VOTE: Which Centre County high school football team will win the most games?

Kyle J. Andrews

Centre County football is set to start in August with the five programs beginning camp soon.

The Centre Daily Times is conducting a poll for fans to choose which team they think will win the most games in 2022. Will it be Bald Eagle, Bellefonte, Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola or State College? The unscientific poll will close at noon on July 27, and you can vote as many times as you like.

Here’s a look at the contenders:

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle Area’s Camron Watkins stops Jersey Shore’s Brady Jordan during the game on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021.
Bald Eagle Area’s Camron Watkins stops Jersey Shore’s Brady Jordan during the game on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021.

Bald Eagle had an impressive run last season, going 8-3 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain League. The Eagles went 5-2 at home, 2-1 on the road and 1-0 in neutral-site games. One of the Eagles’ more impressive feats was outscoring opponents 296-163 last season. They accomplished it by tossing the ball downfield with quarterback Carson Nagle (rising sophomore), who went 168-for-289 (58.1%) for 1,897 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His receivers, rising juniors Cam Watkins and Kahale Burns, along with rising seniors Elliot Splain and Gavin Eckley, will give Nagle a litany of weapons to work with.

Defensively, Trey Greene (rising senior) is the leader in the middle with 98 total tackles (64 solo) and a team-high 12.5 tackles for loss. Watkins gets to the quarterback consistently, racking up 10.5 sacks in 11 games and three quarterback hurries.

Bellefonte

Bellefonte’s Nolan Weaver raises the Luther Trophy and after defeating Philipsburg-Osceola High School in a high school football game on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 in Bellefonte, Pa.
Bellefonte’s Nolan Weaver raises the Luther Trophy and after defeating Philipsburg-Osceola High School in a high school football game on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Bellefonte is looking to improve from a 2-8 record last season, going 2-1 at home, 0-6 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site matchups. The Red Raiders were fifth in the Mountain League in 2021, going 2-4 in league play. They defeated Philipsburg-Osceola 22-6 on Sept. 3, 2021 and Huntingdon 40-7 on Oct. 8.

Quarterback Trevor Johnson began to see more time as the season went on. The rising junior played in nine games, going 28-for-66 on passes for 397 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Tyler Rice provided 75 total tackles (34 solo) and is set to be a defensive leader during his senior year in 2022.

Penns Valley

Penns Valley football coach Martin Tobias talks to Tanner Ilgen during the game against Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.
Penns Valley football coach Martin Tobias talks to Tanner Ilgen during the game against Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.

Penns Valley surprised many with its 6-5 record, despite losing a number of standout seniors a year prior. The Rams made the playoffs, falling 49-28 against Bellwood-Antis on Nov. 5, 2021. They additionally went 4-3 in Mountain League play.

Rising junior quarterback Jackson Romig impressed by going 85-for-120 (70.8%) on passes for 1,261 passing yards, 20 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Romig will have fellow rising junior running back Ty Watson in the backfield. He rushed for 584 yards on 92 carries (6.3 yards per carry) with nine touchdowns. Rising senior Mason Greene rushed for 146 yards on 19 carries (7.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. Receiver Miles Brooks, a rising senior, caught 46 passes for 703 yards and seven touchdowns. Flanking him is rising junior wideout John Meyer, who reeled in 14 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns.

Philipsburg-Osceola

The Mounties went 2-8 last season with their two victories coming against Huntingdon (Sept. 10, 2021) and Moshannon Valley (Sept. 24, 2021). They’ll return starting quarterback Ben Gustkey, who went 39-for-109 (35.8%) for 615 yards through the air with eight touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Philipsburg-Osceola will have to replace the trio of senior rushers in its Wing-T offense in Matt Martin, Andrew Faust and Luke Hughes, who combined for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Martin (80 total tackles) and Hughes (67 total tackles) also led the team defensively last season. Gustkey plays defensive back and returns his 37-tackle performance last season as a defensive back. He also had an interception and three pass deflections.

Middle linebacker Hunter Lyons is a rising senior who had 67 total tackles along with rising senior defensive end Gavin Lyons, who added 41 total tackles and tied for first in sacks with six. Defensive lineman Scott Hess returns with six sacks last year as a junior.

State College

State College football coach Matt Lintal talks to his players and praises the seniors after the loss to Mt. Lebanon in the PIAA class 6A semifinal game on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021 at Mansion Park.
State College football coach Matt Lintal talks to his players and praises the seniors after the loss to Mt. Lebanon in the PIAA class 6A semifinal game on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021 at Mansion Park.

State College finished with an 8-6 record, making it to the state semifinals. The Little Lions have a trio of quarterbacks returning in Finn Furmanek (senior), Jack Morris (senior) and Owen Yerka (junior). Furmanek led the team in passing, going 51-for-94 (53.4%) with seven touchdowns and one interception. He additionally rushed for 223 yards on 48 carries for six touchdowns. Yerka added 135 rushes for 571 yards and four touchdowns. The Little Lions will have to replace departing senior receivers Jashaun Green, TJ Yoder, Braden Price and tight end Kyle Kurzinger.

Rising senior JW Scott returns as the leading tackler with 139 total tackles (87 solo), five for loss and three sacks. Stephen Scourtis, a Harvard commit, brings back 102 total tackles (59 solo) and a team-high 18 tackles for loss. The senior defensive end led the team with 4.5 sacks in 2021. Rising sophomore linebacker Michael Gaul had 61 total tackles last season and should continue to play an important role in the middle of the defense.

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