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Laney Prough and her peers grew up idolizing players like her mother. The former Mandi Holland was a player on the Williamsburg High School 1997 PIAA championship girls' basketball team. Now, after a second run to the state semifinals in three years, Prough is finding out what it's like living in her mom's shoes. "I'm a student aide with a first-grade class," Prough said. "My dad (Travis) was talking to some of the girls. He made the comment that one of them said I was the reason the team went...
Leah Shackley’s typical day begins at 5 a.m. It’s not so the 17-year-old Olympic swimming hopeful can get into the pool and work out before her virtual classes begin. No, she’s up the crack of dawn so she can make breakfast and take care of the horses for a 93-year-old neighbor in Bedford and her Parkinson’s-afflicted daughter in her 70s. Only later in the day is Shackley driving 45 minutes or so up Interstate 99 to the Blair Regional YMCA for 12 to 18 hours of training each week in additio...
Dave Baker never had a plan. Not when he took a job as a biology teacher at Williamsburg Community High School right out of IUP in 1967 and wanted to coach a sport, any sport at any level, just to stay involved in athletics. Not when he finally acquiesced to taking over as the Blue Pirates varsity football coach four years later, when Williamsburg was struggling to find someone to replace Jerry Campbell. Not when he applied to succeed A.J. Hoenstine and guide Central back in 2011. And certainly not in 2001, when, after 30 years leading...
It was quite a contest, but Dave Baker finally found the opponent he couldn’t outfox. Time. Central High School is seeking a new football coach this week after Baker stepped down on Friday, Feb. 2. The 78-year-old Baker has experienced health problems in recent years but continued to guide the Scarlet Dragons and do so successfully: His last three teams all were District 6 Class 3A champions with a combined record of 28-5. The 2022 and 2023 squads’ seasons ended in the state semifinals. Bak...
Veteran Central High School football coach Dave Baker has an appreciation for great defense. Having coached since the 1960s, Baker has seen a lot of good players. And he puts Scarlet Dragon senior middle linebacker Hunter Smith among the very best. Hunter Smith “I’m not going to say one guy is better than another,” Baker said, “but he would be on that level. He was up within the highest level.” The state’s scholastic football writers noticed as well. Smith recently returned to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State High School Football Te...
Remember when you were in school and your teacher told you Mr. Smith in the classroom next door didn’t think you were smart enough to pass that big test, and it got you fired up to prove him wrong and you aced the exam? Of course you don’t, because it never happened. It’d be absurd. No teacher or school administrator would do that. Explain to me, then, the reason we still accept it from coaches. After all, at their heart, they, too, are educators. Still, we largely are OK with our young people being “taught” in a manner that can be so harmfu...
The irony of having just won the greatest game he ever played and his teammates have ever experienced is that Hunter Smith isn't getting to really savor it like a slice of turkey with gravy and stuffing. Not yet, at least. It'll keep, like those Thanksgiving leftovers. "It was a big win, but you have to clear the slate. You're starting from zero again," said Smith, Central High School's all-state senior linebacker and standout running back, a day after he scored six touchdowns - including the ga...
Central was pushed to the limit last week, the Scarlet Dragons needing Jacob Benton’s 15-yard touchdown pass from Eli Muthler with 32 seconds left to get past Penn Cambria for the Scarlet Dragons’ fourth District 6 Class 3A football championship in a row. Coach Dave Baker and the Dragons are thinking that just might have been the perfect tune-up for what’s to come, though, as they’ll now get a rematch with Clearfield in the District 5-6-9 Class 3A finals on Friday night at E.J. Mansell Stadium in DuBois. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. “It brin...
Between a first-game injury and just not playing much because his Northern Bedford High School football team was getting so far out in front in winning all of its games, Black Panther senior running back Adam Johnson hasn't had a lot of opportunities to get untracked and pile up a lot of rushing yards this season before he broke loose for 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns in last week's 27-7 District 5 Class 1A championship win over Windber. It only took Johnson 14 carries as he surpassed the 1...
Northern Bedford will face defending champion Windber tonight for the District 5 Class 1A football championship in a reprise of last year's final. To hear Black Panther quarterback Eion Snider tell it, there's no one he and his teammates would rather be playing. "Everyone's been talking about it," Snider said. "We're going to play hard. They took a district championship away from us so we can't be four-time district champions. It's going to play a really big factor." The 11-0 Panthers and 8-3 Ra...
