Tradition big part of NBC, JV football
H.S. football
Bill Musser
Garry Black
Bill Musser
Garry Black
Trending
Juniata Valley and Northern Bedford have been two of the most successful Class 1A high school football programs in the area over the last decade, and they will meet tonight in Loysburg in a big Inter-County Conference matchup.
Northern Bedford is coming off a win over Curwensville while Juniata Valley fell to Berlin Brothersvalley in its opener.
"We have tradition on our side, and they are the same," Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. "Their end-of-the-season results aren't going to be dictated by what happens now. They are like us. The goal is just to get better. I'm sure they don't want to start 0-2. It's a really good test, because they are some of the best of the best in District 6."
The Black Panthers uncharacteristically lost their first seven games of the 2025 season. But a positive of those struggles was that many younger players got experience to build depth in the program.
"It makes it really nice," Black said. "We have a lot of kids that have the skillset to be able to score from anywhere on the field. They just need the confidence that they can do that. Instead of having one workhorse, it's nice to be able to put the ball in a lot of different directions. I feel we have six high-level varsity receivers and a handful of guys who can run the ball. Our quarterback is a dual-threat quarterback, and that makes our offense one that coaches love to have and don't like to play."
Juniata Valley is an experienced team that knows how to win, evidenced by its appearance in last year's District 6 title game.
"It's a team that's tough and well-coached," Black said. "The (Andrew) Clark kid at running back is obviously a big part of their identity. They have that big tight end (Trenton Norris). They will try to get the ball to him. Defensively, they show a lot of fronts, schemes and blitz concepts that we have to be ready for."
Clark was held in check by Berlin last week as the Green Hornets worked some new players into the mix.
"We got some young kids some experience," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "We had a freshman start at quarterback. We had a freshman on our offensive line. They got some valuable game experience. We understood as a collective group from coaches down to the players the level of intensity we have to have at practices going forward."
That intensity, Musser hopes, will improve focus during the games.
"We had a lack of consistency," Musser said. "We would play hard for three plays and then let up for a play. As it always works out in sports, that's when the other team takes advantage of it."
Juniata Valley's last win over Northern Bedford came in 2017, though the teams have only met three times since that 24-7 triumph.
"They are a well-coached team with great tradition," Musser said. "They are big and aggressive. They are going to get right in our face. We have to put our big boy pants on and play some football this week."