Bald Eagle Area remains undefeated, drops Mounties

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: September 22, 2023

By BRIAN CARSON

Photo by Jeff Shomo

WINGATE—Bald Eagle Area showcased its dominant aerial force, especially in the first half, to roll to the 42-20 Laurel Highlands Conference victory over Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday night.

The Eagles, ranked sixth in Class 2A by PA Football News,improved to 5-0 on the season and in the conference, while the Mounties fell to 1-4 overall and in the Laurel Highlands.

From the onset, BEA set the tone. Within the first quarter, they had already chalked up 124 yards, dwarfing P-O’s 18. By halftime, the yardage disparity grew to 284-93 in favor of the Eagles. Their early momentum was undeniable: The Eagles’first three possessions amassed a whopping 211 yards over 27 plays, resulting in three touchdowns.

Carson Nagle, BEA’s junior quarterback, put on a masterfulperformance, completing 21 of 28 passes for a staggering 327 yards and four touchdowns. The other star of the night was receiver Kahale Burns. He hauled in 11 receptions for 206 yardsand four touchdowns. His 30-yard reception from Nagle in the second quarter — a daring play on 4th and 10 — encapsulated the audacity and skill of the BEA offense.

After forcing a Mounties three-and-out on the opening drive, Bald Eagle Area marched 70 yards in six plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Cam Watkins to Burns on the trick play. Nagle added a 1-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

Burns’ fourth-down magic made it 21-0. After a Mountie fumble, Cam Watkins entered the touchdown scoring bonanza with a 26-yard pass from Nagle, making it 28 unanswered from the Eagles with 8:49 left in the half. Watkins finished with six grabs for 72 yards.

Burns picked up his third TD of the game, this time for 28 yards. The PAT gave BEA a commanding 35-6 lead at the half.

The BEA senior notched touchdown number four on the Eagles’ first drive of the second half, taking the 28-yard toss from Nagle to daylight, giving the home team an insurmountable 42-6 lead.

While the Eagles’ air attack was formidable, their ground game was less prolific, with the team accumulating just 17 yards. In contrast, P-O’s ground game showed sparks of excitement, especially with Colton Chapman’s dazzling 35-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Sam McDonald’s impressive 38-yard TD jaunt in the fourth.

However, the story of the night was BEA’s sheer dominance. Celebrating their homecoming, the Eagles extended their winning streak against P-O to 12 games. This victory solidifies their top ranking in District 6 over Richland, another state-ranked team.

Despite P-O’s never-say-die effort, especially in the fourth quarter, where they put up 14 points, turnovers marred their overall performance, losing three of their four fumbles. The Mounties ran the old Wing-T but consistently struggled to pierce BEA’s tough defense.

BEA travels to rival Bellefonte, and P-O hosts Bellwood-Antis on Friday.

BEA 42, P-O 20

Philipsburg-Osceola 0 6 0 14 – 20

Bald Eagle Area 14 21 7 0 – 42

SCORE BY QUARTERS

First Quarter

BEA-Kahale Burns 6 pass from Cam Watkins, (Kaden Burns kick), 10:11.

BEA-Nagle 1 run (Kaden Burns kick), 3:24.

Second Quarter

BEA-Kahale Burns 30 pass from Nagle (Kaden Burns kick), 9:14.

BEA-Watkins 26 pass from Nagle (Kadeen Burns kick), 8:49.

P-O-Chapman 35 run (run failed), 4:59.

BEA-Kahale Burns 28 pass from Nagle (Kaden Burns kick), :18.

Third Quarter

BEA-Kahale Burns 22 pass from Nagle (Kaden Burns kick), 9:44.

Fourth Quarter

P-O-McDonald 38 run (Long kick), 6:09.

P-O-Lamb 10 run (Lont kick), 2:02.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: P-O—Jones 9-24, McDonald 8-46 TD, Meyers 2 (-18), Lamb 7-67 TD, Chapman 3-38 TD, Barger 1-3, Koptchak 1-12, TEAM 1-(-2). BEA—Dubbs 9-33, Wible 1-5, McCully 4-3, Nagle 4-(-24) TD.

PASSING: P-O—Meyers 7-14-69-0. BEA—Nagle 21-28-327-4, Watkins 1-1-6-1, Irion 1-2-2-0.

RECEIVING: P-O—McDonald 4-49, Jones 2-19, Chapman 1-1. BEA—Kahale Burns 11-206 4TD, Watkins 6-72 TD, Gavin Burns 4-56, Millward 1-2, Spackman 1-(-1).

TEAM STATISTICS P-O BEA

First downs 12 17

Rushes-yards 32-170 18-17

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7–14-0 23-31-0

Yards passing 69 335

Total yards 239 352

Fumbles-lost 4-32-1

Penalties-yards 2-25 3-35.0

Punts-avg. 3-35.7 3-33.7