UPDATE: State College vs. Delaware Valley has been rescheduled to 2 p.m. Sunday at Danville High School. Bald Eagle Areavs. Bedford has been rescheduled to 7 p.m. on Sunday at Mansion Park in Altoona.
Bald Eagle Area outlasted Forest Hills in the District 6 AAA championship game to take home Centre County’s second football district championship in as many weeks.
State College won the first one Nov. 2 in the AAAAAA classification, and the Little Lions kept rolling with a sub-regional victory over Erie McDowell to advance into the PIAA tournament.
On the other hand, Clearfield in AAAA and Richland in AA more than lived up to their billings in one-sided victories over Bellefonte and Penn Valley.
The Bison exactly duplicated the score of their earlier win over Bellefonte when they scored 42 first-half points and held on for a 49-21 win. The Raiders gamely scored 14 second-quarter points, but Clearfield’s offense was clicking and the Bison pulled away for the win.
Richland, likewise, took a big halftime lead and swamped Penns Valley, 59-7, in Johnstown on Nov. 9. The undefeated Rams went ahead 33-7 at the half and never looked back.
The losses ended the seasons of the Raiders and Rams, but SC and BEA are moving on and will be in inter-district action this weekend.
Here’s the lineup:
6-1 BALD EAGLE AREA (10-2) VS. 5-1 BEDFORD (6-5)
7 P.M. SUNDAY, NOV. 18
MANSION PARK, ALTOONA
It was a long time coming, but Bald Eagle Area can now finally call itself District 6 football champions.
According to BEA head coach Jesse Nagle, it was 23 years since the Bald Eagles played in a D-6 title game, and 30 years since they won one.
That all changed Nov. 9 when BEA held on against No. 2 seed Forest Hills, 21-16, in the District 6 AAA championship game at Mansion Park in Altoona.
Running back Blake Roberts led an Eagle comeback in the second half with two touchdowns — one a 4-yard run and the other from 21 yards out — as BEA advanced into the PIAA tournament.
Roberts’ second touchdown put the score at 21-8, but Forest Hills pushed in a touchdown with 30 seconds remaining and made it 21-16.
The Rangers then recovered an onside kick at midfield, but Roberts was there again for BEA. He intercepted an Adam Cecere pass and dashed the last hopes of Forest Hills for a comeback.
Now, the Eagles will take on District 5 champion Bedford (6-5) on Sunday, Nov. 18, at Altoona’s Mansion Park. The game was rescheduled from Friday night at Windber because of the winter storm.
Bedford qualified with a 47-16 win over Westinghouse in the District 5-8 AAA sub-regional championship at Somerset High School.
The Bisons used a punishing running game and six takeaways to subdue Westinghouse and advance into the PIAA tournament.
Bedford led 20-8 at the half and then scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game away.
The Bisons attempted just five passes in the game — three completions — but they ran it 45 times for 319 yards and 16 first downs.
Senior running backs Dylan Arnold (24 carries, 162 yards) and Zach Price (seven carries, 100 yards) led the charge for Bedford, combining for four touchdowns in the win. Sandwich in a 13-yard fumble return by Mitchell Zembower, and the Bisons were on their way to their highest point production of the season.
Bedford comes into the BEA game with a two-game win streak, but previous to that the Bisons lost four games in a row to Somerset, Chestnut Ridge, Richland and Cambria Heights. A win over Greater Johnstown on Senior Night broke the streak and that momentum carried over to the Westinghouse game.
For the season, Bedford relied almost exclusively on its running game. The Bisons pass for only 41 yards per game, but they run it for 230.
Arnold is the workhorse with 192 carries for 1,081 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Price had 56 carries for 593 yards and four scores.
Sophomore quarterback Steven Ressler attempted 72 passes and completed 34 for 442 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted four times.
For BEA, this game presents a chance to advance farther than it has for over 30 years.
The Eagles come in with an outstanding offense, even though they lost star running back Gage McClanahan for the season after Week 8 due to an injury.
And much of the credit for this breakout season has to go to their relentless and aggressive defense. If Bedford can’t get it going on the ground against the Eagles, the Bisons will have to make it against what is probably the strength of the BEA defense — its pass rush.
The winner will face the District 10 champion — either Grove City or Sharon — on either Friday, Nov. 23, or Saturday, Nov. 24.
6-1 STATE COLLEGE (11-1) VS. 2-1 DELAWARE VALLEY (9-3)
SUNDAY, NOV. 18, 2 P.M.
DANVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
State College’s 11th victory of the season, a 55-20 win over Erie McDowell in the AAAAAA sub-regional qualifier, earned it a PIAA first-round date with District 2 champion Delaware Valley from Milford.
Against McDowell on Nov. 9, the Little Lions broke out to a 20-0 lead, but McDowell struck back with two quick touchdowns to make the score 20-13 with 3:33 left in the second quarter.
State College, however, had a dramatic answer. Isaiah Edwards took the McDowell kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown that restored the Lions’ two-score lead. Two more touchdowns in the third quarter, including another by Edwards, set the Little Lions on their way.
Tommy Friberg completed 11 of 15 passes for 194 yards and a TD to Keaton Ellis, while Cohen Russell ran for a 50-yard touchdown and caught four passes for 90 yards. SC in all ran up 510 yards of offense that included 316 yards rushing.
Delaware Valley, now 9-3, lost three of its first five games to Pennridge, Wallenpaupack and North Pocono and since has won seven straight.
Last week, in the sub-regional against Hazleton, the Warriors took a 21-7 halftime lead and then outlasted the Cougars in a 35-14 win.
Sophomore running back Josh Balcarcel led the charge for Del Val with 181 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. For the season, Balcarcel has amassed 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns on 199 carries. He also has 10 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Junior Zach Scillia handles the quarterbacking duties and he completed 89 of 167 passes for 1,236 yards and 14 touchdowns, an average of 103 yards per game. He has also run 81 times for 381 yards and four scores.
As a team, the Warriors average 310 yards of offense, including just under 200 yards per game on the ground.
Jawon Foushee in the leading receiver with 539 yards and three touchdowns on 38 catches.
On defense, Del-Val is very aggressive and forced 25 turnovers this season (12 on interceptions) and recorded 25 sacks.
In their last six games — all wins — the Warriors have recorded three shutouts and allowed a total of just 41 points.
State College comes into the tournament well prepared. The Little Lions have just one loss — to powerful Harrisburg — and are scoring at a torrid pace.
They are averaging 36.8 points per game and 403 yards of offense, and in they have won their two playoff games by an aggregate score of 97-27.
SC right now seems to be putting it all together. The Lions have a balanced, dangerous offense, a solid defense and an explosive return game that can strike at any time.
The winner of the game will take on the champion from District 7 during the weekend of Friday, Nov. 23, and Saturday, Nov. 24.