By going a perfect 10-0 in the regular season, Central earned a day off last week, the Scarlet Dragons getting a bye in the District 6 football playoffs because Somerset chose not to enter the postseason. All things considered, Dragons coach Dave Baker would rather have played. Who wants to change it up when things are going well? "I've always felt you're better off having a game," Baker said. "The team will develop better because the kids are more interested and it's a better situation." While...
Lucas Dick won’t try to snow you. Juniata Valley’s junior wide receiver-cornerback, who’s been such a big-play machine for the Green Hornets, is anxious for this week’s District 6 Class 1A playoff game against 2022 finalist Penns Manor at A.R. Simpkins Memorial Field on Friday night at 7 p.m. “I’m a little nervous because I’ve never started in a playoff game,” Dick said, “but I think we should be fine.” Dick isn’t the only one in that boat as the Hornets embark on what they hope will be their fourth district football championship and firs...
Homer DeLattre was the special teams captain when he played football at Lock Haven University, so it warmed his heart when years and years ago he saw his son, Caden, picking up innately where his old man left off. “In the backyard, we’d be playing catch,” the elder DeLattre said with a chuckle. “The next thing you know, he’s turned around, snapping it between his legs.” Special teams isn’t just all in the family now that DeLattre is a high school head coach. His Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers take that aspect of the game very seriously. Th...
Central High School senior Baron Dionis wants to come out on top Friday night for the most elemental of reasons. Sure, it’d be nice to win the league, to go into the playoffs with momentum, but it’s so much simpler than that. “I don’t want to lose any games this season,” Dionis said, “to be perfectly honest with you.” Dionis and his Scarlet Dragons will put their unblemished record on the line as Central hosts Richland in a clash of the last two remaining undefeated high school football teams in District 6 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conf...
Central High School Senior Jack Dunn isn’t surprised his Scarlet Dragons are undefeated through eight games this year. After, last season, when he was part of the record-setting PIAA Class 3A semifinalist Dragons’ scout team, he was facing competition as tough as anything he’d see when he got to be a starter himself. “It was fun practicing against them. There was no one better,” Dunn said energetically. “Iron sharpens iron.” Dunn and the Dragons will get a test worthy of that preparation this week when they welcome East Section 1 champion Clea...
Northern Bedford County High School football coach Garry Black feasted on some crab legs for dinner Sunday after finding them on sale during a grocery run earlier that day. Black’s Black Panthers will be looking to feast on the teams with whom they’re competing for the District 5 Class 1A championship over the next few weeks. “Looking at where (Sept. 29 opponent) Tussey is at record-wise, starting last week with Meyersdale and going through North Star and Windber now, we’re all District 5 single-A and we’re going to be in some way shape or...
With such a young football team, this season has been a learning experience for Juniata Valley, but the Green Hornets have been ahead of the curve, winning five of six outings. Still, each week is one of discovery. Last game, Coach Bill Musser found out how his Hornets would respond to a reality-check loss at West Branch, and they answered with a last-minute win over Moshannon Valley. This week, they’ll uncover more about themselves when they go on the road to play another Inter-County Conference North Division foe, Mount Union. “What we’ll fin...
It might be hard to top beating one of the top 10 teams in the state in a higher classification, but don’t try to tell anyone associated with the Northern Bedford football team that it’s back to business as usual on Friday night. This is Tussey Mountain week. “Anytime we play Tussey it’s a big atmosphere,” Black Panther senior guard-defensive tackle Brock Beach said. The renewal of Northern Bedford’s most-played rivalry kicks off at 7 p.m. when the Panthers put their undefeated record on the line in Inter-County Conference South Division pl...
It might seem hard to believe, but, despite both teams’ success and proximity to one another, Central only has played Bishop Guilfoyle three times on the football field in the programs’ histories. That just makes it that much more special when the state contenders get together. “It’s kind of funny,” Scarlet Dragon junior lineman Caden Schenk said. “My dad and I were talking about it. We called it kind of our Super Bowl.” There definitely will be a lot on the line on Friday night when Schenk and his unbeaten Dragons entertain a Guilfoyle team li...
Because of a lack of available officials, Claysburg-Kimmel decided to move last week’s game with West Branch to Thursday. The Bulldogs rewarded Chuck Kassick with his first victory as their coach. Kassick returned the favor by giving the players a day off to savor the win. “The great thing is it’s not about me. It’s about our kids. It’s about our community. To see the kids react afterwards and see the support we got from the community afterwards, it’s a pretty great feeling,” Kassick said. Now the Bulldogs are up for trying to make it two i...
