Jersey Shore travels to Hollidaysburg for Week 7 game

DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express
Evan Snyder of Jersey Shore runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against Shikellany at Shikellamy.

It’s Week 7 for high school football and it’s a critical week for a lot of teams hoping to bid for the postseason while some are already out of contention. Central Mountain (0-6) travels to Montoursville (4-2), Jersey Shore (5-1) travels to Hollidaysburg (5-1) for a critical Class 4A versus Class 5A matchup and Bald Eagle Area (3-3) travels to Clearfield (6-0).

Bellefonte (4-2) hosts Philipsburg-Osceola (2-4) for homecoming while Bucktail rests in its second bye-week of the season.

JERSEY SHORE AT HOLLIDAYSBURG:

In what is highlighted as The Express Game of the Week, the Bulldogs will get another good test among all of the tests Shore has gotten throughout its first six games. Jersey Shore has come out victorious in five of those, but this game will be similar in playstyle as the Bulldogs’ matchup with Shamokin was a few weeks ago.

Jersey Shore is coming off its best game played yet this season. The Bulldogs racked up a whopping 686 all-purpose yards, including 450 on the ground. That is something Shore has been trying so hard to get off the ground as of late and Brodie Herr, Jersey Shore’s starting tailback, rushed for 213 of those yards on 26 carries.

He added three touchdowns and had a 75-yard run on one of those carries. The run game makes Jersey Shore dangerous as Elijah Jordan, who is in his first season at quarterback, is continuing to find his way as a play caller. Jordan rushed for 133 yards and passed for 141. He was 6-of-15 through the air and tossed one touchdown.

Defensively Jersey Shore held Williamsport to 13 points, put up their second-highest total for the season in 52 and went up three scores by halftime. Bo Sechrist led the Bulldogs in tackles with 10 and Shore made 57 total tackles. Landyn Rhea and Luke Thompson both issued sacks and the Bulldogs completed its monstrous defensive outing with 27 QB hurries.

Jersey Shore has to bring that same intensity tonight against a well-equipped Hollidaysburg team. The Tigers, who are coming off of a 28-14 loss at Fort Hill, have picked up caliber wins like Jersey Shore has. Hollidaysburg scored 42, 35 and 24 points in Weeks 2, 3 and 4 where it shutout three consecutive opponents in Taylor Allderdice, Allegany and Butler.

Hollidaysburg has a solid program, and has for some time. They are coached by Homer DeLattre and bring balance in the passing and run game. The Tigers average 157 yards passing through the air this year with QB Caden DeLattre under center.

The Tigers average 114 rushing yards per game with Mitchell Barroner leading the way with 60 yards per game. Hollidaysburg has two receivers that feature in Gavin Bell (48 yards per game) and Cole DeLattre (33 yards per game) who do most of the receiving.

The key: Forcing the run and balanced offense

Jersey Shore is nearly unstoppable on both sides of the ball when it can stop the run game. While Hollidaysburg doesn’t bring as much firepower in the ground game as other opponents around District 4 do, the District 6 Tigers still possess an edge there.

The goal for Jersey Shore is to keep the passing game at a minimum and, if anything, force Hollidaysburg to rely on its run game. Its 114 rushing yards per game isn’t bad, but it’s not Hollidaysburg’s bread-and-butter, if you will.

The Tigers are good at pushing the ball downfield with a couple of different receivers. Bo Sechrist, Evan Snyder, Elijah Jordan, Luke Thompson and Brodie Herr will be pivotal, among others in the secondary, at protecting any threats for deep passes.

The Bulldogs’ defensive line plays physical and hard, and this is a game where Shore can’t back down from that challenge. Tackles-for-loss and holding Hollidaysburg to short 3 and 4-yard gains when they do rush will be pivotal to forcing three-and-outs and making Hollidaysburg throw the ball, something Shore should be game planning for.

Jersey Shore played its best offensive game last week in its win over Williamsport. The ground game was working and Jordan was finding guys like Snyder open. That will be pivotal in opening up the rush attack and keeping Hollidaysburg on its heels in this one.

PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA AT BELLEFONTE

Coming off of its first Curtin Bowl victory since 2020, Bellefonte has played some of the best brand of football since that 2020 season, and realistically since 2018. The Raiders move into Week 7 with a 4-2 record, which is already double the amount of games it won last year, with a good shot at picking up a fifth win against the Mounties at Rogers Stadium for homecoming.

Bellefonte’s win last week was pivotal. It was not only important to win for bragging rights for the next 11 months, but the Raiders are now on the right track and are playing football they can be proud of. QB Liam Halterman, along with Ka’ven Smith-Kirk and Isaac Gall, led Bellefonte’s rushing attack with 245 yards and kept Bald Eagle Area on its heels all night in a 21-12 win.

Its defense, something the Raiders have struggled with in past years, is playing well. Its defense held the Eagles to just 70 rushing yards when it’s typically capable of going over 100 yards on any given night.

Bellefonte has shown promise with Halterman making pivotal passes down the field when he’s needed to, and that’s been a step up from last year. He also has capable receivers who are making a big difference, helping to contribute to the run game.

Offensively, if Gall, Aden and Ashten Howell and Ka’ven Smith-Kirk can find a way to keep the Mounties off balance it should be a good night. It wouldn’t hurt to have Jaeden Gabrovsek get open for a few catches either.

The Raiders will need that same intensity tonight when a less-capable opponent than BEA in P-O comes into town. The Mounties are losers of two consecutive games (BEA and Bellwood-Antis) and have won just two games all year (Huntingdon and Penns Valley).

Although Philipsburg’s record doesn’t show it, the Mounties matchup well with the Raiders. With a slightly better pass game of 97 yards per game by Archer Baughman, and 150 yards on the ground, Philipsburg is capable of winning, only if Bellefonte allows it.

The Mounties have four rushers who average 30 or more yards on the ground per contest, and that’s where Bellefonte will need to focus. It will have to shift from the passing attack against Nagle to more on the ground.

The key: Defensive line must limit rushing yards.

Philipsburg has picked up two wins this season because of its ability to find gaps and rushing holes to burst ahead and put points on the board. In its lone two wins against Huntingdon and Penns Valley, who are both having down years, the Mounties put up over 30 points in both wins.

And it’s not just the rushers that can use their legs to move the ball down the field. Baughman has three rushing TDs this season so far, and Jayden Jones, who averages just 31 yards per game on the ground, has punched in two scores with his legs as well as Colton Chapman.

Parker Lamb, who averages 35 rushing yards per game, has bursted out for Philipsburg-Osceola’s longest run to date with 68 yards.

Bellefonte’s defensive line has played strong for the majority of the season. That combined with its offensive outings has put it in position to win four games already. If the defensive line shows up to collapse running gaps and the Raiders show up offensively, it will be a fun night for the Raiders.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN AT MONTOURSVILLE

Following a grueling, sixth consecutive loss, Central Mountain is looking to regroup when it hits the road for the first of back-to-back road games. Its first coming against a Montoursville Warriors squad having a stellar year for the most part. The Wildcats will have its work cut out for themselves, but it’s the beginning of a long, brutal schedule.

The Wildcats struggled with handling a former winless Shikellamy team in both facets of the offensive game last Friday. From giving up 244 rushing yards to 141 through the air, the Braves had a field night. They led four scores at the half and never looked back as Central Mountain wasn’t ever able to find its footing.

Central Mountain’s positives came from tailback Jake Weaver, who leads the team in rushing yards and had a 100-plus-yard outing last Friday and Bryce Brungard, who caught two passes for 18 yards. The Wildcats will need to regroup and focus on a lot more than that against the four-win Warriors.

Montoursville is coming off a 49-0 win against one-win Central Columbia last week, and before that dropped a 41-17 game to powerhouse Mount Carmel, who Central Mountain travels to in two weeks.

Montoursville brings a sound offensive pass-rush attack that Central Mountain will have to navigate. The Warriors are averaging 210 rushing yards, led by Christian Banks’ 119 per game and Hayden Harvey’s 53, and are averaging 127 passing yards. QB Jimmy Mussina has thrown five touchdowns this year and averages over eight completions per game.

