The much anticipated Central-Tyrone District Championship game lived up to the hype. A close, hard fought game featured several big plays and came down to a last minute field goal to break a 14-14 tie, giving the Central Dragons the 17-14 win.

Bellwood’s Parker Gregg provided the spark of the Central offense all night, rushing for 160 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown for the Dragons.  

The Eagles were able to contain Central’s star sophomore quarterback Jeff Hoenstine for most of the game, limiting him to 51 yards rushing and 37 yards passing. However, unfortunate play in the third quarter resulted in a serious leg injury to the Central signal-caller, putting a damper on what was an otherwise entertaining game.

In Hoenstine’s absence, backup quarterback Rylan Daugherty stepped up when they needed him. 

Daugherty led a 50 yard, 10 play drive to set up an Austin Keith game-winning field goal with 25 seconds left. Daugherty made a key fourth down completion to tight end Ethan Eicher to keep the Central drive alive.

The first quarter started off strong for the Eagles. Forcing the Dragons to punt, a botched snap gave the Eagles good field position. However, the Eagles went three and out on their first drive. Central’s defensive line and blitzing linebackers were too much for the Tyrone line. 

Late in the first quarter the Dragons proved their offensive might and scored on the Eagles defense after a 41 yard run by Gregg, giving them the 7-0 lead.

The Dragons scored again in the second quarter with a one-yard run by Jeff Hoenstine, giving them a 14-0 lead.  

But just when it looked like the Scarlet Dragons might run away with the game, the Golden Eagle offense came to life to get on the scoreboard before the end of the half.

A  22-yard pass from Brandon Lucas to Damon Gripp in the endzone with only 17 seconds remaining in the half put the Eagles on the board. The extra point failed which kept the Eagles behind  14-6. 

Gripp had a big game with nine catches for 112 yards. Gripp also had a key reception on fourth-and-5 at the Central 15 to set up a game-tying touchdown. 

Both teams would come out fiery in the third quarter. Both teams stopped each other from scoring the entire third quarter.  

The score would remain 14-6 until late in the fourth quarter when a Brandon Lucas two-yard run scored for the Eagles. It was a successful two point conversion for Tyrone evening up the score 14-14. 

With limited time on the clock the Eagles defense stopped the Central offense from scoring a touchdown but could not block the field goal attempt. The Eagles had twenty seconds on the clock to get in the endzone. But a rushed pass play ended in an interception for the Dragons, sealing the game. 

The Golden Eagles lost 17-14 after a hard fought game. 

Central will play District 5-9 champ Bedford in the PIAA first round at Hollidaysburg on Friday. Tyrone will play Bellwood at Gray Field Friday for their final game of the year. 

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 0 6 0 8 — 14

Central 7 7 0 3 — 17

First Quarter

C–Gregg 2 run (Keith kick), 2:51.

Second Quarter

C–Hoenstine 1 run (Keith kick), 11:19.

T–Gripp 22 pass from Lucas (kick failed), :17.

Fourth Quarter

T–Lucas 2 run (Hicks pass from Lucas), 5:36.

C–Keith 23 FG, :25.

TEAM STATISTICS 

First downs

T: 12

C: 13

Total yards

T: 225

C: 268

Rushes-yards

T: 24-36

C: 38-216

Yards passing

T: 189

C: 52

Passing (comp.-att.-int.)

T: 16-26-1

C: 8-13-0

Punts-avg.

T: 5-37.2

C: 3-43.3

Fumbles-lost

T: 2-0

C: 1-0

Penalties-yards

T: 6-45

C: 3-33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

Tyrone: Hicks 9-26, Lucas 14-10, Gampe 1-0.

Central: Gregg 18-160, Hoenstine 15-51, Smith 3-12, Daugherty 1-0, TEAM 1-(7).

PASSING

Tyrone: Lucas 16-26-1-189.

Central: Hoenstine 7-12-0-37, Daugherty 1-1-0-15.

RECEIVING

Tyrone: Gripp 9-112, Hicks 4-47, Gampe 2-13, Gwinn 1-17.

Central: Gregg 4-21, Eicher 1-15, Veres 1-6, Harbaugh 1-5, Lingenfelter 1-5.