A lot of people might be surprised how quickly the Central football team seems to have reloaded in the wake of the graduation of record-setting quarterback Jeff Hoenstine and wideout Eli Lingenfelter along with several other members of the receiving corps. Junior Eli Muthler isn't among them. "I haven't really thought about it," said Muthler, who stepped into Hoenstine's shoes this fall. "I just go out there and try to complete some passes and do what I needed to do." He's done a pretty good...
The 2022 Hollidaysburg Area High School football team paid out the nose for entering the year with few proven players, losing eight of its first nine games before ending the campaign by beating DuBois. Seven of those setbacks were by double digits. Most of the Golden Tigers who lived through that are back. And they’ve brought receipts. “This year, we have a lot more experience,” senior Drew Wyland said. “After how bad last year went for us and how demotivated we were getting, we’re a lot more pumped up this year. Everyone’s a lot more fired up....
A football player for Claysburg-Kimmel, a soccer player at Chestnut Ridge and someone very active in his church, C-K senior Elias Ritchey wears a lot of hats in the fall. "I definitely have to find a good balance," Ritchey said. Ritchey's hoping he can add a party hat after Friday night's game at Northern Bedford to celebrate a Bulldogs' upset victory over the state-ranked Black Panthers. Kickoff for the Inter-County Conference interdivisional clash at Panther Community Stadium is 7 p.m....
Most of Bill Musser’s Juniata Valley and Williamsburg football players this season aren’t old enough to drive. Musser, though, is handing them the keys to his Juniata Valley football program for the next few months. It’s a matter of necessity. Graduation has compounded with injury to decimate the starting lineup of last year’s District 6 Class 1A playoff team. The roster is primarily sophomores and freshmen, and many of those sophomores have barely gotten on the field, so it’s an experienced group, as well. The Green Hornet nickname is more a...
“New … And, Hopefully, Improved,” could be the marketing slogan if Claysburg-Kimmel High School decided to run an ad campaign touting its 2023 Bulldog football team. The Bulldogs will come out to a newly refurbished field when it opens the season on Friday against visiting Berlin Brothersvalley, with new head coach Chuck Kassick unleashing a new-style offense with a lot of new faces at the skill positions. That’s made for a lot of new optimism for a program trying to turn around a 1-9 campaign last fall. “I think this is the most amount of...
If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The Northern Bedford County High School football team isn’t broke. With starters back at 19 positions, the Black Panthers are far from it, in fact. They look just like last year’s 11-1 squad. No. It seems if anything is going to be broken this year, it’s going to be the Panthers’ opposition. Two seasons removed from making the PIAA Class 1A quarterfinals and 10 months away from a heartbreaking loss to Windber that denied it a return trip to states, Northern Bedford is setting a high bar for itself this season...
Friday night will mark one of the biggest football games in Claysburg-Kimmel history. It won't even matter whether the Bulldogs can upend powerhouse conference newcomer Berlin Brothersvalley or not. The Bulldogs are coming home. "I think that everyone is super excited," senior left guard-defensive end Ethan Claycomb said. "We have been waiting so long. "It's finally here." After a couple of years of running loose - driving 20 minutes up I-99 to play home games in Hollidaysburg - C-K finally will...
Hunter Smith has been a man on the spot for the Central High School football team for the last three years, particularly on defense -- the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder has made 258 tackles as the Scarlet Dragons’ middle linebacker, recovering five fumbles and intercepting five passes. You could understand, though, if Smith felt a little bit out of place when he arrived for Central’s preseason camp. “It’s definitely pretty weird not seeing the people that have been with me the last three years,” Smith said. Smith is one of the few holdovers from the...
Central is hoping the fourth time is the charm. Entering this season, the Scarlet Dragons had ventured as far as the PIAA semifinals since Dave Baker became football coach, losing in that round to Aliquippa, Beaver Falls and, last year, to Central Valley. "That was a tough loss for us," Dragon all-state quarterback Jeff Hoenstine said. "I think that made a lot of our players hungrier and more motivated to get back there and do more." The only thing standing in the way of Central and its first...
It's become part of their Thanksgiving tradition. The Central Scarlet Dragons will be working up an appetite for their turkey and stuffing with a morning practice as they prepare for another PIAA football playoff game. Last week's 35-6 victory over District 9 champion Clearfield - the second straight week the Dragons have prevailed by that score - kept Central's dreams of a state Class 3A championship alive and set up a postseason rematch with District 10 champion Grove City at the Eagles'...
