TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Kaven Smith-Kirk runs the ball during a football game against Clearfield on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. Smith-kirk turned 17 carries into 181 yards and two touchdowns in Friday's 27-20 win over Penns Valley.

SPRING MILLS – To say the first half’s waning moments were a disaster for Bellefonte would be an understatement. Through the final minute of the second quarter, the Red Raiders gave up a turnover, surrendered 14 unanswered points to Penns Valley to go down 20-14 and most notably, lost their starting quarterback, Brennan Huntsinger, to injury.

But this team has a tendency for firing on all cylinders out of the break. And despite all the hardships they had experienced in close succession, that trend continued on Friday.

Through the second half, running back Kaven Smith-Kirk accumulated 166 of his 181 rushing yards on the day to help lead Bellefonte’s offense without its staple under center. Freshman Alten Howell manned the helm in relief and manned it well. And Smith-Kirk’s two touchdowns combined with a shutout effort from the Red Raider defense helped them score 13 unanswered points of their own, as they got back on track with a 27-20 victory.

It wasn’t easy, but Bellefonte (2-3) managed to take home a win at a crucial time of the season. Not only did it mark its first county and road victory of the campaign, it also capped a three-game skid that featured multiple heartbreaking losses.

“The last two games were very hard. They were very close games, and I think we should have won. But you can’t go back,” said Smith-Kirk, referring to one-score losses Bellefonte took to Bishop Guilfoyle and Clearfield. “(This win) means everything. It meant a lot to me.”

“These guys, they’ve just stuck together,” said Bellefonte head coach Tony Confer. “Tonight was a testament to that, even though it didn’t go as well as we wanted it to.”

While the Red Raiders kicked off the game as well as they could have hoped, as Jackson Long housed the opening kickoff and their defense followed it up with a three-and-out, a holding penalty derailed their shot up going up by two scores early. And from there, it was a steady dive downward.

Penns Valley used the momentum it gained from the stop well, putting together a 17-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that spanned over eight minutes. And though Bellefonte responded to briefly take back the lead, 14-7, the Rams’ rally continued, capped off by a miraculous 34-yard passing touchdown that saw Seth Fetterolf reverse field, make multiple defenders miss and just break the plane on the last play before halftime.

With Penns Valley set to get the ball back out of the break, it realistically could’ve gone up by two scores and carried that into its first win. But defensive adjustments and a reminder of what their offense could do helped the Red Raiders steadily turn the momentum back their way.

Defensively, a tackle for loss allowed them to stifle the Rams on third-and-shot, giving Bellefonte a shot to tie it. And offensively, Smith-Kirk set the tone with a 23-yard run and never looked back.

“The mindset was definitely like, ‘My teammates are down; I need to bring them up,'” said Smith-Kirk on his mindset coming out of the break. “A lot of prayer went into it. God wouldn’t put us in a situation he knows we couldn’t overcome.”

Though penalties threatened to derail the promising drive, at one point placing Bellefonte in a first-and-30, Smith-Kirk’s 67 yards on the drive combined with some long runs from Howell kept that from happening. Before long, it was lined up five yards out and Smith-Kirk was running through multiple defenders on his way to a game-tying touchdown.

With the defense coming up big again, this time forcing a turnover on downs in the red zone thanks to a Sam Witmer sack, they’d get their opportunity to take back the lead early in the fourth. And while the previous drive needed 13 plays to see paydirt, the next needed just one.

Smith-kirk received a handoff on a slam straight down the middle. Bellefonte’s line opened a hole reminiscent of Moses parting the Red Sea, and Smith-Kirk’s track speed took over, as he bolted 81 yards down the field for what proved to be the game-winning score.

“I told them I’m not losing this game. We’ll win this county, and we’re going to kill them on this drive,” said Smith-Kirk on the mindset heading into that drive. “I saw the hole open, great blocks from the line and great blocks from receiver, and said, ‘I gotta go.'”

It took one last deep defensive stand and five minutes of draining the clock to seal the deal.

But defensive back Landyn Langille managed to take care of the first, intercepting a pass from Carter Ironside in the endzone. Then, the Red Raider offense picked up three more first downs to handle the second, with Alten Howell finishing the job with a five-yard run on third-and-three.

Alongside Smith-Kirk’s 181 yards on the ground, Alten Howell added 55 yards, a number which previously stood at 70 before three kneels. His brother, Ashten, was big in getting the Red Raiders their second touchdown of the day, accumulating 37 rushing yards on that drive, including a 13-yard touchdown.

As a whole, Bellefonte fell four yards short of 300 rushing yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

With the team putting an end to what had been a winless September, it’ll now look to build on it in pursuit of its first win streak of the season. Following one cross-county rivalry, it’s set to endure another one next Friday, facing rival Bald Eagle Area at Rogers Stadium.

“I think it’s really going to help our momentum moving forward, earning the win after some pretty rough losses,” said Alten Howell when discussing the team’s mindset moving forward. “I think we’re really going to improve.”

“Just got to keep working hard in practice. Everyone’s mind is in the right spot,” emphasized Smith-Kirk. “I think we’re going to go pretty far this season.”

Bellefonte 27, Penns Valley 20

BEL 7 7 6 7 – 27

PV 0 20 0 0 – 20

1st Quarter

BEL – Jackson Long 80 kickoff return (William Oskin kick), 11:47.

2nd Quarter

PV – Carter Ironside to Emery Reed 8 pass (Spencer Althouse kick), 10:25.

BEL – Ashten Howell 13 run (Oskin kick), 2:58.

PV – Ironside to Fletcher Ironside (Althouse kick), :51.

PV – Ironside to Seth Fetterolf (PAT no good), :00.

3rd Quarter

BEL – Kaven Smith-Kirk 5 run (PAT blocked), 2:41.

4th Quarter

BEL – Smith-Kirk 81 run (Oskin kick), 2:41.

TEAM STATISTICS BEL PV

First Downs 14 13

Rushes-yards 38-296 19-50

Passing yards 24 284

Comp-Att-Int 2-3-0 21-28-1

Total yards 320 334

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 6-44 5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING: Bellefonte, Kaven Smith-Kirk 17-181, 2 TDs; Alten Howell 10-55; Ashten Howell 3-37, TD; Brennan Huntsinger 6-17; Isaac Gall 2-8. Penns Valley, Fletcher Ironside 3-26; Seth Fetterolf 6-9; Gannyn Stover 6-8; Carter Ironside 3-4; Spencer Althouse 1-3.

PASSING: Bellefonte, Brennan Huntsinger 2-3-0 24 yards. Penns Valley, Carter Ironside 21-28-1 284 yards, 3 TDs.

RECEIVING: Bellefonte, Ashten Howell 1-16; Jackson Long 1-8. Penns Valley, Fletcher Ironside 5-100, TD; Spencer Althouse 6-64; Emery Reed 3-62, TD; Seth Fetterolf 3-37, TD; Noah Coursen 4-23.

INTERCEPTIONS: Bellefonte, Landyn Langille 1. Penns Valley, none.

Records: Bellefonte 2-3 (2-3 Laurel Highlands). Penns Valley 0-5 (0-5B Laurel Highlands)