Friday night’s contest against Penns Valley with an opportunity to start the season with a 3-0 record after a narrow victory over Penn Cambria the week before.
After a sluggish first half from both teams, the Eagles controlled the run game through the final two quarters, leading to a dominant 31-7 win over the Rams.
“Two great wins the first two weeks; this one’s another good win,” Bald Eagle Coach Jesse Nagle said. “It’s a rivalry, so we’ll call it a good win. I think the kids are starting to believe, they are starting to understand they could be very good, but we’re not there yet.”
Both teams began the game with scoreless drives. BEA linebacker Drew Nagle used the slow start to make his name heard after intercepting Rams quarterback Cael Smith on their opening drive.
The two sides attempted to develop momentum throughout the first quarter into the second. The only scoring drive of the first half was capped off by a field goal from BEA kicker Parker Dubbs, putting the Rams ahead 3-0 heading into halftime.
“It wasn’t acceptable how we played in the first half,” Nagle said. “I think we came in and they’re (Penns Valley) a little down right now and I think the kids took it for granted. We were playing very flat, that wasn’t acceptable. We had to play Bald Eagle football and play physical, play with urgency and I think we did that in the second half.”
Relentless was the name of the game for the Eagles in the second half. After forcing an opening drive punt from the Penns Valley 21-yard line on defense, BEA started with quality field position at the Rams 48-yard line. The smash mouth style ground game would officially begin with a one-yard touchdown run from Eagles running back Sam Clark.
After a quiet 30-yard performance from Clark against Penns Cambria the week before, the senior tallied one touchdown while rushing for 117 yards.
BEA’s defense would continue to keep the Rams quiet throughout most of the second half.
Eagles running back Xavier Nagle added to the offensive onslaught with three rushing touchdowns, pushing the lead to 31-0 late in the fourth quarter.
Nagle ended his breakout night finding the end zone three times and rushing for 65 yards.
“He’s (Xavier Nagle) coming out of his shell. He’s still very timid, still very unsure of himself; hopefully this takes care of it,” Nagle said. “He’s a great athlete, great football player. He just doesn’t know yet. So, hopefully he continues to do that.”
Penns Valley found the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Running back Tripp Watson scored on a five-yard run before the final minutes drained off the clock.
Supported by a successful rushing attack and a shutdown defense, Bald Eagle sits at 3-0 to start the year for the first time since the 2023-24 season.
PV moves to 0-3 on the season and is set to host Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties on Friday night. The Eagles will hit the road to Tyrone to face the Golden Eagles on Friday night.