Marked by its ability to put points on the board in bunches and cover the field in ease, Central enters the interdistrict football playoffs this week with a lot of defensive steam. "The defense just stepped up tremendously. That's one of the best offenses in the area and we just held them to six points," record-setting quarterback Jeff Hoenstine said immediately after he came up with one of Central's four interceptions and made a team-high 10 tackles in the third-seeded Scarlet Dragons' 35-6...
Jeff Hoenstine probably is going to make history on Friday night. Whether he and his Central Scarlet Dragons get to fully celebrate it, though, now is tied to some other things. Hoenstine is tied for the most career passing touchdowns in Pennsylvania high school football history with 137. He'll try to take his place alone in the top spot on a big stage with high stakes when the Dragons look to capture their third straight District 6 Class 3A championship by avenging an early-season defeat...
The seniors on this year’s Central High School football team go into playoffs with almost a full season’s worth of games in the “second season” under their belts. The Scarlet Dragons have played nine postseason games over the previous three years, winning back-to-back District 6 championships in 2020 and 2021. “We have been there before and we have an idea of what we want to accomplish,” Dragons coach Dave Baker said. “We want to win a third and we see that as a possibility. Other teams, I’m not sure how they see it. Some of their players m...
High school sports isn’t all about winning. Sometimes, there are bigger lessons that only hardship can teach. That’s not lost on members of this season’s Hollidaysburg Area High School football team. “Ultimately, we learned that life’s not always going to go your way, but you’ve still got to come back the next day and keep going,” Golden Tiger senior Tucker Rossman said. Next month, most of the Cove area’s football teams will be in the playoffs. However, Friday night’s game in DuBois will be the last this season for the Tigers. Even if H...
Juniata Valley is one of three Cove-area teams that will continue the high school football season after this week. The Green Hornets already have clinched a spot in the District 6 Class 1A playoffs, where they finished runner-up to eventual PIAA champion Bishop Guilfoyle last year. That doesn't mean the Hornets' home game with Mount Union on Friday is any less important. In fact, it might have upped the stakes for the team comprised of Juniata Valley and Williamsburg players. "It means a good bi...
One might think the Northern Bedford County High School football team wouldn't have a lot to prove after following up last year's District 5 Class 1A championship and PIAA quarterfinal run with an 8-0 start, but you'd be mistaken. The Black Panthers still would like to add an Inter-County Conference title to their list of achievements, something they hope to rectify on Friday. "We haven't won the division championship in I don't know how long. Bellwood usually wins it," Northern Bedford...
High School Football of Note This Week In other Week 9 games … Glendale Vikings (3-5) vs. Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs (1-7) Date and time: Friday, 7 p.m. Site: Tiger Stadium, Hollidaysburg Coaches: Glendale – Dave Trexler; Claysburg-Kimmel – Matt Bilchak Last game: Glendale – lost to Northern Bedford, 35-6; Claysburg-Kimmel – lost to Tussey Mountain, 33-14 Last meeting: Glendale, 49-14 (Aug. 27, 2021) Series record: Claysburg-Kimmel, 32-27 (first met in 1962) Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers (3-5) vs. Central Scarlet Dragons (6-2) Date and time: Fri...
One might think the Northern Bedford County High School football team wouldn't have a lot to prove after following up last year's District 5 Class 1A championship and PIAA quarterfinal run with an 8-0 start, but you'd be mistaken. The Black Panthers still would like to add an Inter-County Conference title to their list of achievements, something they hope to rectify on Friday. "We haven't won the division championship in I don't know how long. Bellwood usually wins it," Northern Bedford...
Since a 42-28 loss at Penn Cambria left defending PIAA Class 3A semifinalist Central at 1-2, the Scarlet Dragons have reeled off four straight wins and held three of their four opponents under 17 points. “I feel like we’ve improved a lot,” Dragon senior running back-linebacker Kade Rhule said. For Central to keep its winning streak alive, it will have to find a way to slow down Bedford and lightning-fast running back Ethan Weber in a big Laurel Highlands Conference clash at Bison Stadium this week. Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. for...
This hasn't been the kind of season of which the Claysburg-Kimmel High School football team dreamed. Since opening the year by beating Everett, the Bulldogs have dropped five in a row. "A big part of it is we're a really undersized team where we have a lot of younger players on the line," C-K coach Matt Bilchak said. "We're relying on a lot of splash plays where we get 30 to 40 yards, but then we don't have the follow-up play. Unfortunately, with the teams we're playing, if you can't chunk the...
