By PAT ROTHDEUTSCH
sports@centrecountygazette.com
THE BALD EAGLE Area Bald Eagles grabbed some hardware in Week 4 with a 42-27 victory over Penns Valley, earning the team the rights to take home the “Old Iron Bell.”
The State College Little Lions loudly reentered Mid Penn Conference play last Friday with an emphatic 55-14 victory over previously unbeaten Altoona at Mansion Park.
The Little Lions got right to work against the Mountain Lions, streaking out to a 35-7 halftime lead and then coasting out for their fourth win of the season without a loss.
As has been the case so far this season, freshman running back D’Antae Sheffy was the catalyst for the SC offense. Sheffy ran 13 times for 127 yards and scored two first-half touchdowns. The touchdowns came on runs of 17 and 60 yards, with the second one giving the Little Lions a 28-7 lead with six minutes to play in the half.
State College would score again before the half when quarterback Fin Furmanek launched a last-second, 35-yard pass that receiver Michael Gaul grabbed in the end zone with no time left on the clock. The catch put SC up by 35-7 and essentially put the game in the win column.
State College finished the night with just under 400 yards of offense, including 270 on the ground. Furmanek finished with 83 yards passing on six of eight attempts and also ran for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Matt Wall also ran six times for 55 yards that included a third-quarter, 43-yard touchdown run.
Next up for the Little Lions will be a home encounter on Friday night against Mid Penn nemesis Central Dauphin.
CD so far is 1-3 for the season, but don’t be fooled by that number. The losses, all close, came against Central York, 36-19, Wilson West Lawn, 17-10, and Coatesville, 34-28.
Last week the Rams broke into the win column with a come-from-behind, 42-35 conference win over Chambersburg in Chambersburg.
Down 35-28 in the last quarter at CHS, CD pushed across two late touchdowns to pull out the win and begin its conference season with a 1-0 record.
Don’t expect the Rams to put the ball up much. They completed just one pass against Chambersburg for seven yards (although starting QB Keyron Plummer was out), but running backs Devin Shepard and David Chase combined to carry the ball 41 times for 361 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the game.
Shepard himself ran it 24 times for 207 yards and broke the long run of the game of 86 yards. He also had a 73-yard kickoff return and finished the night with 280 all-purpose yards.
With two physical backs such as Shepard and Chase, along with the possible return of Plummer at quarterback, the Ram offense will be a major challenge for the Little Lions.
And it always seems that the Rams come up with some way to edge past SC every time they play.
However, State College already has four quality wins and the Little Lions will be ready and waiting for what could be one of the best September matchups in the state. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
BALD EAGLE AREA (2-2) AT MONTOURSVILLE (3-1) SEPT. 23, MONTOURSVILLE
Feeding off the confidence they gained against Bellefonte on Sept. 9, the Bald Eagles put up big numbers again in a character-building, 42-27 victory over previously unbeaten Penns Valley in Spring Mills on Friday night.
Led by quarterback Carson Nagle and running back Tre Greene, BEA took a slim 28-21 lead into the final quarter and then added two more scores to pull away from the Rams and even its record at 2-2 for the season. Nagle completed 19 of 27 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns on the night, while Greene ran seven times for 184 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, Greene caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Nagle, who also completed TD passes to Elliott Splain and Gavin Eckley.
Running back Cameron Dubbs also had a big night against the Rams with 15 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown.
The win put the Eagles’ record at 2-2 overall and 2-1 in Mountain League play.
This week, BEA will visit 3-1, non-league Montoursville on Friday night in Montoursville. The Warriors are 3-1 so far, with wins over Wellsboro, 21-14; Lewisburg, 24-21; and Central Columbia, 35-21, last week. Their only loss came at Troy, 28-7, on Sept. 2.
The Warriors are led by junior quarterback Bryce Eberhart, senior running back Matt Conklin and senior receiver Marco Pulizzi. Eberhart so far has thrown for 475 yards and seven touchdowns in four games with five interceptions, and Conklin has run for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Pulizzi has 18 catches for 391 yards and five scores with a long of 66 yards and an average of more than 20 yards per catch. Montoursville plays in the Heartland II Conference and is tied for first place with Danville at 2-0 in league play.
Even though this is a non-conference affair, the Eagles will be looking to keep their momentum going, especially with a tough away conference game at Tyrone coming up on Sept. 30. They seem to have dealt with their turnover and mistake issues, and in the last two games have had their way with the spread offense. This game will be a good barometer of their progress so far. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
PENNS VALLEY (3-1) AT CLEARFIELD (3-1) SEPT. 23, CLEARFIELD
The Penns Valley Rams may have fallen for the first time this season last week to BEA, 42-27, but they were right there in the fourth quarter.
BEA was able to pull away in the final minutes, but PV quarterback Jackson Romig and running back Ty Watson kept the Rams competitive all night. Romig passed for 170 yards and a touchdown on 14 completions while Watson gained 59 yards and scored twice. PV had 13 first downs, but it was hurt by five penalties and three turnovers (two interceptions).
This week it will get no easier with a trip to Clearfield coming up on Friday night.
Clearfield is 3-1 after a first-night, 20-7 loss to Juniata, but since then the Bison have had wins over BEA, 7-3; DuBois, 41-7; and Philipsburg-Osceola, 55-0, last week in Philipsburg. The Bison have somewhat changed from last season into a primarily running team. They average just more than 22 yards per game through the air, but more than 130 on the ground. Sophomore Brady Collins leads the rushers with an average of 110 yards per game with six touchdowns, while quarterback Will Domico has thrown for just more than 25 yards per game.
It’s the Bison defense that has been the difference so far. Since the loss to Juniata, Clearfield has given up a total of just 10 points and has been equally tough against the pass and the run. P-O gained just 167 total yards and did not score on Friday as Clearfield ran out to a big early lead and never looked back.
Penns Valley’s offense to date has been very good, and at 3-1 there is much at stake in this game for the Rams. But they will have to move the ball against the Bison and match their physical style of play. Could be a close one deep into the fourth quarter. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (1-3) AT BELLEFONTE (0-4) SEPT. 23, BELLEFONTE
One of these two teams is going to leave the field on Friday night with a much-needed victory.
The Mounties are 1-3 coming in after three straight losses to Huntingdon, Tyrone and Clearfield. The last two games were not close, and both the Eagles and Bison shut down the Mountie offense and came away with easy wins. Bellefonte will come in with an 0-4 record with losses to Selinsgrove, Penns Valley, Bald Eagle and Tyrone.
The Raiders were also shut out twice, but they did show some offensive potential against Penns Valley. Both of these teams need to have something positive happen. The Mounties scored 49 points in their win over West Branch to start the season, and they were ahead until the final minutes against Huntingdon. If they can recapture some of that confidence, this could be their second win.
If not, at Bellefonte against a Red Raiders team that will be highly motivated, P-O could find itself in a close struggle, fighting desperately to avoid its fourth loss. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
