This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
The second week of high school football saw our local teams come through with three wins again, with the Bellefonte Raiders avenging another 2023 loss with a win over Chestnut Ridge, and the State College Little Lions romping over Mid Penn rival Altoona.
Bald Eagle Area got back on track with a big win over Central Cambria, but Philipsburg-Osceola fell after a Penn Cambria second-half rally and Penns Valley still could not get its offense going in its second loss.
Here’s a closer look at each team:
BELLEFONTE
Bellefonte (2-0) at Bishop Guilfoyle (2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m.
Mansion Park, Altoona
It doesn’t get any easier for the Bellefonte Raiders.
Following two impressive victories to begin the 2024 season, the Raiders will next travel to 2-0 Bishop Guilfoyle on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Mansion Park in Altoona.
The Raiders started the season with a close, very physical win at Central Martinsburg and then had to do it again against Chestnut Ridge on Friday, Aug. 30, at home with another impressive 28-11 win.
Against Chestnut Ridge, the Raiders scored first on a 73-yard run by Ashten Howell, but after that the game bogged into a tough defensive struggle.
It was, in the end, the Bellefonte defense that made the difference as it snagged three interceptions and stopped Chestnut Ridge deep in Bellefonte territory twice.
Ahead 7-3 early, the Raiders made it 14-3 with a 50-yard pass from Liam Halterman to Jaeden Grabrovsek that gave the Raiders a bit of breathing room.
Not for long, though.
Ridge came right back with a 54-yard drive that ended in a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. The score left the Bellefonte lead at just 3 points, 14-11.
Bellefonte responded with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a Halterman run into the right corner of the endzone.
After the Raider defense again did its thing, Halterman ensured the victory with a 5-yard pass to Grabrovsek as time was running out.
Guilfoyle has two solid wins as well.
On opening night, Bishop Guilfoyle used two touchdowns in the second quarter and an insurance score in the fourth on the way to a 21-0 shutout of Bald Eagle Area.
The next week, Guilfoyle took a 30-12 win over LHAC rival Bishop McCort in Altoona.
McCort actually took a 12-0 lead in the game, but Bishop Guilfoyle stormed back, took a 13-12 lead by halftime and then pulled away in the second half.
Guilfoyle and Bellefonte are both primed to take that third win, but it will not be an easy one for either team. The win will likely go to the team that makes the fewest mistakes.
STATE COLLEGE
Harrisburg (1-1) at State College (2-0)
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.
State College
State College senior quarterback Eddie Corkery threw six touchdown passes and senior wide receiver Ty Salazar caught four of them as the Little Lions ran away from Mid Penn rival Altoona, 57-0, on Friday, Aug. 30, at home.
Corkery and Salazar, by the way, played in only the first half of the game as State College shot out to a 50-0 lead by halftime, with the rest of the game being played under the mercy rule.
The Lions scored three touchdowns in the first quarter — two passes to Salazar and one to Michael Gaul — and then added four more in the second quarter.
Salazar caught two more in that frame, Cooper Brushwood caught the other, and defensive end Thomas Keller returned a fumble for 30 yards and a 50-0 lead.
In all, Corkery completed 10 of 15 passes for 237 yards and six touchdowns, while Salazar caught five passes for 141 yards and four scores.
And on defense, the Little Lions held the Mountain Lions to just 57 total yards and recorded a safety.
Quite a night, but a big showdown against Mid Penn nemesis Harrisburg is looming on Saturday, Sept. 6, in Harrisburg.
The Cougars are 1-1 so far this season after getting crushed by District 1 power LaSalle College High School, 45-7, on opening day and then rebounding with an overtime win over Bishop McDevitt, 35-33, on Saturday, Aug. 31, at McDevitt.
But no matter the teams’ records, the Cougars always seem to have it in for the Lions.
They have won two of the last three meetings, including a 20-0 win last year and a big 27-7 victory in the 2022 PIAA quarterfinals at Mansion Park in Altoona.
The game will be the Mid Penn debut for Harrisburg, and after showing obvious improvement in their second game at McDevitt, the Cougars will be ready to tussle with the Little Lions.
