Bald Eagle muscles out hard fought win over Bellefonte to win the Curtin Bowl

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: September 27, 2025

Photos by Tim Weight
By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – Tradition!

For year’s one of the best football rivalries in Central Pennsylvania is the annual Curtin Bowl that pits Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte in a grid iron match up.

Year after year, no matter the records, the two always seem to engage in an all out, Knock out, Drag out battle that seems to always bring out the best in the two teams.

This one was another chapter as the game would not be decided until the very end.

It would be the Eagles that survived winning 19-14.

With the game being held at Bellefonte’s Rogers Stadium as the stands were filled with both Eagles and Red Raiders fans.

This year with both teams coming in with records of 2-3, both teams were looking to jump to the .500 mark.

Going into the second half, the Eagles held a 13-7 lead.

BEA quarterback Gradyn Fisher put the Eagles extended the lead to 19-7 with a 57-yard bomb to to Luke Hosband for the touchdown at 6:09 left in the third.

However, the Red Raiders refused to go down without a fight as Alten Howell found Ashten Howell on a 76-yard TD. With the William Oskin kick, the Red Raiders cut the lead to five at 19-14 with 32 seconds left.

From there, the defenses took over and there would be no scoring in fourth as the Eagles took the Curtin Bowl.

“I thought our defense played pretty well. Our goal was to keep them under 40 yards rushing and I think we did that,” said Bald Eagle Area’s coach Jesse Nagle. “We blew two coverages. I’m not too happy about that but the kids battled defensively on how we played.”

Things didn’t start out the way the Red Raiders were hoping for as on their first possession of the ball game, Bellefonte started deep in their own territory at their own eight.

The Eagles would pick up a saftey as the ball was centered high and into and out of the end zone.

Bald Eagle used that momentum in their second offensive possession.

After starting on their own 35, the Eagles flicked the ball to Hosband and he found quarterback Bradyn Fisher on a fly route and they hooked up for a 58-yard pass.

With the backs shadowing their own goal line, the Bellefonte defense held strong, forcing the Eagles to a Jackson Millwood field goal, hitting from the four yard line.

When the buzzer sounded ending the first quarter, the visitors led 5-0.

But no lead is safe in this rivalry as the Red Raiders.

Bellefonte took the lead at the 8:17 mark when Kaven Smith-Kirk muscled the ball in from the four, scoring on the third play from scrimmage.

The Eagles fought back to take the lead at the intermission when Gradyn Fisher threw a 7-yard TD pass to Hosband. Bald Eagle area went for the 2-point conversion where Fisher called his own number for the successful attempt with 0:07 left until the intermission.