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Bald Eagle Area at Jersey Shore

BEA PPG–38.3, YPG–358.4; PPA–16.4

BEA facts: The Eagles have steadily been building toward a season like this and have many returning and three-year starters this season. BEA finished 4-7 last year but opened the season with seven straight wins and features a potent offense. The Eagles topped 30 points in each of those first seven wins before losing 42-7 to perennial District 9 power Clearfield last week. Quarterback Jaden Jones is a three-year starter who is having a huge season. The senior has thrown for 1,684 yards and 20 touchdowns while running for 206 yards and six touchdowns. Blake Roberts is an outstanding linebacker and also leads the team in rushing with 473 yards and five touchdowns. Gage Mcclenehan is second on the team in rushing and also leads a deep receiving core with 22 catches for 410 yards and four touchdowns. BEA features four receivers who have caught at least 17 passes and each one has scored multiple touchdowns. The defense also played well before last week’s game and has 29 sacks. Kael Gardner is an excellent linebacker who averages a team-high 11.6 tackles per game. Roberts and Ethan Moore each have 10 tackles for loss.

BEA player to watch–Tommy Snyder: The junior defensive end has been a force up front and has a team-best 10 sacks. Snyder has a sack in each win and also was all over the field against Troy, making four sacks.

Jersey Shore PPG–20.3, YPG–294.8; PPA–27.6, YPA–339.3

Jersey Shore facts: On the strength of last week’s 25-17 comeback win against Lewisburg, Jersey Shore has moved to the top of the District 4 Class AAAA standings. The Bulldogs could take a huge step toward securing homefield advantage if they can win tonight. The Bulldogs rallied from a 10-point second-quarter deficit against Lewisburg and the offensive line dominated the fourth quarter. The defense forced four first-half turnovers that changed the game’s complexion and Ryan Kershner had a big fourth-quarter sack that ended a drive. Lee Springman intercepted a pass and linebacker Hunter O’Connor went over 100 tackles for a third straight season while becoming the program’s all-time leading tackler. Nose tackle David Tomb is having another all-state caliber season and linebacker Dawson Sechrist is having a big season. Sechrist is becoming quite an offensive weapon, too, and ran for a career-high 189 yards against Lewisburg. He also caught an 11-yard touchdown and did a nice job breaking tackles and showcasing his speed. Kyle Tomb and Josh Malicky also ran the ball as linemen O’Connor, Tomb, Howard Fausey, Anthony Darby and Ben Webb took over and wore down a bigger Lewisburg defensive line. Quarterback Tanner Lorson made crucial third-down conversions throughout the Lewisburg game and went over 1,000 yards in his first year starting. Lorson is a dual threat and twice hit Stanton Westin with third-and-long passes that kept second-half scoring drives going. Koby Peacock is having a big senior season and is tied for third in the area with 34 catches. Peacock has more than 80 career receptions and played one of his best high school games in a come-from-behind Week 3 win against Montoursville, catching eight passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns. Tonight is Senior Night for the Bulldogs who can clinch at least a share of the HAC-I championship if they defeat Central Mountain next week.

Jersey Shore player to watch–Brett Guthrie: The junior cornerback made some big plays against Lewisburg, recovering two fumbles that helped change the game’s complexion, while adding seven tackles. Guthrie also is a developing offensive weapon and caught a 53-yard touchdown against Shamokin.

Outlook: Jersey Shore has won three straight in this series, but this is the best BEA team it has faced. The Bulldogs cannot afford to come out slow like they did last week. If they put four good quarters together, this could be an outstanding game.

–by CHRIS MASSE

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