It’s commonly said that football offenses take a while to catch up with the defenses. If the scores of our local high school teams in Week 9 are any indication, they have caught up and then some.
None of the winning teams scored less than 35 points, and two teams actually pushed over the 60-point mark (although one of them, Danville, was playing against a county team).
Bald Eagle Area finished its regular season with a 35-7 win over Wellsboro (and at No. 4 in the D6, 2A rankings), and State College moved another step closer to an unbeaten season with a come-from-behind 48-31 victory over a very good Cumberland Valley team.
Penns Valley moved to 7-2 after taking care of Midd West, 56-0, and Philipsburg-Osceola chalked up win No. 2, 64-7, over Montgomery. Finally, undefeated Danville claimed its seventh shutout of the season in a 65-0 win over Bellefonte.
Here’s a brief look at the regular season finales for each team and possible playoff opponents:
STATE COLLEGE (9-0) AT CHAMBERSBURG (3-6) OCT. 28, CHAMBERSBURG
When State College fell behind Cumberland Valley 24-7 early in the second quarter at home on Friday night, there didn’t look to be any panic along the SC sideline.
In fact, just the opposite. The score seemed to have shaken something inside the Lions’ players because in the next 10 minutes of the second quarter, they scored on an eight-yard run by D’Antae Sheffey, an 87-yard run by quarterback Fin Furmanek, an 89-yard pass from Furmanek to Ty Salazar and a last-second, 28-yard tipped pass from Furmanek to Sheffey that gave SC a frenzied 35-24 lead at halftime.
There was more of the same in the third quarter as State College added another TD on a 44-yarder from Furmanek — again to Salazar — making it 41-24.
CV responded with a touchdown that cut the SC lead to 41-31, but Sheffey restored the margin with a 47-yard run just before the end of the third quarter.
Nobody scored in the fourth quarter, and the Little Lions had their ninth win without a loss.
Furmanek had quite a night with 16 completions for 264 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 13 rushes for 158 more yards and another touchdown. That’s 422 total yards from him alone, and then add Sheffey’s two touchdowns and 125 yards, and it totals almost 550 yards and six touchdowns between the two.
Salazar had just two catches but they were for two touchdowns and 133 yards, including the 89-yarder that completely changed the momentum of the game. Now, the Little Lions will travel to Chambersburg to take on the 3-6 Trojans with an undefeated season and a Mid Penn Championship on the line. Chambersburg has wins over Northern York, Waynesboro and CD East (7-3), but the Trojans have lost five of their last six games. The Little Lions, with a win here, will take sole possession of the Mid Penn Commonwealth Conference Championship and enter the District 6 Playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the 6A division with an unblemished record. Look for them to be ready to play. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
BROOKVILLE (4-5) AT BELLEFONTE (1-8) OCT. 28, BELLEFONTE
Bellefonte ran into a powerful Danville team on Friday night in Danville and fell 65-0 to what is very likely one of the best high school football teams in the state. This week, the Red Raiders will finish their regular season with a non-league home game against 4-5 Brookville. Brookville is presently in sixth place in the District 9, Region 1 Conference and so far has wins over Moniteau, St. Marys, Bradford and Karns City. The Blue Raiders’ loss to Punxsutawney last week was their first one in their last four games, so they have been improving as the season progresses. Brookville averages 251 total yards per game and is led by 6-foot-1, 210-pound running back Jackson Zimmerman. Zimmerman has 916 yards this season in seven games (130 yards per game) and has scored seven touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Easton Belfiore has added 537 yards passing and six touchdowns to an offense that can put up points. For Bellefonte, the Red Raiders will be hunting for their second win of the season, and much will depend on their defense. If they can rein in Zimmerman and Belfiore — and play without mistakes — a win here is a possibility. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
PENNS VALLEY (7-2) AT BELLWOOD-ANTIS (6-3) OCT. 28, BELLWOOD
The 7-2 Penns Valley Rams are presently No. 2 in the latest District 6, 2A rankings and this week will be going against No. 5 ranked Bellwood-Antis (6-3) in Bellwood. After taking care of Midd-West last week 56-0 (it was 42-0 at the half), Penns Valley solidified its hold on the No. 2 spot. However, with the top five teams closely bunched, the Rams certainly would not like the possibility of losing a playoff home game with a loss here to another 2A team. And Bellwood, at No. 5, could move up to No. 4 with a win and score a home game of its own. So, the stakes are high for both teams here. The Blue Devils have won three of their last four games, with the only loss in that stretch coming at Moshannon Valley two weeks ago by a score of 20-12. Last week, B-A dispatched West Branch, 41-35, in a high-scoring game that came down to the final minutes. Penns Valley is on a streak of its own with four wins in a row, and the Rams are averaging 43 points per game in that stretch. They would like nothing more than to keep that offense humming against the Devils on Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
RIDGWAY/JOHNSONBURG (2-7) AT PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (2-7) OCT. 28, PHILIPSBURG
P-O broke out and scored 64 points against Montgomery on Friday night at home in what was the Mounties’ second win of the season. But 64 points — and 50 at halftime — is a lot of points for any team, much less one going after its second win. This week, P-O has 2-7 Ridgway/Johnsonburg at home and will be going for win No. 3 against a team that comes in with a similar 2-7 record and with a two-game losing streak. R-J plays in the District 9, Region 2 conference and is presently in sixth place behind Brockway. The team’s last win came on Oct. 7 — 42-6, over Smethport — but since then it has fallen to Brockway and Union. P-O has gained yardage all year, and last week the Mounties put up a big score. They will be hoping for that kind of production again on Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
PURCHASE LINE (4-5) AT BALD EAGLE AREA (6-3) OCT. 28, WINGATE
The Bald Eagles swamped Wellsboro on Friday night, 35-7, and held on to the No. 4 position in the District 6, AA rankings. Eight teams qualify for the tournament, with the top four hosting first-round games, so BEA will be heavily focusing on this week’s foe — the 4-5 Purchase Line Red Dragons. Purchase Line has so far beaten West Shamokin, River Valley, Homer Center and Marion Center, and the Dragons are presently in fifth place in the Heritage Conference. The Dragons gain just under 200 yards per game on offense and score 14.5 points per game. They are also in a position to clinch a playoff spot and are now ranked eighth in the A bracket with eight teams qualifying. A loss here could drop them out of the playoffs. BEA, however, has been playing extremely well and are riding a four-game winning streak. This will be a hard fought game with an advantage going for the Eagles. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
