Cameron Dubbs’ big night pushes Bald Eagle Area to District 6 Class 2A football title
Bald Eagle Area’s offensive game plan is to sling the football around the field to its explosive receivers.
It’s not uncommon to see quarterback Carson Nagle tally three or four passing scores in a game.
Bald Eagle Area had a more balanced approach on Saturday in their 49-0 rout of Richland in the District 6 Class 2A championship game at Mansion Park. It was the fourth district title in the program’s history.
“They came here for one reason, and one reason only, to get that medal. They did it, so I’m very excited for them and proud of them,” BEA coach Jesse Nagle said. “We had one in 30 years. Our coaching staff came, and we’ve had three in the last five years. Three years ago after we won our first one (title), I told them that this is something I thought would happen every year, and it doesn’t. This is special. I told them understand the moment because this doesn’t come along very often. ”
From the opening kickoff, it was all about the Eagles.
Cameron Dubbs was key in helping his team jump out to a 35-0 lead at the half, which forced the mercy-rule clock for the remainder of the game.
Two weeks ago in the Eagles’ District 6 quarterfinals and playoff opener against Bishop Guilfoyle, he tallied three rushing scores, and 112 yards rushing.
On Saturday, Dubbs recorded BEA’s first four touchdowns of the game. All of them came on the ground too.
“It’s been an experience and an absolute ride. I’m happy we’re here and made it here,” Dubbs said of his postseason success. “This is what I’ve been shooting for ever since I got up on varsity.”
The senior running back capped off the first possession of the game with a 6-yard score. It was a 59-yard drive that took just over three minutes to complete.
The Eagles went 39 yards in just over two minutes on their next possession, and Dubbs rumbled in from 7 yards to finish off the drive.
BEA led 14-0 with 4 minutes, 44 seconds left in the first quarter.
“Cameron Dubbs is a phenominal running back. He’s a very physical running back. He takes the hit right on,” Cameron Watkins said. “He never bounces to the outside. He likes going straight down the middle. You never see him just staying down when he runs. He always gets right back up no matter what.”
The Eagles were forced to punt on their third possession, but they found the end zone again on their fourth time handling the ball.
They went 80 yards in just two plays. Carson Nagle connected with Watkins on a 79-yard pass that Watkins caught at the Rams’ 1.
Dubbs cashed in on the next play, and the rout was on.
The defense set up the next offensive drive for BEA as Kollin Cunningham stepped in front of a pass and returned it to Richland’s 16. Cunningham’s interception was one of four on the night.
“I thought that we had the upper hand. Defensively, we knew that they were very young, so we wanted to give them different looks,” Jesse Nagle said. “We felt we had an advantage there. We know if we can stop them defensively we have a good shot of scoring some points because our offense is pretty difficult to defend.”
Dubbs had his fourth and final score of the night on a 7-yard run that finished off that 16-yard drive with 9:46 left in the first half to make it 28-0.
He finished the game with 55 yards rushing to lead the Eagles on 12 carries. Dubbs added 13 receiving yards on four receptions.
“It’s pretty special to me. I can’t take all the credit though,” Dubbs said. “Cam Watkins set me up for one of my touchdowns. My linemen and tight end set up all my blocks.”
Carson Nagle and Watkins connected for a fifth score of the half with 18 seconds remaining on a fourth-and-goal play from the 3-yard line.
Nagle got another passing score on BEA’s first possession of the second half. He hit a wide open Gavin Burns on a 71-yard bomb.
The final score of the night was Nick Wible diving in from 1 yard out with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles now move onto the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals, where they’ll take on powerhouse Southern Columbia. It is expected to take place Friday at 7 p.m. at Southern Columbia High School.
“We have a big one coming up. Southern Columbia is an outstanding team,” Jesse Nagle said. “They are a seven-time state champ. We got to put everything together, and give our guys a chance to win.”
Bald Eagle Area 49, Richland 0
District 6 Class 2A Championship
Saturday at Altoona
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Richland 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Bald Eagle Area 14 21 14 0 -- 49
First Quarter
BEA--Cameron Dubbs 6 run (Kaden Burns kick), 8:51
BEA--Dubbs 7 run (Kad. Burns kick), 4:44
Second Quarter
BEA--Dubbs 1 run (Kad. Burns kick), 11:53
BEA--Dubbs 7 run (Kad. Burns kick), 9:46
BEA--Cam Watkins 3 pass from Carson Nagle (Kad. Burns kick), :18
Third Quarter
BEA--Gavin Burns 71 pass from Carson Nagle (Kad. Burns kick), 8:35
BEA--Nick Wible 1 run (Kad. Burns kick), 2:13
TEAM STATISTICS R BEA
First downs 4 13
Total yards 135 410
Rushes-yards 20-59 30-126
Yards passing 76 284
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 4-20-4 16-26-0
Punts-avg. 4-35 2-52.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0
Penalties-yards 5-44 5-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Richland, Easton Robertson 10-30, Grayson Mahla 9-23, Austin Yarnick 1-6. Bald Eagle Area, Dubbs 12-55, Wible 3-22, Sam Clark 2-15, Kahale Burns 2-15, Kaleb Irion 1-13, Blake Houtz-Leitzell 2-6, Nick McCully 2-2, Chase Cain 1-1, TEAM 1-0, Nagle 4-(-3).
PASSING--Richland, Robertson 4-19-3-76, Noah Ritko 0-1-1-0. Bald Eagle Area, Nagle 16-25-0-284, Irion 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Richland, Yarnick 1-38, Arnold Mugerwa 1-24, Robertson 1-9, Ethan Choi 1-5. Bald Eagle Area, Watkins 6-129, G. Burns 2-88, Kah. Burns 3-51, Dubbs 4-13, Wyatt Spackman 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS--Bald Eagle Area, Watkins 1, Wible 1, Kollin Cunningham 1, Grady Fisher 1.
Records: Richland 11-2, Bald Eagle Area 12-1
Next game: Bald Eagle Area vs. Southern Columbia at TBD, PIAA Class 2A Quarterfinals, Friday, 7 p.m.
