CENTRE COUNTY — The Bellefonte Raiders held off the Bald Eagles, 21-12, in Wingate on Friday, Sept. 27, and won the Curtin Bowl for the first time since 2020, and State College spotted Central Dauphin an early lead and then stormed back for a 24-7 win over the arch-rival Rams.
Clearfield and Penns Valley combined to score 86 points, but the Bison scored too many too early for the Rams to keep up.
And in Bellwood, Bellwood-Antis scored in every quarter in a 28-0 win over Philipsburg-Osceola.
Here is a closer look at each team and the schedule for Friday, Oct. 4:
BELLEFONTE (4-2) VS. P-O (2-4)
The Bellefonte Raiders started quickly against Bald Eagle Area on Friday, Sept. 27, with 14 early points that sprung them to a 21-12 Curtin Bowl win over the Bald Eagles.
First, it was a one-yard run from Liam Halterman in the opening quarter and then a 34-yard pass from Halterman to Ashton Howell that gave the Raiders a 14-0 advantage.
Bald Eagle Area, though, stuck around after a clutch, 24-yard touchdown pass from Carson Nagle to Beau Taylor with just two seconds left in the second quarter.
The extra point was blocked, but Bald Eagle Area had nonetheless kept it to a one-score game.
The defenses stood up in the third quarter until Bellefonte’s Isaac Gall took off for a 40-yard touchdown that gave the Raiders some breathing room at 21-6.
Bald Eagle Area wasn’t done yet, however. The Eagles drove to begin the fourth quarter and Nagle finished it with a seven-yard pass to Wyatt Spackman that made it 21-12. A two-point conversion would have brought it to 21-14 with 10 minutes still to play, but it failed.
Bald Eagle Area had one more chance after recovering a Bellefonte fumble, but a fourth-down try at midfield failed, and Bellefonte was able to run out the clock for its fourth win.
Bald Eagle Area dropped to 3-3 after the loss.
This week, the Raiders will return home to face 2-4 Philipsburg-Osceola in another LHAC contest.
Now on a two-game winning streak, Bellefonte will be looking for win number five against the Mounties, who lost their fourth game on Friday, Sept. 27, to Bellwood-Antis.
Bellwood quarterback Holden Schreier threw three touchdown passes and Cayden Pellegrine scored on a 60-yard run as Bellwood-Antis took a 28-0 victory over Philipsburg.
Schreier completed TD passes of 13 yards to Bradyn Partner, 69 yards to Ethan Shawley and 18 yards to Pellegrine to give his team a commanding 22-0 lead, and then Pellegrine sewed it up with his run just over two minutes to play.
The Mounties did move the ball all night into scoring position, but a turnover and three failed fourth-down attempts kept them off the scoreboard.
Philipsburg-Osceola finished with 170 total yards including 115 on passes by quarterback Archer Baughman, while Sam McDonald caught 10 passes for 80 yards.
This week, the Mounties will need to convert on their chances and stay away from mistakes against a confident Bellefonte team.
BEA (3-3) VS. CLEARFIELD (6-0)
Bald Eagle Area quarterback Carson Nagle completed 20 of 32 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns as well as running for another 70 yards against Bellefonte in the Curtin Bowl on Friday, Sept. 27, but it was not enough to keep up with the Raiders.
Nagle completed touchdown passes to Wyatt Spackman and Beau Tayler in the game, but both came when Bellefonte was ahead by two touchdowns.
The Eagles’ last score, with 10 minutes to play, brought them to within nine points at 21-12, but a failed fourth-down attempt ended their chances.
This week it will not get easier for Bald Eagle Area.
The Eagles will travel to 6-0 Clearfield which has not been held to less than 27 points in any game this season.
Last week, the Bison scored 53 points in the first half against Penns Valley and continued on to a 59-27 win over the Rams.
So far this season, Clearfield has other wins over Tyrone, 46-20, Forest Hills, 27-7, Philipsburg-Osceola, 33-7, Bellefonte, 28-14, and Huntingdon, 46-7.
The Bison are being led by quarterback Xavier Curry who has thrown for 448 yards and two touchdowns and running back Brady Collins who has run for over 240 yards per game.
Last year, in a defensive struggle, Clearfield outlasted Bald Eagle Area 13-7 in Wingate, but that would be one of only two Eagle losses.
This year, Clearfield has a definite advantage, but don’t count out Carson Nagle.
CEDAR CLIFF (2-4) AT STATE COLLEGE (5-1)
The State College Little Lions won their third game in a row and fifth overall with a 24-7 victory over Central Dauphin at home on Friday, Sept. 27.
The Little Lions fell behind early, 7-0, after Central Dauphin scored in the first quarter on a 60-yard pass play from Gavin Kirkpatrick to Jahmari Robinson-Bell.
But State College came back in the second quarter with a two-yard touchdown run by Lamar Wilson and then took the lead on a 24-yard field goal by Shane Markowski as time expired in the quarter.
On its first possession in the third quarter, State College extended its lead after quarterback Eddie Corkery connected with Cooper Brushwood for a 37-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
As the Little Lion defense was holding the Rams without another point, Corkery connected again, this time with Michael Gaul, and the Lions were on the way to their fifth win against just one loss.
This week, State College will entertain 2-4 Cedar Cliff in a Mid Penn conference game.
Cedar Cliff started its season with two wins, over Red Land and Central Dauphin, but since then the Colts have lost four conference games in a row.
Last week, the Colts lost at Chambersburg, 38-13, in a game that saw Cedar Cliff bolt ahead early but then go scoreless for the last three quarters.
Chambersburg took advantage with 31 unanswered points and went on to win its second game of the season.
The Colts are led by quarterback Bennett Secrest who has thrown for 554 yards and eight touchdowns, while running back PJ Dent has 519 yards and five touchdowns on 114 carries.
Three different receivers have over 100 yards led by sophomore Amarion Autry with 152 and a touchdown on seven catches.
The Lions slogged to a tough win over Central Dauphin, and with Central Dauphin East and Carlisle still to go in the Mid Penn, they will be focused on continuing their winning ways against the Colts.
PENNS VALLEY (0-6) AT CENTRAL (4-2)
Penns Valley’s defense had big problems against Clearfield last week in a 59-27 loss at home.
The Rams did take an early lead and score 13 points in the first half, but Clearfield scored eight touchdowns in the half, including a pick-six, an 85-yard kickoff return.
The score at halftime was 53-13, but the Rams did score twice more in the third quarter to total 27 points.
Koltin Shawver, Fletcher Ironside, Spencer Althouse and Carter Ironside did most of the damage for Penns Valley, with Fletcher Ironside scoring on a 55-yard reception from Carter Ironside and on a 97-yard kickoff return.
This week, the Rams will visit a 4-2 Central team that has wins over Somerset, Tyrone, Bellwood-Antis and Huntingdon.
The losses came at the hands of Bellefonte in Week One and Bishop Guilfoyle on Friday, Sept. 20.
The Devils are led by quarterback Ele Muthler and senior running back/receiver Jay Hoenstine.
Each week, Penns Valley’s search for its first win seems to get more difficult, and this week is no exception.
