Game of the Week

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 one guy is a four-year starter. Their experience will challenge us.”

Kickoff for the Inter-County Conference clash at Dick L. Hess Memorial Field is set for 7 p.m. The Panthers are off to a 4-0 start after winning District 5 and making it all the way to the PIAA Class 1A quarterfinals last season. Tussey is 2-2 and coming off a 22-6 win against Huntingdon.

The Titans held the Bearcats to 178 yards and forced three turnovers in that game.

“All of them have been playing together since they were sophomores. We have a young line this year, so it will be a really good test,” said Northern Bedford senior tight end Jestin Fernandez.

Tussey’s not just experienced up front, the Titans have playmakers that could give Northern Bedford coach Garry Black and his staff plenty of headaches. Tussey Mountain averages five tackles for loss and two sacks per game.

Two-hundred-fifty-pound senior end Jaden Yochum enters the game tied for team-high with seven stops in the opposing backfield and has 10 career sacks. Two-hundred-thirty-pound senior defensive lineman Jayven Ritchey has two sacks this season, one off Yochum’s team pace. Then, at linebacker, the Titans have senior Nevin Hinkel, who also has seven tackles for loss in the opening month of the season.

Tussey is coached by former Everett standout Tim Lucko. Lucko went on to serve as defensive coordinator for the Bishop Carroll teams of the early 2000s that won several District 6 championships, went to a PIAA final game and sent several players to Division I colleges. His son, Noah, just a freshman, leads the Titans in tackles as a linebacker through four games.

Most of those players also start on the offensive line, too, and Black needs his players in the trenches to step up to keep Tussey’s big veterans from dictating the game.

“Our concern will be what level to we play at in comparison to them in terms of line play,” Black said. “This is a good measuring stick to see where we’re at.”

If Northern’s line can hold its own, the Panthers should be well on their way to a fifth straight win. Junior running back Adam Johnson enters the game with 586 yards rushing and already has 16 touchdowns. Meanwhile, NBC quarterback Eion Snider has thrown for 678 yards, six touchdowns and has yet to be intercepted.

“We’re really balanced offensively,” Black said.

The Black Panthers are coming off a 51-7 win at Moshannon Valley. Since an exciting 40-33 victory over Southern Huntingdon to open the season, Northern Bedford has outscored Mount Union, Everett and Mo Valley by a combined 133-20.

“I feel like we’ve had strongpoints in games but also weakpoints,” Bowser said. “I feel we’ve pass blocked very well. Our run blocking, we need to move on more to the second and even the third levels once we get our main blocks taken care of.”

Northern Bedford defeated Tussey twice last season, winning 34-7 in the regular season and 41-0 in the District 5 playoffs to run its winning streak over the Titans to three games. The schools have played every year — sometimes more than once — since 1960, with a trophy going to the winning team. Northern Bedford holds a 46-20-1 series lead.

“Volleyball, basketball, whatever, there’s always something extra when you’re playing Tussey Mountain,” said Black, a Northern Bedford graduate.

A transplant from West Virginia, Fernandez quickly came to understand the importance of this game.

“I know all the guys there, I know all their fans, I know a lot of people from Tussey. It’s kind of for bragging rights. If they win, we hear about it. If we win, they hear about it,” Fernandez said. “I always love playing up there because I know their fans get really into it and the community all comes.

“It’ll be a big test.”

This article is brought to you by Northern Bedford Pharmacy.

In other Week 5 games …

Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils (3-1) vs.

Juniata Valley Green Hornets (2-2)

Date and time: Friday, 7 p.m.

Site: A.R. Simkins Memorial Field, Alexandria

Coaches: Bellwood-Antis – Nick Lovrich; Juniata Valley – Bill Musser

Last game: Bellwood-Antis – defeated Everett, 53-6; Juniata Valley – defeated Claysburg-Kimmel, 28-12

Last meeting: Juniata Valley, 26-7 (Oct. 22, 2021)

Series record: Bellwood-Antis, 28-10 (first met in 1959)

Chestnut Ridge Lions (4-0) vs.

Central Scarlet Dragons (2-2)

Date and time: Friday, 7 p.m.

Site: Roaring Spring Athletic Field, Roaring Spring

Coaches: Chestnut Ridge – Max Shoemaker; Central – Dave Baker

Last game: Chestnut Ridge – defeated Central Cambria, 50-28; Central – defeated Forest Hills, 39-16

Last meeting: Central, 41-28 (Aug. 27, 2021)

Series record: Central, 5-3 (first met in 2007)

Moshannon Valley Black Knights (1-3) vs.

Claysburg-Kimmel Bulldogs (1-3)

Date and time: Friday, 7 p.m.

Site: Tiger Stadium, Hollidaysburg

Coaches: Moshannon Valley – Michael Keith; Claysburg-Kimmel -- Matt Bilchak

Last game: Moshannon Valley – lost to Northern Bedford, 55-7; Claysburg-Kimmel – lost to Juniata Valley, 28-12

Last meeting: Moshannon Valley, 28-12 (Sept. 9, 2021)

Series record: Moshannon Valley, 28-13-2 (first met in 1976)