The 2023 high school football season begins in earnest on Friday with a full slate of games involving our five local teams — Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and State College.
It is also the first week of the new Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference’s expanded look that includes seven merged Mountain League teams.
The new schedules are intriguing, and every week there will be games between teams that have rarely faced each other or haven’t played each other at all.
Here is a brief look at the opening-night games:
Bishop Guilfoyle (0-0) at Bald Eagle Area (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.
Bald Eagle Area is coming off a successful 8-4 campaign in 2022 that included solid wins over Bellefonte, P-O, Tyrone, Bellwood-Antis and Huntingdon.
The Eagles did outlast Penns Valley in their first meeting, 42-27, but the Rams retaliated in the first round of the District 6, AA playoffs with a 34-14 win that ended BEA’s season.
The Bald Eagles return a ton of players from that team on both offense and defense.
Quarterback Carson Nagle will return for his junior season after completing 202 passes in 2022 for 2,810 yards and 29 touchdowns. He averaged 234 yards per game and finished with a rating of 109.2
Top rusher Tre Greene graduated, but Cameron Dubbs (410 yards) and Nick Wible (126 yards) will return for their senior seasons. Kahale Burns, the leading receiver last season with 65 catches for 903 yards and eight touchdowns, will be back along with Cameron Watkins, who hauled in 50 passes for 854 yards and seven touchdowns.
On defense, Greene was the leading tackler, but No. 2 Wyatt Spackman is back along with Watkins and Alex Lefebvre, who were in the top five. Watkins also led the team in sacks with 10.5.
The Eagles will face a Bishop Guilfoyle team that was 10-4 last season with a fifth-place finish in the LHAC at 7-3.
Guilfoyle went on a solid playoff run that included a District 6, AA championship with a win over Penns Valley and a trip to the PIAA state quarterfinals (loss to state champion Southern Columbia).
Guilfoyle rushed last season for a total of 3,616 yards and 56 touchdowns, but the Marauders’ three top running backs and starting quarterback all graduated, so Guilfoyle will be beginning a rebuilding process this season.
On paper, this first game looks to be between two D6, AA contenders, and both teams will be hoping for a positive beginning to the new season.
If history is any indication, there should be lots of points.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Wingate
Central Martinsburg (0-0) at Bellefonte (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.
Bellefonte had a difficult time of it in 2022, and the Raiders won just one game, 9-8 over P-O, in a season otherwise filled with losses.
The Raiders, however, will have a completely revamped look as new head coach Tony Confer comes to Bellefonte after 28 years of coaching elsewhere in central Pennsylvania.
With coaching stops at Jersey Shore, Loyalsock, Central Mountain, Lock Haven University and then Central Mountain again, Confer was hired by the Raiders in the offseason as the team’s new head coach.
For Confer, there is good news to build on as the team returns many offensive performers, including the two top rushers and last season’s No. 2 receiver.
There will be a spirited competition for the starting nod at quarterback, while running backs Sherman Lowry and Liam Halterman, who ran for a total of 300 yards and two touchdowns, will return in the backfield.
Defensively, Bellefonte gave up over 30 points eight times in 2022, but the team returns 26 players who saw action on defense, including Brayden Bickle, who was among the team’s leading tacklers.
The new season will begin against a team that is a perpetual championship contender — Central Martinsburg.
The Dragons had another very successful season with a 12-3 record in 2022. They won the District 6, AAA championship and advanced to the PIAA state semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Belle Vernon.
Central’s other wins included Forest Hills, Chestnut Ridge, Bishop McCort, Bishop Guilfoyle, Tyrone, Penn Cambria and Clearfield.
The Dragons’ All-Star quarterback Jeff Hoenstine graduated, and his job is up for grabs between two rising juniors. But third-leading runner and second receiver Hunter Smith returns, along with many of the top defensive players.
Central has a reputation of quickly rebuilding every season, so this will be another challenging game for the Raiders, especially since it’s the first one in the 2023 season for Confer and his new staff.
The key matchup looks to be the revamped Central offense against the new Bellefonte defense. Anything can happen if the Raiders can keep the Dragon offense in check.
Game time is 7 p.m. at Rogers Stadium.
Bellwood-Antis (0-0) at Penns Valley (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.
