Bald Eagle rolls over Penns Valley (Gallery included)

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Kerry Shawley | September 7, 2024

Photos Jeff Jodon

Bald Eagle Area’s outstanding senior quarterback, Carson Nagle, threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers, leading the Eagles to a dominating 49-7 victory over Penns Valley in the annual Old Iron Bell game.

Penns Valley received the opening kickoff and after a roughing the passer penalty gave the Rams a first down, their drive stalled and after the punt, Bald Eagle took over on their own 28-yard line. After Ethan Shirk ran for Bald Eagle’s initial first down, Nagle took to the air, connecting with Carnell Noone and Beau Taylor for big completions to move the Eagles into scoring territory. Noone got the Eagles another first down, this time on the ground, setting Bald Eagle up inside the 10-yard line. Following a holding penalty on Bald Eagle and a dropped pass in the end zone on 3rd down, it looked like the Rams were going to hold, but on 4th and goal from the 20-yard line, Nagle found a wide-open Kollin Cunningham for a touchdown to give Bald Eagle their first score. The extra point was successful, and the Eagles led 7-0 with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Following the Bald Eagle kickoff, the Rams took possession on their own 32-yard line. Fletcher Ironside ran for a first down, but the drive stalled and following the Brayden Kurtz punt, the Eagles took over on their own 27-yard line. Passes of 15,14, and 31 yards from Nagle to Cunningham moved the ball inside the Ram 10-yard line as the first quarter ended. Two plays later, Noone plowed in from two yards out, and following the extra point, Bald Eagle led 14-0 with 11:03 remaining in the first half.

After Penns Valley returned the kickoff to their own 35-yard line, Carter Ironside connected with Fletcher Ironside for 14-yards to move the ball near midfield. Two plays later, the Ironside connection worked again, this time for 27-yards and the Rams were now inside the Bald Eagle 30-yard line. After a run was stuffed on first down, the Rams took to the air again but this time the Ironside pass was picked off by the Eagle’s Ethan Shirk. The Eagles now had possession at their own 15-yard line.
On first down, Nagle connected with Taylor for 49-yards on a beautifully thrown pass. Nagle would then find Wyatt Spackman on two first down passes to move the ball inside the Ram 10-yard line. It was there that it appeared that Penns Valley had finally produced a huge play. Kolten Shawver intercepted a Nagle pass in the end zone and initially decided to try to return it. As he was leaving the end zone, he changed his mind and fell to the ground in an attempt to take the touchback. The official, however, ruled that he had come out of the end zone so when he fell to the ground in the end zone, it was ruled a safety and the Eagles now led 16-0.

Bald Eagle returned the free kick to the Ram 40-yard line and two plays later, Nagle connected with Brady Fisher for a 37-yard touchdown pass to extend the Eagle’s lead to 23-0, following the extra point.

The Rams took over on their own 35-yard line with 2:54 remaining in the first half. A Bald Eagle personal foul penalty moved the ball to midfield, but Bald Eagle forced a punt, and the Eagles had the ball on their own 28-yard line with 1:04 remaining in the half. On first down, Nagle connected with Noone for 28-yards. He then hooked up with Cunningham for another 26-yards. A pass to Fisher moved the ball inside the 10-yard line before Nagle connected with Spackman from four yards out to give the Eagles a 29-0 lead with just four seconds remaining in the half. The extra point was blocked.

The Eagles did not take their foot off the gas to start the 3rd quarter. After running for a first down, Noone gathered a pass from Nagle and sprinted 51-yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 36-0; 10:54 remained in the 3rd quarter.

The teams would trade possessions over the next several minutes and with 5:10 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Rams took over on their own 33-yard line. The Rams took to the air, but Shawver’s pass was intercepted by Cunningham and the Eagles now had the ball on their own 40-yard line. Nagle hit Spackman for 17-yards and followed with a 13-yard completion to Cunningham. Noone then sprinted 30-yards for a touchdown that would extend the lead to 43-0.
With the running clock, the 4th quarter moved quickly and both teams substituted freely. Penns Valley was able to avoid the shutdown when Colby Miller connected with Spencer Althouse for a 65-yard touchdown pass. With 7:49 remaining, the extra point made it 43-7.

Bald Eagle would tack on another touchdown with 2:07 remaining when Alex Surovec ran 10-yards for a touchdown that would set the final score at 49-7. The two-point conversion failed.

The player of this game was clearly Carson Nagle. The senior quarterback was brilliant the entire evening and did an amazing job of distributing the ball to all the weapons at his disposal. Junior, Carnell Noone provided balance on the ground, in addition to being a weapon in the passing game.

The Rams continue to struggle. They were not able to get anything going on the ground, and the passing game, which does show some promise, was just not able to connect when some opportunities did present themselves.

Penns Valley will be back in action next week at home against Phillipsburg-Osceola. Bald Eagle will be on the road against Tyrone.