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High school football returns to Williamsburg Friday night -- even if it's just a standalone game.
Claysburg-Kimmel will take on Juniata Valley, which has played with Williamsburg in both a varsity and junior high co-op in football since 2021, at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field in an Inter-County Conference game.
"The community is very excited for it," Williamsburg athletic director Jeff Detwiler said. "To have Friday night lights again here in Williamsburg, we feel grateful for the opportunity for it. Checking the weather, it looks like a nice evening. We're expecting a large crowd."
Juniata Valley has played a few of its home games in Williamsburg since the co-op, with Friday's game against 0-4 Claysburg-Kimmel the latest.
"It gives our football players an opportunity to play," Detwiler said. "Coach (Bill) Musser has been awesome each year getting everyone together. I give our guys a lot of credit for getting on the bus each day and going down for practice. He's been very welcoming to our players, and it gives them a chance to play football."
Ten players, including leading rusher Andrew Clark, on Juniata Valley's varsity roster are from Williamsburg and make the trip daily. There are also four students who play in junior high.
Coach Matt Neri helps with the co-op. He is on Juniata Valley's staff but helps coordinate all the Williamsburg co-op activities as a Blue Pirates representative.
The Green Hornets are 2-2 and coming off a fourth-quarter rally to beat Southern Huntingdon, 14-11.
SUBHED: Coal Bowl
Cambria Heights will travel to Northern Cambria on Friday for the 51st official Coal Bowl, which began in 1960 with a 14-6 Highlanders win.
The teams have met two additional times in the postseason and split those games to make the overall series 27-24-1 in favor of Heights.
"It's a rivalry game. No matter what the records are in this game, it's going to be a tough game," Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said. "Playing at their place even adds to that."
The Highlanders are 4-0 despite struggling last week in a 6-0 win over Marion Center, and the Colts are 2-2.
"They have unfortunately had some injuries," Lewis said. "That's hurt them this year. I would expect (Daniel) Farrell to be back this week. He's a great player when he's on the field. He's always a guy that has a chance to take it to the house. He's an electric athlete and one of the top athletes in the conference. Knowing where he's at is going to be huge."
Lewis said despite the final score, Cambria Heights moved the ball well until it got to the red zone last week.
"We were inside the red zone five or six times," Lewis said. "All year, we have been really good when we got into the red zone. It was just one of those games where we just didn't make the plays, came up a couple yards short and missed a couple field goals. It's something that might have just been a missed block or a missed assignment here or there. It wasn't one consistent thing. We have some things to fix and work on."
Northern Cambria has bounced back after losing its first two games to Homer-Center and Purchase Line with wins over United Valley and Conemaugh Valley.
"Their younger guys in (Farrell's) absence have really played well," Lewis said. "Especially their skill guys. They are young in some areas and experienced in other areas. The (Nick) Arotin kid at quarterback is getting more comfortable and better each week. I think it's going to be a challenge. They are trending upwards."
SUBHED: Measuring stick
Along with State College, Harrisburg has served as the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference top dog for a long time, and the Cougars will be making a trip to Mansion Park on Friday night at 7 p.m.
"They are always well coached and always have good skill guys and good speed," Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said. "We always look forward to this matchup, because it's a measuring test to see where we are as a team too. They always do a nice job. They will be ready. They are a good team, but it's nice to have them traveling here, and we'll be ready."
That test has not gone well for the Mountain Lions since they rejoined the Mid-Penn Conference in 2018. Harrisburg has won all seven games by a combined score of 329-31.
The Cougars enter Friday's game 4-0, but Altoona is 3-1 after wins over Central Dauphin, Central Dauphin East and Carlisle. Both teams are undefeated in Mid-Penn Conference play.
"When you are winning, and the things we're doing and preaching -- kids are finding success on the field," Nedimyer said. "That helps us get better each week. We don't change what we're going to do, but 3-1 sounds a lot better than 2-2 coming back home. I was glad we were resilient and able to bounce back in the second half (against Carlisle)."
In addition, Altoona might be getting some talented players closer to 100 percent health.
"They have been busting their butt to get back," Nedimyer said. "We were able to use Cody (Chathams) and Luke (Geishauser) a little bit last week. They have just been dealing with nagging injuries. They went in with our trainer on Saturday and are trying to get healthier. It definitely helps when we get those guys back. We're looking forward to hopefully having as close to a full squad as possible Friday night."
SUBHED: Storming the Fort
The last two seasons have been landmark ones for the Hollidaysburg football program, but a year ago the Golden Tigers did something they had not done in more than 35 years -- defeated Maryland power Fort Hill on the field.
According to Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre, that placed a target on the Golden Tigers.
"They are a team on a mission," DeLattre said. "They have won eight state titles over the last 13 years. Last year, they lost a heartbreaker in the state finals. We also beat them last year, so I know they have circled our game on their calendar. We beat them for the first time since 1989 last year. In order to do that, we have to run the ball successfully and keep them off balance in the passing game.
"We were able to create turnovers last year against them, and we won the big plays. That's going to be the challenge. They seem to be faster than they have been, maybe not as big, but they are very quick and fast on both sides of the ball."
In its 3-0 start, Fort Hill has outscored opponents, 167-8, with the lone score coming after a bad snap on a punt led to a short field and score for Belmont Charter.
Hollidaysburg (3-1) bounced back from its first regular-season loss since 2023 with a 49-12 win over Baldwin a week ago.
"The focus during the week was great," DeLattre said. "I knew the guys would come out and start fast. We were able to mix the run and the pass, which was really the key to that. We have been waiting for a consistent, balanced game. We got that in the passing and run game. We created turnovers defensively, which is the first time we have done that. Those are two of the main positives we got out of the game Friday."