Freshman phenom Alten Howell led the Red Raider Football team to a 34-0 district six semifinal win over Greater Johnstown.
Alten succumbs to the pressure of a whole town behind him. He really doesn’t focus on the crowd and focuses on himself and the team.
“I handle pressure by just calming down pregame. I study the game by watching films and breaking it down. I just run hard and I don’t worry about my size because I know I have everyone backing me up,” Alten said. His hard work has paid off and the Bellefonte Red Raiders are now the eighth seed in state playoffs.
Alten has been pushed into a varsity quarterback spot after two injuries of other starters, but he stepped up and guided the team all the way to the District six Championship and winning.
Halfway through the season, the team lost their starting quarterback and were in a drought. Alten stepped up and took responsibility to lead the team and lift their spirits. He knows he is smaller than the other players, but he thrives and pushes himself through the line and goes over the top for his team, though he is 5’7” 145 pounds.
His stats are stacked with his average passing yards being 86 yards per pass, average yards per rush is 4.7 yards, his average touchdowns per drive is one, and he averages four touchdowns per game.
He is now letting his hard work pay off because he brought the team together and gave people opportunities and is now ranked 27th in the Laurel Highlands Division, 91st in the 4A division for rushing yards, and 67th in the 4A division for passing yards.
He helped the team score in the Championship with a 9 yard rushing play against Juniata winning with a 17-6 scoreboard.
“I think it is a tremendous and well deserved honor for Alten. He has been thrusted into some unfair situations due to injuries. He has handled the job and the pressure of being a varsity QB admirable. His impact on the team has been significant this year as he has been able to step in as a starter and win the majority of the games he has started or played in,” Coach Tony Confer said.
Alten’s first season with the Red Raiders has been tremendous and has showcased his talent, his ability to move the ball, and show his team he can be a lethal weapon on the field.
“I look forward to the next three years with Alten as well! His future is bright,” Coach Tony Confer said.
Alten is going to do great things by being a student athlete, a role model,  an overall good kid, and only he’ll get better in his years through high school and maybe college like his older brother Ashton and Aden Howell who also are athletes to look up to.