Despite shutting their offense out in the second half Tyrone failed to come back against Clearfield in a 22-3 loss on a rainy Homecoming night.

Clearfield’s defense, lead by seniors Ryan Lezzer and Matt Collins, shut down Tyrone’s offense for the majority of the game. Lezzer intercepted Denver Light on the first play of the game.

We just didn’t make plays when we had the opportunities,” said Tyrone Head Coach Jason Wilson, “We didn’t play a terrible game, we had them stopped several times on third and fourth down and they would make a play when they needed it. We had opportunities to bring the game back within reach and didn’t make the plays. We just need to continue to stay focused and improve on the little things.”

In the first half, Clearfield’s weapons on offense just looked to be too much for the Golden Eagle defense.

Quarterback Isaac Rumery threw for 148-yards and two touchdowns in the first half. One of those touchdowns and 99 of those yards were to Division-1 recruit Ryan Lezzer. Running back Seth Caldwell also broke out for 120 yards on the ground.

Clearfield showcased two of the best individual talents  that Tyrone has seen all season in linebacker Matt Collins and the versatile Ryan Lezzer.

“Collins is one of the best linebackers that we have seen all year. He has good speed and is a tough player,” said Wilson, “and Lezzer made some nice catches and runs but I’m more impressed with their quarterback scrambling and finding Lezzer down the field.”

“Lezzer was decent” said Jake Meredith, “we just couldn’t find a way to contain him.”

There were times where the Golden Eagle offense would be close but would come up just short. The only score of the night for Tyrone came after Brandon Loose and Denver Light got the offense to the 17 yard line after back to back 15-yard carries. Then Ethan Vipond converted on a 27-yard field goal that just barely grazed the crossbar.

The final score heading into halftime was 22-3. That score would hold through the entire second half. The Golden Eagle defense looked strong and turned things around in the second half, but the offense couldn’t muster up any scoring plays. After this loss, Tyrone may have to win out if they want to see some November football.

“Playoffs are still up in the air; we can’t be thinking about playoffs. Teams three through the eighth seed are still all in the running and only the top six make it. We have a tough task ahead of us,” said Wilson.

The Golden Eagles are going to have to get through Hollidaysburg next. They are coming off of a 33-6 victory over Taylor Allderice High School. The Golden Tigers may be 3-4 but cannot be taken lightly.

“I’m not scared of them,” said junior Jake Meredith. “We just have to go out there and play our brand of football.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Clearfield 10 12 0 0 – 22

Tyrone 0 3 0 0 – 3

First quarter

Clearfield-Serena 25 FG, 8:00.

Clearfield-Lezzer 26 pass from Rumery (Serena kick), 3:38.

Second quarter

Tyrone -Vipond 27 FG, 9:24.

Clearfield -Royer 36 pass from Rumery (kick failed), 6:14.

Clearfield -Rumery 21 run (pass failed), :56.1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:

Clearfield-Caldwell 22-120, Rumery 12-74, Bender 4-49, McGonigal 7-15, Lezzer 2-(-8).

Tyrone-Loose 11-35, Light 8-30.

PASSING:

Clearfield-Rumery 9-15-1-154.

Tyrone-Light 4-17-1-41.

RECEIVING:

Clearfield: Lezzer 6-99, Royer 1-36 Graham 1-13, Caldwell 1-6.

Tyrone: Lewis 2-24, Mitchell 1-10, A. Weaver 1-7.

INTERCEPTIONS:

Clearfield-Lezzer, Tyrone-Light.

TEAM STATISTICS  

First downs

Clearfield 20, Tyrone 6

Rushes-yards

Clearfield 47-250, Tyrone 19-65

Passing (comp.-att.-int.)

Clearfield 9-15-1, Tyrone 4-17-1

Yards passing

Clearfield 154, Tyrone 41

Total yards

Clearfield 404, Tyrone 106

Fumbles-lost

Clearfield 1-0, Tyrone 0-0

Penalties-yards

Clearfield 5-54, Tyrone 3-25

Punts-avg

Clearfield 1-33.0, Tyrone 6-40.5