Bellwood-Antis and Penns Valley met last season in the final week of the regular season, and the game was all Penns Valley.
The Rams swept to a 42-0 victory on the way to a very respectable 10-3 final record. The Rams began last year with three wins, lost two games to BEA and Clearfield and then won out before entering the D6 playoffs with an 8-2 record.
There were two playoff wins against Mount Union and Bald Eagle Area, followed by a loss to Bishop Guilfoyle in the 2A championship at Mansion Park in Altoona on Nov. 18.
On paper, there are many things that the Rams could be optimistic about entering the 2023 season.
Starting quarterback Jackson Romig will return for his senior year after a very strong effort in 2022. Romig completed 232 passes for 2,446 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2022, and two of his top three receivers — John Meyer and Danin Kerstetter — will also be back on the team.
Running back Ty Watson, who ran for over 110 yards per game last season, will fill out a very explosive offense that will cause many problems for defenses this season.
Last season, Bellwood-Antis finished at 6-5 with wins over Mount Union, West Branch, Southern Huntingdon, Everett, Curwensville and Glendale.
Bellwood will return running back Griffin Kyle, who was among the team leaders in rushing, receiving and scoring.
Starting quarterback Gaven Ridgway graduated, but Holden Schroeder saw significant time and he will be in his junior season.
Bellwood averaged 206 yards rushing last season and 85 passing, and it will be important to be able to move the ball against the explosive Rams.
For its part, Penns Valley has its eyes on another big season, and it will be focused on getting off to a strong start in the new LHAC.
Kickoff is in Spring Mills at 7 p.m.
Huntingdon (0-0) at Philipsburg-Osceola (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.
Philipsburg-Osceola won its first game in 2022 over West Branch and then came home to take on Mountain League foe Huntingdon with an eye on a 2-0 record.
Leading into the fourth quarter, the Mounties were stunned by a late Bearcat rally and fell, 14-10, in an extremely disappointing loss.
From there, the Mounties lost their next six games and didn’t recover until a blowout win over Montgomery at home in Week 9.
P-O won again in its finale and finished with a 3-9 record and a two-game winning streak coming into the 2023 season.
It may be a new season and a new conference — the LHAC — but the Bearcats are again coming to visit for a showdown in Philipsburg on Friday night.
Huntingdon went on to win just one more game in 2022 — a 36-12 decision over Bellefonte — but the Bearcats will return the entire core of its offense and many of its defensive standouts for the new season.
And since the Bearcat schedule gets very difficult following the P-O game with teams like Richland, Bishop Guilfoyle, Clearfield and Central, Huntingdon will surely be zeroed in against P-O.
The Mounties also return most of their starters from 2022 except for quarterback Ben Gustkey, so there is a solid core to build on in the new season.
And the memory of the Huntingdon loss in 2022 will surely be on the minds of the Mountie players.
It may only be Week 1, but the intensity meter will be hovering at maximum in this game.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Philipsburg.
State College (0-0) at Williamsport (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m.
What a season the State College Little Lions had in 2022.
They were 13-1, District 6 champs, regional champs and they suffered their only loss of the year in the PIAA tournament to Mid-Penn rival Harrisburg on Dec. 3 in the quarterfinals.
Now with All-Star running back D’antae Sheffey, dual-threat quarterback Owen Yerka and receivers Ty Salazer and Michael Gaul returning to anchor the offense, SC will look to match that performance, if not actually go farther.
Sheffey was only a freshman and he averaged 123 yards per game last year and scored 22 touchdowns. He is primed to exceed that, and with Yerka a threat to run as well, the SC running game will be hard to stop.
It all will begin at Williamsport on Aug. 25 in a non-league opener for both teams.
Williamsport was an unusually average 5-6 last year, but the Millionaires nonetheless had wins over good teams like Central Mountain, Pittston, Wyoming Valley West and Boyertown.
They did lose the opener in 2022 to State College, 42-14, as the Little Lions cruised to a 42-0 halftime lead and closed it out under the mercy rule from there.
This is a new season, however, and anything goes in early contests.
Williamsport will be up for an upset, especially at home against a well-known rival.
Much will depend on Williamsport’s ability to slow down the SC offense. If the Millionaires can’t, it could be another big night for the Little Lions.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Willpo.
