State College has gone 8-1 against Central Dauphin East recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Little Lions will welcome the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (State College has four straight victories, Central Dauphin East has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
State College gave up the first points on Friday, but they didn't give up any more after. They strolled past Cedar Cliff with points to spare, taking the game 36-21. Given the Little Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 38th, while the Colts are ranked 145th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

D'Antae Sheffey
10/03/25 @ Cedar Cliff | 152 |
09/26/25 @ Central Dauphin | 129 |
09/19/25 vs Chambersburg | 115 |
State College's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but D'Antae Sheffey led the charge by rushing for 152 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.6 yards per carry. Sheffey's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 115 rushing yards. Connor Kulka was another key signal caller, throwing for 179 yards and a pair of TDs on only 14 passes.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: State College was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 215 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 150 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
State College didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Anderson Aj Fry and Hank Lustig. State College got some further help from Trayce Brennan: he picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when Central Dauphin East and Central Dauphin meet (five straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Friday. The Panthers took a 28-18 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Rams. While the Panthers had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Rams 6-0.
State College's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Central Dauphin East, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
Everything came up roses for State College against Central Dauphin East when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the squad secured a 55-17 victory. In that matchup, the Little Lions amassed a halftime lead of 35-10, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.