By LILY WICHERT

Spirit week is a time for Bellefonte students to celebrate their school pride through festivities such the Homecoming dance, parade, and daily themes for the school week prior to the Friday night Homecoming game.

This year, fans cheered on the Red Raiders in the stands of the Lock Haven University field as the boys took home the victory from their Homecoming game against the Central Dragons on Friday, October 12. The bleachers were filled with prideful members of the community dressed in their Bellefonte attire to support the boys and lead them to their win.

The Raider’s defense proved to struggle throughout the first half, as the Dragons scored a 34-yard touchdown shortly after kickoff. The Raiders then had the ball on their 47-yard line, setting running back junior Mason Grey up for a long run to the Dragon’s 28-yard line with 5 minutes left in the first quarter. Bellefonte recovered a fumble by Central with only a few minutes left in the quarter, but were held scoreless by the Dragons throughout the first.

Bellefonte slowly began to respark during the second quarter of the game. Quarterback senior Kyle Myers intercepted a Central pass, claiming the ball on Central’s 40-yard line. The Dragons then answered, as a Bellefonte pass was intercepted on the 3-yard line, setting the Dragons up for a 3-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Noah Muthler.

The Dragons suffered after Muthler was injured in the second quarter. This incident quickly became the turning point for Central; the team failed to add any points to the scoreboard throughout the rest of the night.

Running back junior C.J. Funk ran for a 1-yard touchdown, getting Bellefonte on the board with less than a minute until half. Senior Chris Persiko added the PAT, finishing the second quarter with a 12-7 Central lead.

Halftime consisted of the crowning of this year’s Homecoming King and Queen, seniors Micah Heckathorne and Ashley Harter, along with performances from the Dragon’s marching band.

Bellefonte kicked off to Central to start off the third quarter. Grey intercepted a Central pass, and the team took control of the ball in the second half. Running back junior Ryan Lehman ran a 26-yard run on third and seven, leading to second string quarterback Ethan Rossman to a 7-yard pass completed to Mason for a touchdown; Chris tacked on the extra point.

Central took over the ball at Bellefonte’s 30-yard line shortly after kickoff in the final quarter, however gave the ball back to Bellefonte by failing to convert on fourth down. Central then recovered a fumble by Mason and redeemed control of the ball. Wide receiver Ryan Smith intercepted a pass, and claimed the ball at the 22-yard line. Ethan threw a 2-yard pass to C.J. with only a few minutes left in the game to seal the Raider’s victory. Chris added the extra point, finishing the game with a 21-12 Bellefonte win.