Tyrone finishes regular season strong, gears up for postseason

Golden Eagles prevail on Senior Night against Chestnut Ridge

It was battle of 2014 District Champs on Friday as the Tyrone Golden Eagles faced off against the Lions of Chestnut Ridge. When the dust settled on Senior Night, Tyrone advanced their record to 8-2 with an impressive 37-21 victory.

“We really established a rhythm when they took the early lead,” said Head Coach Jason Wilson, “In recent weeks we’ve simplified some of the plays in the running game so our core plays would be more effective. Needless to say our new approach has paid of so far.”

Tailback Gary Weaver turned in yet another 100 yard rushing performance and added two scores on the ground. This gives Weaver 19 total touchdowns on the season to lead the team in addition to his 1,271 rushing yards.

“All the credit goes to my offensive line; the amount of work they put in up front allows me to get to the second level and make plays.” said Weaver.

Drew Hunter had yet another 200 yard passing performance and found Cullen Raftery and Parker Mitchell for scores. Hunter has put together one of the best passing seasons in school history, tossing for 1,837 yards and 22 touchdown passes and only five interceptions.

Transversely, Raftery and Mitchell have dominated as receivers all year. Raftery has 31 catches for 742 yards and nine touchdowns and Mitchell has 29 receptions for 595 yards and ten scores. They quickly are developing into the greatest (statistically) receiving duo in Golden Eagle history.

The “Dirty Birds” of the Tyrone defense has kept opposing offenses at bay all season. Aside from the two losses against Central and Clearfield, scoring against Tyrone has proved to be a daunting task. They relent only an average of 18 points per contest.

Mitchell leads the team in takeaways with four interceptions. The Golden Eagle defense has forced 23 turnovers and has 41 tackles for loss. Ricky Reader is the leader in that category in addition to three quarterback sacks.

Tyrone faces a former foe in the Bearcats of Huntingdon, a team they defeated 42-27 in the third game of the season. The game will be played this Friday at home as the Golden Eagles look to make a run at back to back District 6 Championships.