The buildup to Monday’s Tyrone at Central game was high, especially after two weather delays pushed last Friday’s scheduled game to Monday, but Central ended the drama early, dominating both sides of the ball on the way to a 42-7 victory over the visiting Golden Eagles.
“They made plays and we didn’t, it’s as simple as that. They did everything right. You’ve got to give them credit, they have a heck of a program,” Tyrone Head Coach John Franco said after the game.
The Dragons passing game was simply too much for the Tyrone defense to handle, and the Central defense controlled the Tyrone running game all night, limiting the Eagles to less than 50 total yards on the ground.
“We did not play well as a team on either side of the ball. We really need to step it up this week and forget about last week,” Tyrone junior quarterback Ashton Walk said.
Central quarterback Eli Muthler completed 16 of 28 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns, three through the air and one on the ground. Muther also had 40 yards rushing on six carries.
Four different receivers caught passes for Central with senior wideout Jack Dunn leading the Dragons with six catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, followed by senior Jacob Benton, who snagged five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Tyrone’s offense also struggled throughout the game.
The running game was held to just 46 total yards and nearly half of their passing yards came on one play, a nice 79 yard touchdown bomb from Aston Walk to sophomore Eli Woomer in the third quarter.
Woomer also led the Eagles in rushing with 26 yards on three carries. Junior Seth Hoover had 13 yards on ten carries and senior Brady Ronan was held to just 6 yards on only 3 carries.
Although the passing game was uncontrollable, the Tyrone defensive line and linebackers were a bright spot for the Eagles, only allowing 22 rushing yards through three quarters.
The Golden Eagles look to find a cure for their offensive and defensive problems this week in practice.
Tyrone does have some good news coming for this week’s matchup against Bald Eagle. Three-year starter Dravyn Crowell will return from a pre-season injury, which should help improve the pass defense against a quality BEA passing game.
Overall, Tyrone didn’t play to their standard and will strive to forget about the Central game and focus on the future.
“We’ve got a lot of growing up to do as a team, but I think that we took a positive step in that direction and I think we’ll get better,” Franco said.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 0 0 7 0–7
Central 7 21 7 7–42
First quarter
C–Dunn 8 pass from Muthler (Smith kick), 7:16.
Second quarter
C–Benton 9 pass from Muthler (Smith kick), 9:14.
C–Smith 45 interception return (Smith kick), 3:18.
C–Dionis 10 pass from Muthler (Smith kick), 0:15.
Third quarter
C–Smith 6 run (Smith kick), 4:24.
T–Woomer 79 pass from A. Walk (Romani kick), 2:43. Fourth quarter
C–Muthler 4 run (Smith kick), 9:53.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs
T: 12
C: 18
Total yards
T: 216
C: 353
Rushes-yards
T: 19-46
C: 32-131
Yards passing
T: 170
C: 222
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)
T: 9-21-1
C: 16-28-1
Punts/avg.
T: 2-38.5
C: 2-33.5
Fumbles-lost
T: 1-1
C: 0-0
Penalties-yards
T: 5-45
C: 2-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Tyrone, Woomer 3-26, Hoover 10-13, Ronan 3-6, A. Walk 2-1, Emeigh 3-0.
Central, Smith 10-66, Muthler 6-40, Mickel 4-13, Beach 4-11, Marko 1-4, Benton 3-3, Knisely 1-2, Harbaugh 1-0, Baker 1-(-1). TEAM 1-(-7).
PASSING
Tyrone, A. Walk 7-16-1-141, Woomer 2-4-0-41, Parsons 0-1-0-0.
Central, Muthler 16-28-1-222.
RECEIVING
Tyrone, Woomer 3-96, Ronan 2-15, Wallace 1-29, Buck 1-12, Weaver 1-11, Hoover 1-7.
Central, Dunn 6-91, Benton 5-70, Smith 3-43, Dionis 8.
