However, after scoring on their first possession, the Red Raiders wouldn’t impact the scoreboard again until the game’s final play. And against a high-powered offense like Shamokin’s, that just didn’t cut it.

Four Shamokin runners surpassed 85 yards on a night where the team surpassed 400 as a whole, breaking off numerous big plays behind its stacked backfield cast. The Indians steadily turned a 7-7 tie into an insurmountable lead by the end of the third, scoring 35 unanswered points to defeat Bellefonte, 42-13, and advance to state quarters.

The loss stings, as a team that’s come so far in the last month closed out its season on the receiving end of a rout. But there was plenty of pride taken away from the run, a run which saw the Red Raiders end a six-year state-tournament drought.

“There’s a lot of points early in the year where we easily could have quit, but we kept going. We knew what our goal was, to win a district title for the first time in a few years, and we went out there and did that,” said Bellefonte senior Logan Rarrick on the run. “Not necessarily proud of tonight’s performance, but we fought until we couldn’t.”

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express The Bellefonte football team takes the field before a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

“They (Shamokin) had a lot more firepower than we did. Feel bad for these seniors but proud of the accomplishments they made this year,” said Bellefonte head coach Tony Confer on the loss. “Not many Bellefonte teams have had an opportunity to play in a state playoff game, and we got this opportunity.”

There was a time early in the game where Bellefonte had its faithful believing it could slay Goliath. Despite getting punched in the mouth on the first play of the game, as Shamokin’s Za’kem Clinton took a run 56 yards down the middle before punching it in a few plays later, the Red Raiders responded seamlessly, tying it up at 7-7 less than three minutes later.

Facing third and long on the team’s first set of downs, freshman quarterback Alten Howell made magic happen on a power run to the left, using hard-nosed running to break into Shamokin’s secondary and turning on the jets for a 52-yard run.

He’d find Gavin DuFour for a 13-yard gain to convert another first down two plays later. And on the next play, Ashten Howell took the stretch run to the left the distance, making a Shamokin defender miss before waltzing in for a 17-yard, game-tying score.

However, Shamokin would respond on the very next drive, and while the Red Raiders got two opportunities to tie it back up, both fell flat as their offense slowed down. Their second drive would see them cross midfield before stalling behind multiple losses, and they wouldn’t pick up a meaningful first down again until late in the third.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express A Bellefonte defender attempts to take down Shamokin's Logan Steele (4) during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

Their next four drives, apart from a one-play possession going into halftime, would end by way of three-and-out, and the three after that were halted by turnovers. And within that stretch, the Indians fully took control.

Shamokin would put together an 11-play, 72-yard touchdown drive spanning six minutes and featuring just one third down to go up 21-7 with two minutes left in the second. And through the third, it’d go back-to-back to up that lead to four scores, with one touchdown drive, one spanning nine plays and another just one.

“We had some opportunities we didn’t take advantage of, and when you keep the defense out on the field too much and Shamokin has the firepower they have, big plays are gonna happen,” said Confer.

“We just weren’t able to get ourselves in position to put points on the board. Our goal coming in was to put points on the board or flip the field on them. It just didn’t work out the way we had hoped.”

Three separate plays could serve as dagger candidates, two occurring on Shamokin’s first touchdown drive of the second half.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Ashten Howell (6) finds open field on a touchdown run during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

On that drive, Bellefonte got Shamokin into third-and-24 and fourth-and-five situations, two opportunities to keep its deficit at 14 despite being in its own territory. But the first play saw Shamokin quarterback Logan Steele break off a 29-yard run where he juked numerous defenders, reversed field and found a seam. And the next saw Steele fake a run before finding Noah Ringes wide open for a touchdown.

Those plays took the wind out from under Bellefonte’s sails, and the next effectively ended the game. On the first play of Shamokin’s ensuing drive, Ringes took a run right down the middle and went practically untouched, sprinting down the field for an 80-yard score to up the Indian lead to 35-7.

There were silver linings from the loss.

In his fourth start at quarterback, Alten Howell showed flashes, accumulating 163 yards of offense (83 pass, 80 rush) to give the Red Raiders a spark. Jackson Long wrapped up his high school career with a four-catch, 44-yard outing, including a 30-yard reception over a defender. Freshman Bentlee Hall continued displaying promise in the backfield, turning ten carries into 40 yards.

