Fresh off its first win of the season, Bald Eagle Area (1-3) stumbled in pursuit of its next last Friday. Much like its lopsided loss to Penn Cambria in Week 2, early turnovers put it in a hole early, which it wasn’t able to climb out of despite a strong effort.

Nonetheless, there were silver linings in its 21-14 loss to Tyrone, linings which the Eagles will look to build on against Philipsburg Osceola (3-1) this Friday as they search for answers to their problems. They were able to turn an early two-score deficit into a plausible win, and that doesn’t just happen without reason.

In all four of their games so far, the team has faced challenging scenarios and managed to churn out positives from them. That’s due to an innate, all-encompassing desire to succeed, one which has helped it make the most of some bad situations.

That showed itself last Friday against the Golden Eagles, as Bald Eagle Area was able to cut the deficit to one score on two separate occasions despite offensive struggles. It was the third time it’s been able to hang in there when its offense has stalled early, with its defense being a large contributing factor there.

Following an early 80-yard passing touchdown from Tyrone, the Eagle defense bounced back seamlessly. From that moment onward, it held its opponent to just over 130 yards of offense, allowed just three yards per carry and forced three turnovers

“I think the biggest thing is that we have a really nice defense that’s keeping us in games. Our defense is playing very well right now,” said Bald Eagle Area football head coach Jesse Nagle when discussing last Friday’s loss. “We’ve just got to figure out the offense. Once we do that, we’ll hopefully be fine.”

That’s the biggest question heading into Friday. While their offense outgained Tyrone’s yardage-wise last week, four interceptions, including some in critical moments, kept them one step behind.

Starting quarterback Kaleb Irion had an off night, throwing almost as many interceptions (3) as passing yards (4), and Grady Fisher stepped in and saw ups and downs, throwing two touchdowns and one costly interception. Heading into this week, Nagle expects both of them to see time under center in some regard.

“I think both Grady and Kaleb will be fighting for the spot, and we probably will utilize both of them. Both of them do some good things,” said Nagle.

“The one thing we’ve tried to do with Kaleb is get him comfortable in easy situations and there’s times that he looks very good and times where he struggles. Grady’s not a true quarterback, so we’ve got to get him caught up to that level quick, which is going to be a little challenging.”

Given Bald Eagle Area’s current situation, it’s a tough spot to be in, especially with its upcoming opponent being off to its best start in quite some time. As it stands, Philipsburg-Osceola has endured 13 straight losing seasons. But with the way it’s kicked things off, it appears primed to end that streak.

Behind a stacked backfield featuring two backs – Colton Chapman and sophomore Demarcus Law – that have already surpassed 250 rushing yards, the Mountaineers have been able to rush for over 220 yards per game. It isn’t a matter of imbalance either, with junior quarterback Archer Baughman passing for over 100 yards per game while completing over 60-percent of his passes and throwing zero interceptions.

And defensively, they’ve given up just over 16 points per game.

“It’s a good football team,” said Nagle on the Mountaineers. “So, we’re hoping the kids buy in this week, know them inside and out and hopefully, give them a good game.”

That game is set for 7 p.m. in Wingate.