Last Friday night in Bald Eagle had a distinct playoff feel as 4-0 Tyrone went toe to toe with 4-0 Bellefonte. With Bellefonte’s field closed for renovation and the game taking place on a neutral field, added another playoff-like element to the game. 

Tyrone jumped out to an early 14-7 halftime lead but Bellefonte tied it up on the first play of the third quarter.  Tyrone fell apart late and couldn’t recover, in route to a 31-14 road loss for the Golden Eagles.

“The game was tied and a great matchup into the fourth quarter. Both teams were battling and it was a physical matchup until the end,” said Tyrone head coach Jason Wilson, “Bellefonte didn’t make any adjustments from what we expected to see from them but we’ve made some slight changes based on that game to be better prepared for the future if we face a similar opponent.

Tyrone’s early lead began with 5:41 left in the first quarter when sophomore Tommy Hicks caught a Denver Light pass along the sidelines for a 9-yard touchdown.

Bellefonte tied the game with 11:58 remaining in the second quarter on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Myers to Bauman, tying the game at 7.

Tyrone struck back in the second quarter when Zac Albright took a handoff up the middle and ran 35 yards to the house putting Tyrone on top 14-7.

Albright continued his outstanding senior season with another huge game as he racked up 166 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown. 

“Zac is a hard downhill runner and the line has been blocking very well up front. We’ve been getting to our correct assignments and able to open up seams for Zac to hit,” said Wilson.

Bellefonte was unable to respond in the remainder of the first half as Tyrone held the one touchdown lead, 14-7 going into halftime.

Any first play of the third quarter set the tone for the rest of the second half. Bellefonte handed the ball to tailback CJ Funk as he ran for the 61-yard touchdown tying the game 14-14 with 11:41 left in the third quarter.

After that play, Bellefonte never looked back as they added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Badger took a 12-yard touchdown pass from Myers giving Bellefonte a 21-14 lead with 10:08 left in the game.

Tyrone’s offense struggled in the fourth and was unable to put up any more points, but that wasn’t the case for Bellefonte they added another touchdown with 7:11 left in the game on a three-yard run by Myers giving the Red Raiders a 28-14 lead.

Bellefonte hit the final blow when they nailed a 19-yard field goal giving them a 31-14 lead, ultimately ending Tyrone’s undefeated run.

With the loss, Tyrone’s record moves to 4-1 on the season.

Tyrone looks to bounce back next Friday as they travel to Bald Eagle to take on the Eagles looking to regain their top spot in the Mountain League.

“We have to stay focused on Bald Eagle all week during practice and have sharp practices all week. We have to focus on finishing plays and going hard between the whistles. Playing four quarters is the key to knocking them off,” said senior captain Aric Reader.

BOX SCORE

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 7 7 0 0 — 14

Bellefonte 0 7 7 17 — 31

First Quarter

T–Hicks 9 pass from Light (Raabe kick), 5:41.

Second Quarter

B–Bauman 35 pass from Myers (Persiko kick), 11:48.

T–Albright 37 run (Raabe kick), 7:56.

Third Quarter

B–Funk 61 run (Persiko kick), 11:41.

Fourth Quarter

B–Badger 12 pass from Myers (Persiko kick), 10:08.

B–Myers 3 run (Persiko kick), 7:11.

B–Persiko 19 FG

Team statistics T B

First Downs

Tyrone-17

Bellefonte-14

Rushing

Tyrone 20 262

Receiving

Tyrone 108

Bellefonte 64

Passing

Tyrone 14-31-1

Bellefonte 7-14-0

Totals

Tyrone 128

Bellefonte 326

Fumbles-lost

Tyrone 0-0

Bellefonte 1-0

Penalties

Tyrone 5-50

Bellefonte 7-80

Punts/Avg.

Tyrone 8-39

Bellefonte 3-49

Individual Statistics

Rushing–Tyrone, Albright 20-166, Hicks 1-5, Light 4-9. Bellefonte, Myers 20-66, Funk 17-173, Bauman 1-(-6), Dann 1-4, Lehman 2-4, Capparelle 1-5, Emel 3-5, Grey 1-8, Badger 1-3.

Passing–Tyrone, Light 12-29-84-1, Lucas 2-3-24-0. Bellefonte – Myers 7-14-64-0.

Receiving–Tyrone, Albright 1-(-1), Hicks 5-45, Lehman 1-16, Gripp 1-9, Reader 1-8, Gunsallus 2-24, Homan 2-7. Bellefonte, Badger 2-21, Bauman 5-43.