It’s hard to believe that it’s been seven years since Tyrone has been on the winning side of this storied Blair Country rivaly, but the Golden Eagles finally broke the curse against the Dragons with a fourth-quarter flurry, earning a hard-fought 28-6 road victory and improving their record to 2-1 this past Friday night, September 5th.
This game marked Tyrone’s first win over the Central Dragons since 2018, largely thanks to a smothering defense and late offensive scores that turned a 14-6 nailbiter into a blowout in just a matter of minutes.
“We kept our heads up when things got tight,” senior quarterback Eli Woomer said, “Our guys stayed mentally tough, and we finished when we had to.”
Winning the coin toss, Tyrone elected to receive the opening kickoff, but early struggles forced them to hand the ball right back to Central.
But the Eagles’ defense quickly made their presence felt, as junior cornerback Mason Emigh came up with an interception, the first of many timely takeaways by Tyrone in the contest.
The Golden Eagles wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover.
Woomer connected on a huge 51-yard pass to senior receiver Brayden Parsons on a crucial third-and-five, setting up a 7-yard touchdown run by Caleb Whitby late in the first quarter.
Senior linebacker Owen Oakes then generated his own takeaway in the second quarter, further fueling Tyrone’s momentum.
Before halftime, the Eagles extended their advantage when Mason Emigh hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Woomer, sending Tyrone to the locker room with a 14-0 lead.
The second half began with heads held high for Tyrone, their defense holding strong with multiple interceptions and shutdowns of Central’s drives.
Despite giving up an interception to Central’s Levi Wareham, the Eagles forced turnover after turnover, including a key forced fumble by Woomer recovered by Mason Emigh and an interception by Parsons, only to struggle to convert those opportunities into points until late in the fourth.
Emigh secured his second interception on Central’s 24-yard line in the fourth quarter, but Tyrone’s offense threw an interception back two plays later.
Central finally broke through with 3:43 remaining when backup quarterback Carter Schenk powered in a 15-yard touchdown run, cutting the Eagles’ lead to 14-6.
Faced with the same late game scenario that led to their Week One loss, Tyrone needed a clutch special teams play and senior Ashton Emigh delivered, sealing possession by recovering an onside kick attempt.
“That onside kick recovery was huge,” Mason Emigh said. “This team has learned to respond to adversity in just a few weeks and trust each other when it counts.”
With the game on the line, Tyrone faced a third-and-five without a first down all half. Woomer surprised the Dragons by hitting Whitby on a screen pass, who then raced 45 yards behind outstanding downfield blocking for a touchdown that put the game out of reach with 1:32 left.
The Eagles weren’t done. On Central’s very next possession, Parsons intercepted Schenk and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown, sealing the dominant victory and sparking celebrations on Tyrone’s sideline with the game sealed away.
“Our defense knew we had our hands full this week with their possession catch offense,” Parsons stated, “We were lucky enough to get those interceptions when they tried to go deep on our secondary and it really gave our offense confidence to close it out.”
The key to the victory was undoubtedly Tyrone’s defense which forced six turnovers, five interceptions (two each for Emigh and Parsons) and a fumble, while limiting Central to just 203 total yards.
Tyrone’s next challenge will be a road trip to Bald Eagle Area as they look to build on this momentum.
BOX SCORE:
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 7 7 0 14 — 28
Central 0 0 0 6 — 6
First Quarter
Tyrone–Whitby 7 run (Novak kick), :34.
Second Quarter
Tyrone–M. Emigh 25 pass from Woomer (Novak kick), :50.
Fourth Quarter
Central–Schenk 15 run (kick blocked), 3:43.
Tyrone–Whitby 45 pass from Woomer (Novak kick), 1:32.
Tyrone–Parsons 40 interception return (Novak kick), :37.
TEAM STATISTICS T C
First downs
Tyrone-12
Central-10
Total yards
Tyrone-279
Central-208
Rushes-yards
Tyrone-27-105
Central-24-85
Yards passing
Tyrone- 174
Central- 123
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)
Tyrone-10-19-2
Central-14-24-5
Punts-avg.
Tyrone-4-37
Central-2-41
Fumbles-lost
Tyrone-0-0
Central-1-1
Penalties-yards
Tyrone-6-50
Central-1-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Tyrone, Whitby 21-75, Woomer 4-30, A. Emigh 1-1, TEAM 1-(-1). Central, Musei 10-38, Schenk 2-23, Harbaugh 8-19, Muthler 2-7, Marks 1-2, Conley 1-(-4).
PASSING–Tyrone, Woomer 10-19-2-174. Central, Muthler 12-16-3-78, Schenk 2-8-2-45.
RECEIVING–Tyrone, Parsons 3-70, A. Emigh 3-24, Whitby 2-52, M. Emigh 2-28. Central, Moushlian 3-46, Dickson 3-16, Schenk 3-15, Harbaugh 2-23, Musei 2-17, Bookhammer 1-6.
