CENTRE COUNTY — This week, State College will look to extend its unbeaten streak to seven games when the Rams from Central Dauphin visit Memorial Field and Philipsburg-Osceola will visit Bellefonte in a crucial LHAC game for both teams.
Bald Eagle, after its close loss in the Curtin Bowl on Friday, will travel to Clearfield, and Penns Valley, another team with a tough loss on Friday, will be at 5-1 Central Martinsburg.
Here is a look at each game:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Central Dauphin (0-6) at State College (6-0)
Statisticians would have to go far back to find another Central Dauphin football team that started its season with six consecutive losses.
Yet that is where the 2026 Rams find themselves at this point after losses to Mechanicsburg, Altoona, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Chambersburg and Bishop McDevitt.
The last three losses, to Harrisburg, Chambersburg and McDevitt were by a total score of 121-20 with the McDevitt loss last weekend at 54-0.
Still, the rivalry with State College is strong, and with the Little Lions undefeated and going for their seventh win, this is nonetheless an important Mid-Penn Commonwealth contest.
And the Gazette Game of the Week.
CD is led by sophomore quarterback Tristan Hodgson who has completed 29-of-69 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns, mostly to sophomore receiver Derrick Price, who has 16 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Xaivion Allen is the top runner and the team’s biggest threat with 161 carries for 783 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Against McDevitt, the Rams were held to 112 yards of offense (Allen had 64 yards on 19 carries) and without a score while the Marauders scored 26 points in the first half and finished out with four more touchdowns in the third quarter.
State College just completed its sixth win, 41-15, over Cumberland Valley and will be going for win No. 7 in this one.
The Lions will bring a shut-down defense along with top offensive threats in quarterback Connor Kulka, RB Rowan Walker and WR AJ Fry.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Field.
Philipsburg-Osceola (4-2) at Bellefonte (3-3)
There will be no need for introductions on Friday night when the Mounties visit the Raiders for an important LHAC game for both teams.
This rivalry goes way back, and the game every year is played for the Luther Trophy, a prize that has been won by the Raiders in nine of the last 10 years. P-O’s only victory since 2016 came with a 14-13 win in Philipsburg in 2013.
Yet, 2026 is a new year and P-O will come into the game with a 4-2 record and tons of motivation to recover from last week’s lopsided loss to Bellwood Antis.
As for the Raiders, they are coming off a clutch, 17-10, overtime Curtin Bowl win over Bald Eagle Area, and a win here would retain their No. 1 seed in the District 6 4-A rankings.
Bellefonte relies heavily on sophomore quarterback Alten Howell who passes for an average of 92 yards per game with six touchdowns and runs for another 52 and three touchdowns. Sophomore WR Parker Jodon has 393 yards in receptions and four touchdowns. Jodon leads the team with 104 all-purpose yards per game.
P-O counters with senior quarterback Archer Baughman with 326 passing yards and two touchdowns, and junior running back Damarcus Law, who has run for 640 yards (107 per game) and seven touchdowns. Law also has a punt return and kickoff return for touchdowns.
Connor Guenot is the top receiver with nine receptions for 158 yards.
These two teams are evenly matched in total yards, with P-O slightly ahead, 287 to 272. P-O runs for a solid 229 yards per game.
This could easily be a repeat of the OT game the Raiders played last week against BEA and will probably favor the team that makes the fewest mistakes.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Bellefonte.
Bald Eagle Area (3-3) at Clearfield (2-4)
BEA lost out in overtime last week to Bellefonte at home, and the Bald Eagles will certainly be looking to recover this week when they travel for another LHAC game to Clearfield.
The Bald Eagles fell to 3-3 with the loss to the Raiders, but they remained the No. 7 seed in the District 6 2-A football playoff rankings.
This week, BEA will face another challenge on Friday night against the Bison.
The Bison are 2-4 after their close, 21-19, win on Friday night at Penns Valley.
So far, Clearfield has also beaten Bedford, 7-2, but they came up short against Bellwood-Antis, P-O, Bellefonte and Huntingdon, and they are returning home this week after two consecutive road games.
Freshman dual-threat Dylan Foust has taken over at quarterback, and he completed 54-of-91 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns in six games along with 305 yards running and three more touchdowns.
Senior Ryan Ludwig is the second top rusher with 254 yards and five touchdowns, and Elijah Glunt is No. 1 receiver with 33 catches for 437 yards and four touchdowns.
In all, the Bison average just over 260 yards per game that includes 153 through the air.
Bald Eagle, after a 3-0 start to 2026, has now lost three very close games in a row and is in need of a good performance to get back on track.
Clearfield is an improving team, and the Bison will be a difficult challenge, especially at home.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Penns Valley (1-5) at Central (5-1)
The Penns Valley Rams came up one play short against Clearfield last week in a tough, 21-19 LHAC loss at home.
The Rams failed on a 2-point try that would have tied the game in the last 27 seconds and fell to 1-5 for the season.
This week, the test is even more difficult when they travel to Martinsburg to take on the 5-1 Central Dragons.
Central has wins so far over P-O, Johnstown, Tyrone, Bellwood-Antis, and Huntingdon with its only loss coming two weeks ago at Bishop Guilfoyle.
Central averages just under 30 points per game and runs up 314 yards of offense per game. The Dragons run for 173 and pass for 140 each outing, and last week in their 29-27 win over Huntingdon they totaled 371 yards.
Running back Semaj Musei ran 24 times for 207 yards while quarterback Jesse Muthier completed 8 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Musei and Bentley Dickson both caught touchdown passes in the win.
The Rams have shown they can move the ball with dual-threat quarterback Cael Smith and WR Spencer Althouse leading the way.
But last week Clearfield jumped out with 21 early points, and the Rams comeback came up just short.
Central is vying for top honors in the LHAC, and the Dragons will be solid favorites going into this game.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Martinsburg.
