Everything seemed to go right for Tyrone on Friday night against Penns Valley.
They gained 623 yards in total offense, did not turn the ball over, did not punt, completed 17 of 20 attempted passes, rushed for almost 300 yards, and tied a century-old scoring record in a stellar 82-26 blowout win.
The leaders of the Golden Eagle offensive attack were Ashton Walk who threw for 350 yards and 5 touchdowns, Seth Hoover who rushed for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns, Eli Woomer who pulled in 148 receiving yards with two touchdowns, and Trent Adams who tallied 106 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Austin Lucas and Cian Hockenberry shined on defense, accumulating the majority of tackles for Tyrone. Hockenberry even added a score on a 55-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown late in the game.
Placekicker Tytus Novak made himself the answer to a great Tyrone football trivia question by filling in for his injured brother Dante. It was not just Novak’s first start, it was his first-ever football game, and he broke the school record for single-game extra points with 10.
After the game Tyrone head coach John Franco apologized to Penns Valley’s coach for the final score. “Sometimes a game gets out of hand like that,” Franco said. “Our offense was just really excellent tonight in all phases. I was really pleased with how we progressed offensively. We still have some work to do on defense.”
Although the final scoreboard didn’t show it, the Ram’s offense gave Tyrone a challenge in the first half.
Penns Valley racked up 280 yards and four touchdowns for a respectable performance, but ultimately turnovers and missed tackles on the part of the Rams caused the score to get out of hand late in the game.
Tyrone scored on their first two offensive drives but the Golden Eagle defense couldn’t contain Penns Valley and allowed the Rams to tie the game at 14-14.
Tyrone’s offense exploded in the second quarter and scored on every single offensive drive to close out the first half with a comfortable 48-14 lead.
“Our offense couldn’t be stopped, we knew that we just needed a couple more scores and the backups could start getting some reps,” senior receiver Gayge Miller said.
To start the second half the Rams stopped the Golden Eagles offense on fourth down. The Rams followed it up with a score and gained a little bit of confidence.
However, on their next possession, Seth Hoover and the Tyrone offensive line drove down the field and quickly responded with another score and put the game well out of reach.
Tyrone then put in their JV squad in and closed the game out with 35 points of their own.
Tyrone sophomore Caleb Whitby returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. On Penns Valley’s next possession, Tyrone sophomore Isiah Sahoney sacked Miller and stripped the ball. Hockenberry picked up the loose ball and scored on a 55-yard fumble recovery to make it 75-26.
Sahoney then scored on a 54-yard touchdown run with the JV squad as the Golden Eagles were keeping the ball on the ground and running out the clock.
Tyrone advances to 5-4 and will take on the 4-5 Chestnut Ridge Lions in New Paris at 7 pm on Friday in the week 10 Laurel Highlands crossover game.
This matchup plays a major role in how the playoff picture will look for the Golden Eagles.
Tyrone is guaranteed a playoff birth, but if they win this week at Chestnut Ridge they will be the third seed and play at Central or Forest Hills. If they lose, they will face the undefeated Penn Cambria Panthers on the road as the number four seed.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 14 34 28 7 — 82
Penns Valley 6 8 12 0 — 26
First Quarter
T – Hoover 2 run (Novak kick) 8:25
P – Miller 1 run (PAT failed) 2:27
T – Hoover 61 run (Novak kick) 1:16
Second Quarter
P – Wasson 31 pass from Miller (Miller pass to Ironside) 11:53
T – Walk 10 run (PAT failed) 10:08
T – Woomer 58 pass from Walk (Novak kick) 7:35
T – Adams 57 pass from Walk (Novak kick) 3:59
T – Miller 27 pass from Walk (Novak kick) 2:02
T – Woomer 25 pass from Walk (Novak kick) :25
Third Quarter
P – Shelley 6 run (PAT failed) 9:01
T – Hoover 3 run (Novak kick) 7:03
T – K. Sahoney 45 interception return (Novak kick) 6:22
P – Shawver 40 run (PAT failed) 3:00
T – Whitby 95 kick return (Novak kick) 2:44
T – Hockenberry 55 fumble return (Novak kick)
Fourth Quarter
T – I. Sahoney 54 run (Novak kick) 8:25
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs
Tyrone: 27
Penns Valley: 10
Total yards
Tyrone: 623
Penns Valley: 280
Rushes-yards
Tyrone: 23-273
Penns Valley: 27-143
Yards passing
Tyrone: 350
Penns Valley: 136
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)
Tyrone: 17-20-0
Penns Valley: 12-26-1
Punts-avg.
Tyrone: 0-0
Penns Valley: 4-20.8
Fumbles-lost
Tyrone: 0-0
Penns Valley: 2-2
Penalties-yards
Tyrone: 12-83
Penns Valley: 6-69
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Tyrone: Hoover 17-196, Walk 1-10, Whitby 1-15, I. Sahoney 1-54, Zupon 1-3, Tea, 2-(-2).
Penns Valley: Ironside 2-27, Shelley 7-34, Shawver 12-80, Miler 2-(-5), Ripka 4-7.
PASSING
Tyrone: Walk 17-20-350, 5 TDs, 0 Ints.
Penns Valley Miller 12-26-136, 1 TD, 1 Int.
RECEIVING
Tyrone: Hoover 2-20, Woomer 5-148, Adams 4-106, Emigh 2-23, Miller 3-41, Weston 1-7.
Penns Valley: Ironside 7-91, Wasson 1-31, Shelley 1-3, Shawver 1-1, Fetterolf 1-4, Althouse 1-4
