Bald Eagle Area at Philipsburg-Osceola
PHILIPSBURG - After racking up a ton of penalties last season in a 22-6 loss to the Eagles, the Mounties are hoping for a little redemption when they kick off the high school football season on Friday.
And P-O is definitely ready to get back on the field.
"Today was the best first day of school practice I've had in 18 years of coaching," said Mounties head coach Jeff Vroman.
"The pace was quick, and I think we were able to get a lot of things accomplished."
One of the things the Mounties will be focusing on is the big backfield of Bald Eagle.
Running back Jon Gingrich returns for his senior season, 20 pounds heavier, after averaging 6.1 yards per carry last season.
Juniors Cody Hicks and Coleman Hoffman will join him in the backfield.
"They have some big backs," said Vroman. "We can't grab them. We have to tackle them. We have to contain them. We have to play good position defense. We have to make sure we don't out do ourselves."
"We want to force their backs to run sideways," he continued. "They are good when they are running straight ahead, but it's a little harder when they have to face the defense going to the side."
The biggest key for the Mounties will be to limit their penalties and other minor mistakes.
"We can't put ourselves in a bad position," said Vroman. "We need to make sure we are doing the right things on offense, defense and special teams. That's crucial."
Bald Eagle leads the overall series, which began in 1976, 18-14-1. The Eagles snapped the Mounties' five-game winning streak last season with the 22-6 victory.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

West Branch at Southern Huntingdon
THREE SPRINGS - It hasn't happened too often as of late, but the West Branch football team is coming off a win.
After picking up a victory in the final week of 2008, snapping a long losing streak that spanned multiple seasons, the Warriors hit their 2009 opener ready to build momentum off that breakthrough.
"The boys are anxious," head coach Rob Lazauskas said. "They're ready to go. It's been three weeks of staring at each other, and now it's time to get down to business."
That business begins on the road Friday at Southern Huntingdon, an Inter-County Conference rival that went 3-6 a year ago and topped West Branch, 21-6, in last season's opener.
"We know what we want to accomplish and how we want to accomplish that," Lazauskas said. "The bottom line is we just have to come out and execute."
Perhaps the biggest news for West Branch heading into Week 1 is the announcement of its starting quarterback, after sophomore Aaron Lidgett and senior Garrett Streightiff battled for the spot during the offseason. Lidgett has been tagged QB1 for the opener, but both will see playing time.
"They're both going to play, Aaron and Garrett," Lazauskas said, "but after careful evaluation through the summer and a few scrimmages, we just felt that Aaron, right now, has been a little more consistent.
"I think he's earned it. I think what I like most is his poise. He has very good command in the huddle, and I think he's earned the respect of his teammates."
The Rocket defense will be trying to make life difficult for whoever is under center, starting with some veteran defensive linemen who will apply pressure.
"Behind that line will be key defensive leaders for Southern Huntingdon, with outside linebacker Rusty Garlock and safety Matt Fish returning. Last year's leading tackler, with 96, is also back, as middle linebacker Kyle Hill leads the charge. "Kyle Hill is a throwback," Lazauskas said. "I love watching this kid play because he is tough. He's a prototypical middle linebacker and he's going to be a challenge to deal with. But I think we've improved as well, and we're ready to take that challenge on."
The Southern Huntingdon offense brings back experience across the field, with Garlock one of the Rockets' top rushers last year and Fish providing a big target at tight end. Junior quarterback Daniel Goshorn also returns after taking over due to injury in Week 4 of last season.
"(Goshorn's) very quick and he will pull it and run the football," Lazauskas said. "We have to be very conscious of giving up the run lanes and play good assignment football to keep them contained.
"He's capable of throwing the ball, and he's got some nice receivers out there to catch the ball. We have to be very disciplined defensively."
A blank slate creates fresh optimism, and it all starts at the 7 p.m. kickoff.
"It's a new year," Lazauskas said. "It's a new beginning for us. We prepared, they've been working their tails off since January and now it's time. It's time to put West Branch back on the map, and I really believe this is the group that can do it."

Purchase Line at Ligonier Valley
LIGONIER - Conference titles, district playoff berths and undefeated regular seasons are an awful lot to follow up, but the Purchase Line football team isn't focusing on those things heading into Friday's season opener at Ligonier Valley.
This Red Dragon squad looks very different from the extremely successful one that hit the field in recent seasons, with youth filling the lineup and question marks in many areas.
"We've got a lot of questions heading into game one," head coach Dave Small said. "You've got a lot of questions about whether you've prepared them right, especially with a young team. We've got a lot of questions to answer, and hopefully it's a work in progress."
That's the theme as Purchase Line takes on a Mountie side that could be one of the stronger teams in the Heritage Conference this year after going 3-6 a year ago. The Dragons dropped Ligonier, 21-6, in Week 1 a year ago.
Despite breaking in a new quarterback in Johnny Jones, the position looks strong for Ligonier Valley as Jones provides athleticism on both offense and defense at linebacker.
"Their skill areas are very good," Small said. "From what I've seen on film, this is probably one of the better quarterbacks I've seen at Ligonier. He moves well, and he throws the ball very well."
Last year's leading rusher, senior Jackson Corcoran (476 yards, 10 TDs), returns in the backfield, as does flashy sophomore Russell Markosky, whose big-play ability has the potential to create all sorts of problems for the Red Dragon defense.
The Mounties lost their top tackler to graduation, but return four of their top six stoppers on a balanced defense. Leading returnee Curtis Markosky notched 66 tackles, two interceptions and five passes defensed at linebacker in 2008.
"On defense, they're solid," Small said. "They're a gang-tackling (unit), pretty much eight guys to the ball. We've got our work cut out for us."
The Purchase Line game plan won't change much from recent years - run, run, run. But there are still questions to be answered there, as well, with tall sophomore quarterback Cody Stolitza adding a new dimension and a young group of runners in the backfield.
"We're trying to fill some positions at running back," Small said, "and we're going to run some isos and leads to see how our blocking is up front.
"If I opt to throw, we have a 6-4 quarterback, and we'll try to get him some easy throws. We've been working on some quick passes and try to hit them along the outside edge as much as possible."
Not helping matters any, lead back Michael Jarvie got dinged up in the team's first scrimmage, and while he has recovered and should be ready to go on Friday, missed time has been a setback.
Small is happy with the way his inexperienced team has grown since a lackluster first scrimmage, but the team is still looking for someone to step in and fill a leadership void, and there's little time left to find that person.
With all those questions in place, answers will start coming when things kick off at 7 p.m.