For its part, State College has shown a relentless, big-play offense in its two wins and a shut-down defense.
This should be another State College-Harrisburg classic.
BALD EAGLE AREA
Penns Valley (0-2) at Bald Eagle Area (1-1)
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.
Wingate
Bald Eagle Area started fast in its LHAC game against Central Cambria at home on Friday, Aug. 30, but the Eagles didn’t really get going until the second half.
Bald Eagle Area scored the first two touchdowns of the game and took a 12-0 first-quarter lead on two long passes from Carson Nagle to Grady Fisher.
Yet Central Cambria rallied back and took a 14-12 lead on a 60-yard touchdown pass just nine seconds into the third quarter.
Bald Eagle Area, already 0-1 following its loss to Bishop Guilfoyle in week one, needed to respond, and it did.
The Eagles went on a tear and scored 27 unanswered points and coasted out with a 39-14 victory.
Nagle connected once more for a TD to Wyatt Spackman, but it was the running game that turned the tide.
First Carnell Noone put Bald Eagle Area ahead with a 25-yard run, and then he padded the lead less than a minute later with a 30-yarder.
In the fourth quarter, Ethan Shirk made it 32-14 with a score from five yards out, and then Nagle’s pass to Spackman closed out the scoring.
In all, Bald Eagle Area ran up 560 total yards, with 365 of those and five touchdowns coming from Nagle’s passing.
PENNS VALLEY
Penns Valley (0-2) at Bald Eagle Area (1-1)
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.
Wingate
Penns Valley has not had a very auspicious beginning to its 2024 season. The Rams lost their first game to Bellwood-Antis 51-12 in Bellwood and then last week fell to 0-2 with a 35-0 loss to Bedford.
Against Bedford, the Rams fell behind early, 14-0 but seemed primed to cut that lead to 7 points. But an interception in the endzone ended the threat, and Bedford capitalized two plays later with a 55-yard run to take a 21-0 lead.
The Rams would threaten twice more in the first half, only to be turned away both times.
Then after halftime, Bedford essentially put the game away with a long drive and a 15-yard touchdown run.
The Rams showed promise, especially from players like Fletcher Ironside and Spencer Althouse, but they made too many errors that ended scoring chances.
They need to clean up their game at Bald Eagle Area on Friday, Sept. 6, and if they do, this could be a competitive rivalry game.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Clearfield (2-0) at Philipsburg-Osceola (1-1)
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.
Philipsburg
The Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties led early against LHAC rival Penn Cambria, but three consecutive touchdowns by the Panthers — including one as the first half ended — led to a 33-13 loss in their home opener.
Playing at home on Friday, Aug. 30, Philipsburg-Osceola scored first on a nice 70-yard drive on its first possession.
Yet the Panthers responded with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to take the lead and then added a crushing, 50-yard pass-and-run with just 15 seconds left in the first half.
Instead of being down 8-7, Philipsburg-Osceola found itself in an 11-point hole heading into the third quarter.
From there, the teams traded touchdowns, with Philipsburg-Osceola scoring on a quarterback Archer Baughman run after a long drive.
But with the score now 24-13, Penn Cambria mounted another long drive with another touchdown and 2-point conversion that closed the scoring for the night.
Now at 1-1, Philipsburg-Osceola will host next-door neighbor Clearfield on Friday, Sept. 6, in what is always an intense rivalry contest.
Clearfield went to 2-0 on Friday, Aug. 30, after an impressive 27-7 victory over Forest Hills at home.
The Bison ran up over 250 yards rushing in the game, including 210 yards and two touchdowns by Brady Collins.
Clearfield scored twice in the second quarter, taking a 13-0 lead, and then extended that to 20-0 on a 20-yard run by Collins with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.
Forest Hills responded with its only touchdown six minutes later, but the Clearfield defense — and a 40-yard run by Collins — sewed up the night for the Bison.
Philipsburg-Osceola against Clearfield is always a physical game, and this one looks like it will be Philipsburg-Osceola’s speed versus Clearfield’s running game.
