CENTRE COUNTY — The State College Little Lions encountered little trouble Friday night in a 44-0 romp over Cedar Cliff, while Penns Valley hung on for a big 26-19 win at Bellefonte.
Philipsburg-Osceola went to 4-1 with a gutsy 22-14 win over visiting Bald Eagle Area.
State College 44, Cedar Cliff 0
Quarterback Connor Kulka threw for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Zach Spicer ran for 141 yards and a touchdown in State College’s 44-0 Mid-Penn Conference win over Cedar Cliff on Friday night.
Playing at Memorial Field, the Little Lions took a 28-0 lead at halftime and coasted home from there for the team’s fifth win of the season without a loss.
Kulka started it all with a 59-yard touchdown pass to AJ Fry, and then the Lions made it 14-0 in the first quarter with a 1-yard Rowan Walker run.
Ka’Ven Smith-Kirk scored early in the second quarter to make it 21-0, and Kulka finished the first half with a 75-yard bomb to Max Vendemia and a 28-0 SC lead.
In the third quarter, the Little Lions got touchdowns on runs by Kulka and Spicer, and the game ended at 44-0 with a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Kulka finished with 9 completions in 13 attempts for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while Spicer ran 7 times for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Walker, Kulka and Smith-Kirk also ran in touchdowns as the Lions racked up 309 rushing yards and 557 total yards.
The win was the fifth of the season for SC overall and the third in the Mid-Penn.
Next up for the Little Lions is a trip to face 2-3 Cumberland Valley on Friday night.
Penns Valley 26, Bellefonte 19
Penns Valley senior Spencer Althouse scored all four of the Rams touchdowns in four different ways as the Rams held off a late Bellefonte rally in a 26-19 win on Friday night.
Playing in Bellefonte, Althouse scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second and third quarters before Bellefonte rallied for two late touchdowns.
The Raiders final score, a 13-yard pass from quarterback Alten Howell to Parker Jodon, came with over four minutes left to play, but the Rams defense was able to hold on for the Rams first win.
Bellefonte scored first on a 9-yard run by Caleb Bartley, but Penns Valley quickly tied it at 6-6 after Althouse scored his first touchdown on a 10-yard run.
Althouse gave PV the lead going into halftime when he intercepted a Bellefonte pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown and a 12-6 Ram lead.
Althouse scored twice more in the third quarter.
The first was on the second-half kickoff when Penns Valley reversed the ball to him and he returned it 70-yards for a PV touchdown and a 19-6 Ram lead.
After PV’s Rylan Allegretto made PV’s second interception in the game, Althouse scored his fourth touchdown on a 40-yard screen pass from quarterback Cael Smith and the Rams went into the final 12 minutes of play ahead 26-6.
Bellefonte wasn’t done, though.
Early in the fourth quarter, Howell connected with Jodon on a 90-yard pass-and-run that made the score 26-12.
After a stop, the Raider offense took over and drove for a score that brought them to within one score. The drive ended with a 14-yard Howell to Jodon pass that, with the extra point, put the score at 26-19.
That was all though as the PV defense stood up and gave the Rams their first win.
The Rams are now 1-4 for the season and will take on 1-4 Clearfield on Friday night at home in Spring Mills.
Bellefonte will be going after the Curtin Bowl Trophy on Friday night at BEA.
Philipsburg-Osceola 22, Bald Eagle Area 14
The Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties started Friday night’s 22-14 win over Bald Eagle Area with a 65-yard touchdown run by Damarcus Law and ended it with three game-saving plays by their defense.
P-O started fast in the game. Law scored early with his run around left end, and he had a second one, from 25-yards out, called back because of a penalty.
All the while, the P-O defense was holding the Bald Eagles scoreless as the Mounties took an 8-0 halftime lead.
BEA recovered in the third quarter with two touchdowns that put the Eagles ahead 14-8.
The first, a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Chase Cane, came after a clutch scoring drive that made the score 8-7.
The Eagles held P-O on its next possession, and as the Mounties lined up for a punt, the ball sailed over the punter’s head all the way back to the 2-yard line.
Cane took it in from there, and BEA had its first lead, 14-8.
BEA’s defense then held again, and after a P-O punt, the Eagles took over near mid-field with a chance to take control of the night.
It was here that the Mounties came up with their first defensive gem.
On a pitch in the backfield, Mountie DB Connor Guenot tipped the ball, scooped it up, and raced 55 yards for a touchdown.
A Law-to-Guenot pass completed a two-point conversion, and suddenly the Mounties led 16-14.
Defensive play No. 2 took place after BEA held P-O on downs deep in its territory.
The Eagles began a drive, but Mountie DB Warren Rafferty intercepted a tipped pass, and P-O was in business inside the BEA 30.
The Mounties didn’t miss their chance as Aaron Davis took in a 6-yard TD run that put the Mounties ahead 22-14.
And finally, with BEA driving and time running out, the P-O defense came up big again.
The Eagles took the kickoff and drove inside the P-O 10-yard line with less than a minute remaining.
It all came down to a fourth-and-goal from the 7-yard line. Cane took the snap, rolled left, and threw for a receiver in the end zone.
But Davis stepped in front and intercepted the pass as the clock ran to under 30 seconds left.
The victory for the Mounties was their fourth in five games overall and in the LHAC. They will next play LHAC foe Bellwood-Antis away on Friday night.
BEA will play at home against Bellefonte in the Curtin Bowl on Friday night.
