CENTRE COUNTY — Second-seeded Penns Valley and fourth-seeded Bald Eagle Area started the District 6 Class AA boys playoffs with respective wins.
They were also eliminated one round shy of playing each other for the district title.
The Rams rolled to a 3-0 win over seventh-seeded Central Cambria in the first quarterfinal at BEA’s Alumni Stadium. The Eagles followed in the second game with a 2-1 overtime win over fifth-seeded Cambria Heights.
The Eagles were stopped short of the championship game with a 1-0 overtime loss to Juniata in the semifinals on Oct. 27 at Mifflin County High School. Juniata’s Alex Armstrong scored with 27 seconds left in overtime.
BEA goalkeeper Henry Bacon made 17 saves.
“What a fantastic game,” BEA coach Jason Bair said. “We had a fantastic game plan and the players defended Juniata, who is a very strong team all around. I am so proud of these guys and how well they played tonight. They left it all out on the field. The defenders were phenomenal tonight, especially a shoutout to Parker Dubbs, who was just outstanding.”
BEA finished with a 10-7-2 record.
The second-seeded Rams were upset by sixth-seeded West Shamokin, 4-3, in double overtime on Oct. 27 at Alumni Stadium. Penns Valley finished with a record of 11-6-3.
WINNING IN QUARTERFINALS
Kyus Kimler got Penns Valley on the scoreboard early against Central Cambria, and the score remained 1-0 through the first half. In the second half, Ethan Roland took a throw-in and scored. Deon Decker scored the third goal.
Penns Valley goalkeeper Owen Robb earned his 10th shutout of the season.
“Most complete match in a lot of phases,” Penns Valley coach Brian Markle posted on the Penns Valley Boys Soccer Facebook page. “Great execution with everyone on that pitch. We didn’t come out flat. We brought the energy and didn’t play with nerves. Something that is key in matches like this.”
Cambria Heights got a goal 12 minutes into the game and had a 1-0 lead over BEA at halftime.
Heights held the lead until there were about 15 minutes remaining in the game. Logan Parsons scored off of a corner kick from Conner Maney. Kyle Uberti scored the game winner in overtime off of a Heights deflection. The Highlanders’ goalkeeper got hand on the ball, but it bounced into the goal.
Bacon made seven saves.
“High intensity game for sure,” Bair said. “We came out in the second half and the OT with determination and a no-quit attitude. I love how these guys play for each other. It took a complete team effort, but in the end it paid off with a victory for us. CH played well, and we had to fight hard to come back and win.”
BELLEFONTE BOYS
The second-seeded Bellefonte boys team lost a 3-2 double overtime heartbreaker to third-seeded Tyrone on Oct. 23 at home in the District 6 AAA semifinals.
The Red Raiders, who beat Tyrone, 4-1, on Oct. 1, jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Conelle Stabinger in the first half off an assist by John Servant and Austin Larson scored in the second half with 37:30 remaining off of another assist by Servant. The Eagles (13-6) got on the scoreboard with a Mike Smearman goal at 28:03.
“We battled back and scored again on a corner kick – only to have it waved off by the official on a call we didn’t quite understand,” Bellefonte coach Scott Martz said. “After that we kind of lost our composure out of frustration of thinking we should have been up 3-1.”
The score remained at 2-1 until Tytus Novak scored with 3:03 remaining in regulation to send the game into OT. With 12:50 left in the second overtime, Grant Miller scored the game winner.
Goalkeeper Elijah Davis had seven saves for the Red Raiders, who finished with a 15-4 record.
“Our guys played well,” Martz said. “We knew it would be a good game. Tyrone changed some things from the first time, playing a more defensive game and putting nine guys back when we had the ball. To say I am proud of our guys this season is an understatement.”
Tyrone was to play Hollidaysburg for the title on Oct. 28 at Philipsburg-Osceola’s Mountaineer Stadium.
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
The third-seeded St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy boys team was eliminated from the District 6 A playoffs with a1-0 loss to second-seeded Bishop Carroll-McCort on Oct. 22 at Altoona’s Mansion Park.
The lone goal of the game was an Eli Cunningham goal off an assist from Nick Oravec with 8:50 left in the first half.
The Wolf Pack had plenty of opportunities to score, especially in the second half. According to an Altoona-based newspaper report, they took 14 shots on goal in the second half. Goalkeeper Angus Ryan handled some of the shots. Other shots went wide of the goal.
“In the second half, as far as game plan changes, there was really nothing we needed to do (differently),” WolfPack coach Spencer Gigante told the Mirror. “I mean, we were battering their goal, we just couldn’t get one home. Props to their keeper because he kept it clean, but we had chances we just couldn’t capitalize on.”
The SJCA defense didn’t let Carroll-McCort get too many shots on goalkeeper Charle Ramos. In fact, the WolfPack (5-13) held a 20-5 edge in shots on goal.
BELLEFONTE GIRLS
The Bellefonte girls team advanced to the District 6 AAA title game with a 3-0 win over Somerset in the semifinals on Oct. 23 at home.
Senior Laila Packer, freshman Brinley DeWeese and junior Sydney Miller scored goals for the Lady Red Raiders. Goalkeeper Ronni Spotts made 10 saves in recording her 10th shutout.
Bellefonte outshot Somerset 46-10.
The Lady Red Raiders (11-6) were scheduled to play Hollidaysburg at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 at Philipsburg-Osceola’s Mountaineer Stadium.
PENNS VALLEY GIRLS
The eighth-seeded Penns Valley girls team was eliminated by top-seeded Cambria Heights, 2-0, in the District 6 Class 2A quarterfinals on Oct. 21 in Patton.
Cambria Heights held a 24-2 edge in shots on goal, but Penns Valley goalkeeper Emma Marks made 22 saves.
“Emma is a junior who has been improving every year,” Penns Valley coach Sean Herrmann told the Altoona Mirror. “She made some clutch saves tonight to keep this game close, and I’m proud of her.”
Penns Valley finished with a 5-12-1 mark.
STATE COLLEGE TEAMS IN FINALS
The State College boys and girls soccer teams were to play Altoona in their respective District 6 championship games on Oct. 29 at Hollidaysburg’s Tiger Stadium.
The second-seeded Lady Little Lions (3-14) were playing top-seeded Altoona (13-2-2) at 5 p.m., and the top-seeded Little Lions (10-7-2) were to follow against the Mountain Lions (8-9-1) at 7 p.m. The boys team had won four straight district titles going into that game.
