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By Andy Elder
For the Mirror
WINGATE -- Bald Eagle Area scored 27 unanswered points over a 17-minute, 12-second span during the third and fourth quarters to rally from a 14-12 deficit and pull away from Central Cambria for a 39-14 win Friday night at Alumni Stadium.
Play of the game: Bald Eagle running back Carnell Noone took a handoff, broke several tackles and sprinted 26 yards for the go-ahead score with 9:48 left in the third quarter. BEA never looked back.
Player of the game: Bald Eagle Area quarterback Carson Nagle connected with wide receiver Grady Fisher six times for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Fisher's first two catches, both in the first quarter, resulted in 136 yards and BEA's first two touchdowns
Unsung hero: After the Bald Eagles gained just 3 yards on three carries in the first quarter, Noone kick started the offense with 39 yards on six carries in the second quarter.
Most vital statistic: Each team was hampered by a flag-happy officiating crew. The referees called 17 penalties (seven on Central Cambria, 10 on BEA) for 147 combined yards.
Bald Eagle Area coach Jesse Nagle: "It was very important (to bounce back from a 21-0 shutout loss to Bishop Guilfoyle). They're probably going to compete for a state title. We knew that coming in. We feel we have a shot, too. That being said, we had to have this win to have a growing moment. We had to keep developing our young kids.''
Central Cambria coach Don Fyfe: "I thought we lost our composure when we had a couple calls that didn't go our way and we started focusing more on external things that we had no control over. By the time we settled back down, we were down a score or two and it's an uphill battle then.''
Notable: The Bald Eagles outgained the Red Devils by 357 in total yards, 562-205.
Records: Central Cambria 0-2; Bald Eagle Area 1-1.
Next week: Bedford visits Central Cambria. Penns Valley visits Bald Eagle Area.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central Cambria 0 7 7 0 — 14
Bald Eagle Area 12 0 13 14 — 39
First Quarter
BEA--Grady Fisher 80 pass from Carson Nagle (kick failed), 8:49.
BEA--Fisher 56 pass from Nagle (2-point try failed), 7:10.
Second Quarter
CC--Grady Snyder 5 pass from Hunter Pittsinger (Liam O'Brien kick), 11:52.
Third Quarter
CC--Ian Estep 65 pass from Pittsinger (O'Brien kick), 11:43.
BEA--Carnell Noone 26 run (2-point try failed), 9:48.
BEA--Noone 30 run (Matthew English kick), 9:35.
Fourth Quarter
BEA--Ethan Shirk 5 run (English kick), 9:35.
BEA--Wyatt Spackman 7 pass from Nagle (English kick), 4:36.
TEAM STATISTICS..CC BEA
First downs 6 18
Total yards 205 562
Rushes-yards 25-29 30-196
Yards passing 176 366
Pass (comp.-att.-int.) 9-21-2 22-35-1
Punts-avg 8-35.5 3-40
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 7-55 10-92
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Central Cambria, Snyder 8-12, Pittsinger 10-17, Chappell 3-0, Stevens 1-2, Ray 2-2, Makosy 1(minus 4). Bald Eagle Area, Shirk 5-22, Nagle 5-12, Noone 15-123, Hoover 1-11, McCully 2-26, Umbenhouer 1 (minus 3), Cane 1-5.
PASSING--Central Cambria, Pittsinger 9-21-2-176. Bald Eagle Area, Nagle 22-35-1-366.
RECEIVING--Central Cambria, Burkett 2-57, Snyder 2-17, Estep 3-101, Sinosky 1-(minus 1), Stevens 1-2. Bald Eagle Area, Cunningham 4-41, Taylor 10-96, Fisher 6-211, Spackman 1-7, Hoover 1-11.