Centre County Week 3 Preview: Bald Eagle and Bellefonte fight for first win

Tagged under: Centre County Report, District 6, News

Brendan Ricciardi | September 9, 2022

Last week saw Centre County teams go a combined 2-3, with two of those teams playing each other. 

Week 3 of Centre County football will once again pin two of their own against each other on the gridiron.

Game of The Week: Bald Eagle Area Eagles (0-2) @ Bellefonte Raiders (0-2)

Where: Rogers Stadium

When: Friday, September 9th, 7:00 PM

Last week saw Bellefonte take on Penns Valley in another Centre County battle that saw Penns Valley come out on top 34-20.

Bellefonte QB Trevor Johnson threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Dominic Capparella caught three passes for 95 yards, Grady Garrison had a 12-yard touchdown, and Logan Williams caught two passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Jamal Saunders ran for 67 yards and a touchdown as well for the Raiders.

That loss saw Bellefonte fall to 0-2 after they lost to Sellinsgrove in Week 1, and a win is much needed. The Bald Eagle team on the other sideline needs a win just as much, however.

Bald Eagle has also started the season 0-2 after back-to-back losses against Troy and Clearfield. While both games have been close, they have scored just 12 points in two games. With that being said, the defense has given up only 27 points total through two games.

The term “must win” game gets thrown around a lot, but it would be a tough hill to climb out of for one of these teams should they start 0-3 and 0-2 in the Mountain League

State College Little Lions (2-0) vs Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers (0-2)

Where: Memorial Field

When: Friday, September 9th, 7:00 PM

The State College Little Lions come back home after an absolute thriller at Downingtown East High School, as they won 32-31 over the Cougars.

Finn Furmanek had one of the more bizarre statlines you’ll see, as he not only threw for 122 yards and a touchdown, he also caught eight passes for 85 yards. That doesn’t even include the game-winning two point conversion he caught with just eighteen seconds left on the clock.

Owen Yerka was the other quarterback for the Little Lions in this one, throwing for 146 yards and a touchdown. Freshman D’Antae Sheffey got the bulk of the carries, rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown on sixteen attempts. Donte Nastasi had 127 receiving yards and a touchdown for State College as well. 

State College will now play their third straight non-conference game to open up the season, as they welcome in the Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers. Hollidaysburg has dropped two close games to start the year against Altoona and Allegany.

Penns Valley Rams (2-0) @ Huntingdon Bearcats (1-1)

Where: War Veterans Memorial Field

When: Friday, September 9th, 7:00 PM

As mentioned in the section with Bellefonte above, Penns Valley took that matchup by a score of 34-20 last Friday.

Penns Valley QB Jackson Romig threw for 124 yards and a touchdown in the win for the Rams, and also added 43 rushing yards. Ty Watson carried the ball thirteen times for 81 yards, picking up three touchdowns in the process.

Romig’s top targets on the day were John Meyer, who caught three passes for 62 yards, and Miles Brooks, who caught four passes for 55 yards.

The Penns Valley offense has been firing on all cylinders so far, as they have scored a total of 75 points in two games. 

The Rams will have their first road game of the season in Week 3, as they travel to Huntingdon for a Mountain League matchup with the Bearcats. The Bearcats sit at 1-1 on the year, and have played in some very different games than Penns Valley has.

They fell to Mount Union 7-0 in Week 1, and took down Philipsburg-Osceola 14-10 in Week 1.

Penns Valley has not lost to Huntingdon since 2017, and they’ll look to keep that steak going on Friday Night. 

Philpsburg-Osceola Mountaineers (1-1) @ Tyrone Golden Eagles (2-0)

Where: Gray Veterans Memorial Field

When: Friday, September 9th, 7:00 PM

Philipsburg-Osceola looks to rebound from a tough loss to Huntingdon last week, as they hit the road for the first time this season for a Mountain League matchup with the Tyrone Golden Eagles. 

The Mounties had a big offensive showing in Week 1 with a 49-20 win over West Branch, but came back down to earth in that 14-10 loss to Huntingdon last week. 

Tyrone is off to a great start in 2022, as they have won both of their first two games. They took down Bellwood-Antis 27-12 in Week 1, and followed that up with a 30-0 shutout win over Brookfield. This will be their first conference game of the year. 

You’d have to go all the way back to 2004 to find the last time that the Mounties won this matchup, as Tyrone has absolutely owned them in recent history.

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