CENTRE COUNTY — Except for Bald Eagle Area’s shutout win over Penns Valley, it was a difficult week for the Centre County high school football teams.
State College, in an instant classic against arch-rival Harrisburg, lost in two overtimes to the Cougars after making a miraculous 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter.
In Bellefonte, Bishop Guilfoyle scored just a first-quarter touchdown yet made it stand up in a 7-0 win over the Raiders, and Clearfield pulled away in the second half to complete a 27-15 win over Philipsburg-Osceola.
Here’s a closer look at each game and this week’s schedule.
BEA upends Penns Valley, 21-0; at Tyrone next.
Bald Eagle Area running back Nick McCully ran 28 times for 170 yards, and the Eagle defense held the Rams to less than 100 total yards as BEA took its first win of the season, 21-0.
BEA scored on a Grady Fisher run in the first quarter, a 1-yard Kaleb Irion run in the third quarter, and then another Fisher run, this one from a yard out, with three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles put up 340 total yards, got 17 first downs, and had 258 rushing yards.
With the win and now 1-2, the Eagles will go for win No. 2 against old rival Tyrone at home on Friday night.
Tyrone is 2-1 for the season, and the Golden Eagles just picked up their second win on Friday night over Central, 28-6.
Tyrone led 14-6 in the fourth quarter and then added two long touchdowns — one on a 50-yard pass and the other on a 40-yard interception return by Brayden Parsons — that wrapped up the LHAC victory.
Caleb Whitby leads Tyrone in rushing with just under 100 yards per game and quarterback Eli Woomer throws for over 185 ypg. The top receiver is Mason Emigh and Woomer leads the team with just over 200 yards of total offense per game.
The teams are almost equal in total yardage — 322 to 318 for BEA — but Tyrone has an edge in scoring, 32 to 17 ppg.
BEA will have a chance here to even its record, but its defense will have to show up again against a very well-balanced Tyrone attack.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
1-2 Cumberland Valley to visit 2-1 State College on Friday, September 12.
The State College Little Lions roared back from 21 points behind in the fourth quarter on Friday night against Harrisburg to tie the game at 34-34 and force overtime.
Both teams went on to score touchdowns in the first overtime, but the Lions were denied in the second overtime and had to settle for a field goal.
Harrisburg took advantage immediately when Jaiyon Lewis scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run, giving the Cougars a breathless 48-45 victory.
State College scored three late touchdowns to tie the game on a blocked punt return by Matt Gaul, a touchdown run by D’Antae Sheffey, and a touchdown pass from quarterback Connor Kulka to Max Vandemia with just seconds to play.
The win kept Harrisburg undefeated at 3-0 and dropped the Lions to 2-1.
In the Mid Penn there is not much time to recover, and the Lions will now have to prepare for a visit from 1-2 Cumberland Valley on Friday night.
Cumberland Valley is presently 1-2 for the season with losses to Manheim Township and Altoona and a Week 2 win over Carlisle, 14-7.
Against Altoona on Friday in Altoona, the Mountain Lions kicked a 25-yard field goal with 20 seconds on the clock to take a 17-16 win over the Eagles.
Cumberland Valley went ahead earlier in the quarter on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Kameron Wolfe to wide receiver Zayden Smith that gave the Eagles a 16-14 lead. The CV extra point, however, was not good and opened the door for Altoona’s winning field goal.
CV piled up 270 yards in the game with Wolfe going 11-for-20 for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Wolfe also led in rushing with 70 yards, while receivers Smith and Brody Pines combined for 91 yards and both CV touchdowns.
For State College, Sheffey is leading the running game with 159 yards per game and Kulka is passing for 150. The leading receiver is Daimear Coad with an average of 86 ypg.
The Lions have a scoring advantage of over 20 points over the Eagles and last year shut out CV in the second half in a 30-14 win.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Field.
Bellefonte to host Clearfield after its close loss to Bishop Guilfoyle.
Defending state champion Bishop Guilfoyle scored just one touchdown at Bellefonte on Friday night, but the Marauder defense was up to the task in a taut, 7-0 win over the Raiders.
Guilfoyle scored on an 8-yard run by Jack Kissell after a 75-yard drive in the first quarter, and that was it.
Neither team scored again.
The Raiders did advance into the red zone as deep as the 22-yard line, but were never able to get the big play.
And the Marauder defense held them to just 58 yards on the ground (and 100 passing) in BG’s second win of the season.
The loss left the Raiders at 1-2 with former Mountain League rival Clearfield coming to Bellefonte on Friday night.
Clearfield is coming off a 27-15 victory over Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday night in which the Bison controlled the P-O running game and pulled away for their second win in three games.
Clearfield was led by Cooper Ryan who ran for 212 yards in the game, including a 60-yard, fourth quarter run that gave the Bison a 27-8 lead with just over four minutes to play.
At the same time, Clearfield held P-O running backs Colton Chapman and Demarcus Law to under 100 yards combined.
Law, however, did tie the game early with a 16-yard touchdown run that made the score 8-8.
But Clearfield then ran off 19-unanswered points to take the win.
Bison running back Cooper Broad also contributed with a third quarter run that put Clearfield ahead, 21-8, midway through the third quarter.
The Raiders will answer with running back Kaven Smith-Kirk, who runs for just over 100 yards per game and quarterback Beennan Huntsinger who throws for 92 ypg.
With Clearfield’s balance on offense and very good defense, Bellefonte will have to find ways to complete drives and get on the scoreboard.
These teams have met many times before, including D6 Playoff games, so the incentives will be there for both of them.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Bellefonte.
P-O looking to recover against Penns Valley after its loss to Clearfield on Friday.
Both the Mounties and the Rams took LHAC losses last week.
Philipsburg was outscored 27-15 at Clearfield on Friday night and Penns Valley fell to Bald Eagle Area, 21-0, at home on Friday night.
P-O went into the Clearfield game at 2-0, but the Bison defense stepped up and held the Mounties to just an early score and then one late in the fourth quarter.
Clearfield also held both P-O running backs Colton Chapman and Demarcus Law to under 100 yards in combined yardage while its offense scored 19 unanswered points in the middle quarters.
At Penns Valley, Bald Eagle Area used its defense as well to hold the Rams to under 100 yards of total offense and without a score in its 21-point win.
Now the two teams will meet in Philipsburg on Friday, and both will be looking to get their offenses moving.
PV is led by quarterback Carter Ironside and wide receivers Fletcher Ironside and Spencer Althouse.
The trio, prior to the BEA game, had been gaining nearly 300 yards per game, and the Rams will be relying heavily on to restart their offense against P-O.
The same will be true of Philipsburg-Osceola with Chapman and Law, along with quarterback Archer Baughman.
Last year, P-O scored 28 first-half points and went on to edge the Rams, 34-21 in Spring Mills.
Friday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Philipsburg.