Between a brutal schedule and a wave of injuries, there hasn’t been a lot to cheer about yet this fall for the Hollidaysburg Area High School football team. The Golden Tigers are 0-5 halfway through the regular season. One thing Coach Homer DeLattre knows he can count on, though, is that senior Ben Sosnowski will give the Tigers a leg up on their opponents. Literally. Sosnowski is a kicking specialist who handles all Hollidaysburg’s placements, kickoffs and punting, and he’s turning in another outstanding campaign. “That’s a huge weapon in...
An all-state safety last year as a freshman, Northern Bedford's Aaron Bowers thinks he plays on one of the best pass defenses around. "Our corners and outside linebackers are pretty quick, so we can run man-free a lot. Then I can just read the quarterback and go towards the ball, while our corners and 'backers do a good job covering their guys," Bowers said. It's hard to argue with Bowers. The Black Panthers have picked off nine passes through five games this season and are holding their...
This week marks the midpoint of the high school football season in Pennsylvania. A visit to archrival Tussey Mountain on Friday night will serve as a fitting midterm exam for Northern Bedford’s young offensive line, which has been learning on the job. “Tussey’s a very physical team. I feel we have to show our physicality over theirs,” said Black Panther 6-foot-4, 265-pound junior guard Josiah Bowser. “Our line needs to be more physical. “This is a game that will determine where our line is. They have a couple of three year starters and I think...
Patience is a virtue, but, over the course of a high school football season, one can only be patient for so long. Claysburg-Kimmel High School Junior Reece Replogle understands that. “We want to do things right. We want to take strides in the right direction,” said Replogle, one of two holdovers from the Bulldogs’ starting offensive line after last season. “We’ve got to take it one play at a time, but, in these next couple of weeks, I want to get some wins so we can make a run in the playoffs.” If there’s anyone who can relate to Replogle and...
The Claysburg-Kimmel High School football team qualified for the District 6 Class 1A playoffs last season, but, to the Bulldogs, it was more a case of what might have been. Claysburg posted four regular season wins. The Bulldogs, however, weren’t able to string multiple victories together, finishing 4-7 when they fell to Conemaugh Valley in the opening round of postseason action. “I think, last year, a few games we were only one or two plays away,” said Bulldog senior running back-linebacker Cole Claycomb, who’s back after gaining more than 1,0...
After entering the 2022 having not lost a regular season high school football game in two years, Central finds itself this week trying to start again. “I think our entire team is looking to respond in a positive manner,” record-setting Scarlet Dragon all-state quarterback Jeff Hoenstine said. “This is a huge bounce-back week for us.” It certainly will be a gut-check for the Dragons as they head up the mountain on Friday night to face undefeated Penn Cambria, trying to avoid falling under .500 for the first time since 2019. Kickoff at the Pen...
Few superlatives could overstate what the Central High School football team accomplished last year. Perfect through 14 games until being knocked off in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals by Central Valley in a battle of unbeatens, the Scarlet Dragons scored 40 points or more 12 times en route to winning Laurel Highlands Conference and District 6 championships. Jeff Hoenstine set a Pennsylvania prep record by throwing 57 touchdown passes and was named the class player of the year by the commonwealth’s sports writers — he, running back Parker Gre...
Ever since he started playing football, Jason Clark has been finding ways to get to the quarterback. “I’ve always been around the football, a guy who always loved running after it,” said Clark, a junior defensive end on the Central High School football team. “My coaches have done a really good job of helping me get my fundamentals down to make sure I’m not going too far.” Clark had a team-leading 10.5 sacks for the Scarlet Dragons in last year’s run to the Laurel Highlands Conference championship and a spot in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals, a...
When Williamsburg Community School District decided to shut down its football program and join Juniata Valley in a co-operative agreement, it could have been a case of subtraction by addition. Juniata Valley has been the Blue Pirates’ most-heated rival for decades, and the neighboring schools still were going to go at it tooth and nail in every other boys’ sport. Instead, though, the players put aside their natural enmity. Not only that, they thrived as a team, combining to form one of Valley’s best-ever teams with a Williamsburg stude...
Hollidaysburg Area High School football coach Homer DeLattre calls it “The Standard.” “‘The Standard’ is doing the right thing, being attentive practice-wise, making sure we’re focused on the fundamentals, paying attention to details when you’re not in, getting better every day,” DeLattre said. It’s been a successful approach. Despite often graduating three-quarters or more of their starting lineup and facing a challenging schedule, the Golden Tigers will be looking for their eighth consecutive season finishing at least .500 when they kick th...
