McMonagle Leads Juniata Valley Into Mount Union Game

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 bit to us," Hornet senior receiver-linebacker Gavin Musser said. "If we win, it'd give us the motivation and the strength we need to go through playoffs and play harder. We just came out of two big losses and two losses that stung a lot.

"This is going to motivate us to get us through the playoffs and, hopefully, a championship."

A first-round home game might also be up for grabs for the Hornets at A.R. Simkins Memorial Field as Juniata Valley attempts to reverse course after two straight defeats and gather some momentum heading into the postseason.

Kickoff with the Trojans is set for 7 p.m.

"The kids understand (why winning this game) is important. We understand it," said Bill Musser, Gavin's dad and the Green Hornets' head coach. "There's no point trying to 'trick them' in any way, shape or form. We know it. We want to host a playoff game. That's always our goal. That helps us in our goal of winning championships."

Juniata Valley enters this week's game 5-4 after a 21-3 defeat at undefeated Northern Bedford last week in a contest that decided the Inter-County Conference Silver Division champion. That outcome, combined with Portage's victory over previously-second-ranked Northern Cambria in a game that came down to the wire, put the Hornets in fifth place in the D6-1A playoff rankings heading into the final game of the regular season.

The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. The top four host quarterfinal round games and the top two remaining seeds host in the semifinals.

Last season, Juniata Valley beat Portage in the district semifinals, 21-7, at Simkins Field.

Portage is at undefeated Windber this week -- the Ramblers are 8-1 and just pinned a 56-7 defeat on Juniata Valley two weeks ago, so it's very conceivable Portage won't change much in power points. The Mustangs currently have a 110-point edge on Juniata Valley.

Because Mount Union is from a larger classification that Juniata Valley, the Hornets stand to make a lot of playoff points if they can win. In fact, they could climb as high as third if they win and Conemaugh Township beats 6-3 Northern Cambria at home, providing the right combination of teams Juniata Valley and Northern Cambria defeated in prior games works out.

Just 120 power points separate Juniata Valley and the Colts.

"It would be great playing on our home field (in the playoffs)," the younger Musser said. "It would give us that little bit of an edge that we need."

To add to the flavor of Friday night's Hornet-Trojan clash, Mount Union is itself in almost the exact same position as Juniata Valley. Mount Union is one of four District 6 Class 2A teams that have cemented playoff berths and are 6-3. However, because of the size of the schools Mount Union has beaten and the number of wins those opponents have, the Trojans are rated below Bald Eagle Area and Bellwood-Antis in sixth place and just ahead of Southern Huntingdon.

That means Mount Union has a lot of incentive to play its best game against the Hornets, too. A Trojan win could catapult it into the top four and maybe even as high as third because Bishop Guilfoyle had a 140-point lead but has a very difficult regular season finale on tap with Bedford.

Juniata Valley is led into the Mount Union game by junior running back Andrew McMonagle from Williamsburg. McMonagle needs 2 yards to reach 1,000 rushing for the season.

Hornet quarterback Reid Edwards sat out last week's game with Northern Bedford with an injury, so Williamsburg's Foster England filled in, completing 3-of-5 passes for 34 yards. Jacob Rodkey fronts Juniata Valley's receivers with 20 receptions and two touchdowns this year.

McMonagle and England also are among Juniata Valley's leading tacklers, and their performance on that side of the ball on Friday might outweigh anything on offense. The engine that drives the Trojans is junior quarterback Bryce Danish, who enters the game with 1,268 yards through the air and 868 on the ground.

Coach Musser compares Danish and the read-option spread offense Mount Union runs to Nate Myers at Southern Huntingdon and Dan McGarry at Curwensville, both of whom had a lot of success against the Green Hornets.

"We have to tackle. We're going to work a whole lot on tackling this week at practice. That's both individual and team tackling," Bill Musser said. "I liked how we responded last game. We got smacked in the mouth against Windber, but I thought we were very competitive with Northern Bedford. Save two or three plays, that game could have been a little different."

In other Week 10 games ...

Cambria Heights Highlanders (7-2) vs.

Northern Bedford Black Panthers (1-8)

Date and time: Friday, 7 p.m.

Site: Panther Community Stadium, Loysburg

Coaches: Cambria Heights – Jarrod Lewis; Northern Bedford – Garry Black

Last game: Cambria Heights – defeated West Shamokin, 47-21; Northern Bedford – defeated Juniata Valley, 21-3

Last meeting: Cambria Heights, 29-0 (Sept. 3, 2021)

Series record: Cambria Heights, 1-0

Marion Center Stingers (2-7) vs.

Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs (1-8)

Date and time: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Site: Tiger Stadium, Hollidaysburg

Coaches: Marion Center – Adam Rising; Claysburg-Kimmel – Matt Bilchak

Last game: Marion Center – lost to Homer-Center, 13-10; Claysburg-Kimmel – lost to Glendale, 27-12

Last meeting: Never met

Series record: First meeting

Somerset Golden Eagles (1-8) vs.

Central Scarlet Dragons (7-2)

Date and time: Friday, 7 p.m.

Site: Roaring Spring Athletic Field, Roaring Spring

Coaches: Somerset – Jeff Urban; Central – Dave Baker

Last game: Somerset – lost to Central Cambria, 42-8; Central – defeated Westmont Hilltop, 44-23

Last meeting: Central, 61-14 (Oct. 29, 2021)

Series record: Tied, 3-3 (first met in 2001)