He helps to balance off the run attack with some throws here-and-there. Shikellamy has tried that throughout the season and wasn’t as successful until last week’s game against the Wildcats. This week Central Mountain will have to try and stop that.

Montoursville has seven different receivers who total double-digit yards-per-game, and that will be something the Wildcats will have to keep an eye on.

The key: Limit the run by forcing the pass and create offense

Central Mountain had a tough time defending the run last week against Shikellamy. The Braves got 60-plus-yard rushing performances from two different players and 49 yards from another. Montoursville averages just below Shikellamy’s total rushing yards last week (244), and if the Wildcats aren’t careful, the game could turn on its side quickly.

Central Mountain’s cornerbacks, for the most part, have defended the pass pretty well considering the first four games of the season it helped the Wildcats muster points. With a home crowd behind them, if Montoursville gets going early, it may be rough again.

Central Mountain was shutout for the second consecutive week against two opponents on opposite sides of skill level. If the Wildcats want to have a remote chance in this one, offense will be imperative. Incorporating receivers, after getting the run game started by Weaver, will aid getting the chains moving.

BALD EAGLE AREA AT CLEARFIELD

Bald Eagle Area hasn’t seemed to be able to find its footing this season. Despite winning two consecutive games against Penn Cambria and Penns Valley in weeks two and three, the Eagles haven’t been able to hit the stride it has looked for.

BEA fell, 21-12 to rival Bellefonte last Friday at Alumni Stadium for homecoming. Bellefonte certainly played a strong game, one they had hoped to play to push its win streak to two games, but BEA couldn’t seem to find any balance in the pass-run game.

QB Carson Nagle completed 20-of-32 passes for 237 yards and two TDs, with scores to Wyatt Spackman and Beau Taylor. Carnell Noone, Grady Fisher, Kollin Cunningham and Luke Hosband all recorded catches.

BEA’s biggest threat is the pass game with Nagle leading the charge, but the Eagles have to find ways to run. Noone, BEA’s top rusher with 72 yards, needs to find some holes in the defense and pick up some yards. His average used to be in the 90s but has dropped after consecutive tough games on the ground.

When Noone can run the ball forcefully and Nagle is connecting with his guys, it makes the Eagles look unstoppable. That and willing-to-work defense puts it in a solid position.

Clearfield will be looking to bring everything tonight, the way it has all season. The Bison are undefeated and are one of, if not the, top team in the Laurel Highlands. Clearfield sports a running game that no team has been able to stop just yet.

Senior Brady Collins averages 242 rushing yards per game, and already has 1,452 total rushing yards on the season. That is first in the state and second (yes, second!) in the country. There are some teams that don’t average the rushing yards that Collins averages alone, and the coaches continue going to him.

Clearfield averages just 85 passing yards per game, and that gives BEA an advantage where it won’t be going toe-to-toe through the air. The Bison have just three passing touchdowns all year, have thrown five INTs and complete just three passes-per-game.

The Bison are vulnerable. Yes, they are 6-0 but gave up 27 points to Penns Valley in its wire-to-wire 59-27 victory. They also gave up 14 points to Bellefonte.

The key: Defensive line play.

Bald Eagle Area has over 32 tackles-for-loss this season, which is over the national average of 22, according to MaxPreps.com. That equals out to 5.4 tackles-for-loss per game, which is a good rate given the Eagles are .500. The Eagles will need tackles-for-loss, which it’s been hard to bring Clearfield tailback Collins down, and tackles with short gains by Clearfield to keep it at bay.

An underrated part of BEA’s game is its defense. The Eagles haven’t made any superior noise this season just yet, but this would be a perfect game to do so. Spackman and Gage Gardner have been relevant players up front, while Cunningham, Fisher, Jake Gardner, Matthew English and Kaden Clark have been the top tacklers.

Sitting on the run game and getting a good start offensively are imperative for an upset in a high-stakes road environment.