They had instilled excitement and confidence into a fan base that previously bore witness to three straight seasons featuring two wins or less. However, they had also just parted ways with a stout senior class, losing their starting quarterback, leading receiver, leading tackler and more.

Coupled with Juniata holding a four-year stranglehold over the district, the goal could certainly have been seen as lofty, growing loftier as Bellefonte dealt with considerable injuries throughout the campaign. It isn’t likely that many outside of the program anticipated this being the year the Red Raiders would break through, especially as they pulled into Week 10 with a 3-6 record.

Never say never though.

The team rolled with the punches following its Week 9 shutout loss at Bellwood-Antis, edging out Greater Johnstown in its regular-season finale before rolling over the Trojans in the semifinal runback. And on Friday night, Confer saw that preseason goal fully realized, as Bellefonte put an end to Juniata’s dominance over the district with a 17-6 win, ending a five-year title drought of its own in the process.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte football players listen to head coach Tony Confer during their post-game huddle following the team’s 17-6 District 6 Class 4A title win over Juniata on Friday.

For a program that’s risen from the ashes since its darker days of the 2020s, the accomplishment represents another step forward in what’s been a very quick climb, going from Laurel Highland bottom feeders to district champs in a matter of three campaigns. However, what makes it more impressive is all it has had to overcome to get here.

After just barely crossing off the first bullet on Confer’s list with a one-point, come-from-behind victory over Tyrone, the Red Raiders immediately followed it up by dropping three in a row. Mind you, the losses were to strong teams in Forest Hills, Bishop Guilfoyle and Clearfield, the latter two which made their district finals, BG which made states and Forest Hills which started 6-1.

But three weeks of losing would still weigh down most, especially when the stretch features back-to-back heartbreakers. And though Bellefonte would begin establishing an identity in the weeks that followed, most notably finding a spark offensively, more hurdles stood in its path.

In Week 5, the Red Raiders lost starting quarterback Brennan Huntsinger to a season-ending injury.

It’d win that tumultuous game against Penns Valley, 27-20, behind a second-half defensive shut out and offensive heroics from running back Ka’ven Smith-Kirk and backup quarterback Alten Howell. But as quarterback questions remained, Smith-Kirk would go down with an injury two weeks later, adding to the disarray surrendering its offense.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte’s Parker Jodon, right, breaks up a pass intended for Juniata’s Jasper Shepps (11) during the District 6 Class 4A football championship against Juniata on Friday at Mifflin County. Bellefonte won 17-6.

In Week 8, it seemed to find its answer at quarterback, putting together its best three quarters of the season at one-loss Richland, before that answer – junior Quinn Park – also went down with injury and struggled to play through it in the week that followed. It fell just short against the Rams, then dropped its second goose egg at Bellwood-Antis to fall to 3-6.

“We have had three different QBs injured or playing in casts this season and one out for the remainder of the season, plus other injuries and adverse situations all season long,” said Confer following the team’s 32-29 loss to Richland.

“Our five losses are to opponents with a combined 30-10 record, and we’ve lost four games by a total of 19 points to Richland, BG, Forest Hills and BEA. We have a really good football team that can’t catch a break.”

It was to the point where playoff competitiveness was truly in question.

While the Red Raiders went into Week 10 having the No. 2 seed in District 6 Class 4A locked down, a loss to 1-8 Greater Johnstown would indicate that their problems were likely too difficult to overcome. On top of their injuries, they already went into the season younger than in 2024, having solid experience in some spots and newcomers in others.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte’s Alten Howell (5) and Jackson Long (28) celebrate a Howell TD during the District 6 Class 4A football championship against Juniata on Friday. The Red Raiders won 17-6.

“My goal is to go win this last game, be 4-6, and we can talk about participating in the playoffs then,” said Confer after the team’s 22-0 loss to Bellwood-Antis.

“If it makes sense for us to take the kids to the playoffs with three or four wins, we’re going to do it. If it doesn’t make sense, that’s something we’d have to evaluate as a coaching staff and with our team to see where we’re at.”

But the gears began turning in Week 9.

Freshman Alten Howell reclaimed the starting quarterback spot and proceeded to establish better footing there, emphasizing the flashes he’d shown as a runner under center while also showing more promise as a passer. His brother, Ashten, established himself as a solid first option out of the backfield in place of Smith-Kirk while others made up a consistent committee and the defense continued having success.

In Week 10, the Howells and Isaac Gall combined for 237 rushing yards and two touchdowns while the defense bent but didn’t break, as Bellefonte beat Greater Johnstown by two scores.

One week later, Alten went 6-of-10 as a passer and tossed three touchdowns to Jackson Long, Bellefonte’s run offense combined for 240 yards on over five yards per carry and its defense posted its first shutout of the season, looking like a completely different team in a 34-0 win over GJ.

And in the District 6 championship on Friday, the Red Raiders showed their full potential.

Defensively, they held Juniata to its second lowest scoring outing of the season, under 100 rushing yards for just the third time this season and to just 130 yards combined while forcing four turnovers. Ultimately, the unit made it six consecutive quarters without a surrendered point before the Indians finally got on the board in the third.

And despite a consistent downpour of rain, it did enough offensively to comfortably win, limiting its turnovers to two while continuing to run the ball effectively.

Alten Howell posted a career-high 120 rushing yards on 23 attempts, at one point breaking off a game-high 35-yard run and finishing the final averaging over five yards per carry. Ashten Howell turned 14 touches into 71 yards, also averaging just five yards per carry and touch. And for the third straight game, the Red Raiders surpassed 200 yards rushing, even with the team running the ball on 96 percent of its offensive plays.

While it hasn’t been pretty, Bellefonte managed to endure the plethora of hardships that came with this season and peak at the perfect time. In the process, it’s reached another high point in the second Confer era for the program, turning a seemingly lost, rebuild-type season into one where it dethroned its biggest postseason obstacle for the top spot in the district.

At this point, one expectation on Confer’s list – winning the county – fell unachieved, and another – posting a winning record – appears dicey, with Bellefonte needing to reach the state semifinals to do so. But nothing about this season should feel bittersweet heading into this week’s PIAA Class 4A matchup against Shamokin.