Glendale at Everett
EVERETT - In high school football, winning the season opener can set the tone for the rest of the season.
Glendale knows this all too well, as the Vikings have qualified for the postseason the last two times they captured their season opener (2006 and '07).
Glendale stumbled out of the gate a season ago, as it fell to Everett in the opener and finished the season at 3-6.
"Obviously, the first game is important because you want to start on a positive note, you want to get a win," said Viking head coach Rick Kozak, whose team tangles with the Warriors on Friday.
"At the same time, the first game doesn't make your season either - regardless if you win or lose. Either way, it's only one game but you want to win it."
Leading the way for Everett will be state track medallist Zach Millin, who totaled 81 carries for 510 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. Millin, who runs sprints in track, is also a receiving threat out of the backfield after hauling in multiple touchdowns last season.
"He's quick, and they're able to get him on the edge quite a bit," Kozak said of Millin. "They try to get him the ball as much as they can and see what he can do.
"They also run a lot of misdirection and trapping, so we'll have to be mindful of that all night. They have some nice size offensively, so we're going to have to play solid defense."
The recipe for success when the Vikings have the ball is simple - don't turn it over.
In his first varsity start, junior quarterback Tyler Jenny was terrorized by the Warrior secondary and finished the game 5-of-17 with one TD and four interceptions.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Everett Warriors Stadium.

Moshannon Valley at Northern Bedford
LOYSBURG - Moshannon Valley's opener against Northern Bedford will be a battle between two experienced squads.
The Black Knights are a senior-laden group, while the Panthers, despite having just six seniors, return six offensive starters and four on defense.
"In the first game of the year," said Mo Valley coach Murray Fetzer, "anything can happen. Once the season moves on, the kids lose some of the jitters. The first game is always a toss-up, and I've seen it go both ways. I think it'll be a good game to watch, and it'll be competitive throughout.
"They have a huge junior class coming up through, and they got some playing time last year. I know they graduated a few here and there, but they have some experience back in some skill positions. I look for it to be a very good matchup on both sides of the ball."
Northern Bedford, which dropped a 30-6 decision in last year's opener, returns its quarterback in Joe Risbon, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark and completed better than 50 percent of his passes.
Risbon's go-to guy will be Cody Troy, who returns after hauling in 24 passes for 245 yards in 2008.
Troy will also line up in the backfield and run some option, taking the heat off tailback Logan Zimmermann. Zimmermann was the Panthers' go-to guy on the ground a season ago, totaling 634 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In their last meeting, the Knights' defense stymied Northern Bedford's offense and allowed just 151 yards.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Loysburg.

Saturday
Curwensville at Port Allegany
PORT ALLEGANY - Curwensville begins its season with a pair of long road trips, opening with a Saturday afternoon game at Allegany Mountain League North squad Port Allegany.
And while Golden Tide head coach Andy Evanko and his team are more than ready to start the season, the first two weeks are going to present a problem in preparation.
"Our schedule has been a concern," Evanko said. "Our very first game is a two-hour road trip on a Saturday to play in the afternoon heat and then we turn around and get another two-hour road trip (to Otto-Eldred) on a short week.
"But that is the hand we're dealt, and we're not really in a normal routine yet as far as weekly game preparation, so maybe it won't be so bad. All I know is we want to play football and be prepared to go out and perform to the best of our ability."
The Gators suffered through a tough 3-6 season in 2008, including a 23-8 loss to Curwensville, but Evanko expects Port Allegany to be much improved.
"We think they will be a lot better," he said. "They have a very good athlete at quarterback that can throw and run, and their offense looks to be much improved.
Camrin Stuckey returns at quarterback. He passed for 166 yards, completing 27 of 58 attempts. He tossed two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Seth Lowery gained 452 on 102 carries a season ago and had 10 receptions for 49 yards. Both those numbers are tops for returning players. Ryan Bodamer will also carry the ball. He ran 85 times for 252 yards a season ago.
"They throw everything at you on offense," Evanko said. "They run trips, power-I, pro set, twins, a jet sweep ... they have multiple offenses, and it's going to be a challenge for our defense
"And they're the same way on defense. They run multiple formations and attack and swarm to the ball. But our offense is set up to be able to run on whatever defense is thrown at us. If our offensive line continues to block like it has been, we'll be fine."
Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.