The Golden Eagles suffered a tough 31-7 loss Friday night against a very talented Central team. Tyrone came into the game knowing it would be a dogfight, and they were right. Central took the fight to them and showed the Eagles the Mountain League that they be the team to beat again this season.

Defense is usually Tyrone’s strong suit and although they had a great first half, the defense failed to show up in the second half.

“We played great defensively [in the first half], and we just needed to keep that going throughout the game,” said junior receiver Jacob Meredith.

Central’s defense, on the other hand, showed up in a big way. They held the Golden Eagles to -6 yards rushing and had five sacks.

Tyrone’s only score came with 2:32 left in the game against the Dragons reserves. Although they had plenty of chances to score, Central continually diminished any hopes of Tyrone reaching the end-zone.

The loss was especially costly as the Eagles suffered several injuries, one of them a season ending injury to a key starter.

Starting offensive and defensive tackle Stevie Colyer suffered an ACL and MCL tear in the first half.  Along with Colyer, Tyrone also lost lineman Aric Reader, who rolled an ankle and was forced to sit the remainder of the game.

“The loss of Stevie [Colyer] is a big hit, and it’s gonna be hard to fill his shoes,” said junior Jake Meredith.

Along with the injury woes of Tyrone, the Dragons were also at the top of their game.  Central senior Alex Hoenstine rushed for 178 yards and visited the end zone twice. Many of Central’s role players also played very well.

Tyrone’s next game is this Friday, September 9 against the Bearcats of Huntingdon. It is expected to be a classic Mountain League showdown. The game starts at 7 pm.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 0 0 0 7 – 7

Central 7 3 7 14 – 31

First quarter

C-C. Smith 19 pass from Hoenstine (J. Muthler kick), 4:11.

Second quarter

C-J. Muthler 30 FG, 0:00.

Third quarter

C-J. Smith 62 run (J. Muthler kick), 10:02.

Fourth quarter

C-Hoenstine 4 run (J. Muthler kick), 10:02.

C-Hoenstine 30 run (J. Muthler kick), 7:22.

T-Lewis 8 pass from Light (Vipond kick), 2:32.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Central-Hoenstine 23-178, J. Smith 6-68, I. Deterline 5-36, N. Muthler 1-23, Karstetter 4-7, Hoover 2-6, McConahy 1-3, C. Smith 1-2, TEAM 1-(-1). Tyrone-Loose 9-20, G. Weaver 11-6, Light 9-(-32).

PASSING: Central-Karstetter 5-11-1-51, Hoenstine 2-3-0-37. Tyrone-Light 9-16-1-132.

RECEIVING: Central-Benton 5-67, C. Smith 1-19, Hoenstine 1-2. Tyrone-Mitchell 4-59, Lewis 3-40, A. Weaver 2-33.

INTERCEPTIONS: Central-Corle. Tyrone-G. Weaver.