And on the last play of the game, Bellefonte managed to close things out on a high note. From the Shamokin eight-yard line, senior lineman Logan Rarrick received the ball on a hook-and-latter play and got into the end zone for a score, the first touchdown of his high school career.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Parker Jodon (17) attempts to tackle Shamokin's Logan Steele (4) during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

“It was pretty fun,” said Rarrick on the play. “That’s the first touchdown I’ve scored since junior high, back when I used to play fullback.”

“We actually put that play in probably about three weeks ago and just hadn’t had an opportunity to do it,” laughed Confer. “We got down there, and the kids were asking, ‘Can we get Logan a touchdown?’ So, it was an opportunity, and I’m happy for him.”

With the loss, Bellefonte finishes the season with a 6-7 record, but that’s not something that fazes it as it reflects on the campaign and looks ahead to the future. In what was a tumultuous year, the Red Raiders still found a way to build on last year’s success, reaching another milestone in the process.

Seniors such as Rarrick, Long, Gavin DuFour and Ian Valimont will be sorely missed as the team looks to continue building upward. But with so many underclassmen making an impact through 2025, there’s a lot to look forward to moving forward.

“Two solid years, I think that’s good for this program and that the trajectory is just going to keep going up,” said Rarrick on the program’s future.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express The Bellefonte defense attempts to tackle Shamokin's Jayce Ginck (32) during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

“This year went well, and I think in these upcoming years, our program will keep rolling,” emphasized Valimont. “I think our program’s coming back.”

Shamokin 42, Bellefonte 13

Shamokin 14 7 14 7 – 42

Bellefonte 7 0 0 6 – 13

1st Quarter

S – Za’kem Clinton 2 run (Colin Steinhart kick), 10:41.

B – Ashten Howell 17 run (Will Oskin kick), 7:56.

S – Logan Steele to Colin Steinhart 14 pass (Steinhart kick), 4:15.

2nd Quarter

S – Clinton 6 run (Steinhart kick), 2:17.

3rd Quarter

S – Steele to Noah Ringes 5 pass (Steinhart kick), 4:07.

S – Ringes 80 run (Steinhart kick), 2:42.

4th Quarter

S – Jayce Ginck 62 run (Steinhart kick), 5:13.

B – Alten Howell to Logan Rarrick 8 pass (No PAT), :00.

TEAM STATISTICS S B

First Downs 11 13

Rushes-yards 40-408 29-148

Passing yards 27 83

Comp-Att-Int 5-8-0 11-22-2

Total yards 435 231

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-yards 9-67 5-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING — Shamokin, Za’Kem Clinton 14-125, 2 TDs; Logan Steele 10-94; Jayce Ginck 8-99, TD; Noah Ringes 5-85, TD; Barrett Walsh 2-6; Trey Taylor 1-(-1). Bellefonte, Alten Howell 8-80; Bentlee Hall 10-40; Caleb Bartley 2-19; Ashten Howell 7-11, TD; Parker Jodun 1-0; Quinn Park 1-(-2).

PASSING — Shamokin, Logan Steele 5-8-0 27 yards, 2 TDs. Bellefonte, Alten Howell 11-22-2 83 yards, TD.

RECEIVING — Shamokin, Colin Steinhart 3-18, TD; Noah Ringes 1-5, TD; Brayden Cavanaugh 1-4. Bellefonte, Jackson Long 4-44; Gavin DuFour 2-16; Ashten Howell 4-15; Logan Rarrick 1-8, TD.

INTERCEPTIONS – Shamokin, Logan Steele 1; Julian Duganitz 1. Bellefonte, none.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Jackson Long (28) attempts to evade a Shamokin defender during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Ashten Howell (5) hands the ball all to Bentlee Hall (22) during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Logan Rarrick (50) attempts to break through Shamokin's offensive line during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Multiple Bellefonte defenders tackle Shamokin's Za'kem Clinton during a PIAA Class 4A first-round football matchup against Shamokin on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Rogers Stadium. The Red Raiders fell 42-13.