Friday night marked the first time in 27 years that Tyrone has lost to the Bellefonte Red Raiders. After two late scores and a few defensive stops, the Red Raiders left Tyrone with a nail biting 14-13 win.  

Going into the game Tyrone’s chances were smaller than usual without senior running back Gary Weaver and starting quarterback Denver Light. Bellefonte knew that this game was the best chance they’ve had to beat Tyrone in awhile.

“It stinks not being able to be on the field with the team,” said Light. “I’m just going day by day right now trying to get back out there.”

After the first three quarters, it looked as though Tyrone was going to win the game. The Golden Eagles had a 13-7 lead going into the fourth after junior Parker Mitchell intercepted Bellefonte’s quarterback and made a few people miss for 56-yard pick-6 and junior Brandon Loose’s 7-yard rushing TD. Junior Ethan “Kicker” Vipond missed his first PAT attempt which would later become a crucial part of the game.

“We were looking to have a good running game and an efficient short passing game,” said coach Wilson. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle.”

The lack of an effective passing game caught up with the Eagles late in the game as the Red Raiders were able to stuff the box against the run.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter Bellefonte scored after quarterback Tyler Kreger found tight end Tanner Helms beat a few Tyrone defenders on his way to an 80 yard TD. The extra point made it a 1-point deficit in Bellefonte’s favor.

Bellefonte had to be strong defensively to keep the lead.

Tyrone got another shot after a fumbled snap by Bellefonte’s punter, giving Tyrone the ball at the Bellefonte 45 with four minutes left to play.

The Golden Eagle offense managed to make their way down to the 25-yard line but a false start moved them back 5-yards back and out of field goal range. The next play Alex Weaver, the second Eagle quarterback of the night, was intercepted by Bellefonte’s Tyler Kreger.

“We couldn’t get any passing game going,”  said Coach Wilson after the game, “when you’re one-dimensional, that’s when teams can attack you. That’s basically what they did to us.”

The Golden Eagles will look to right the ship on the road against the Bald Eagle Eagles this Friday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bellefonte 0 0 7 7 – 14

Tyrone 0 6 7 0 – 13

Second quarter

Tyrone-Mitchell 56 interception return (kick failed), 11:32.

Third quarter

Tyrone-Loose 7 run (Vipond kick), 5:21.

Bellefonte-Kutches 54 fumble return (Persiko kick), 4:23.

Fourth quarter

Bellefonte-Helms 80 pass from Kreger (Persiko kick), 11:45.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:

Bellefonte-Gallashaw 12-120, Kreger 11-19, Helms 2-1, Gardner 3-1, Boone 1-(-4), TEAM 3-(-15).

Tyrone-Loose 27-138, Albright 2-3, A. Weaver 3-(-4), R. Hicks 9-(-8).

PASSING:

Bellefonte-Kreger 1-1-0-80, Gardner 5-10-1-32.

Tyrone-R. Hicks 4-6-0-26, A. Weaver 0-4-2-0.

RECEIVING:

Bellefonte-Helms 2-89, Fortney, 3-20, Boone 1-3.

Tyrone-Loose 3-18, Mitchell 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS:

Bellefonte-Kutches, Kreger.

Tyrone-Mitchell.

TEAM STATISTICS 

First downs: Bellefonte-7, Tyrone-11

Rushes-yards: Bellefonte-32-122, Tyrone-41-129

Passing (comp.-att.-int.): Bellefonte-6-11-1, Tyrone-4-10-2

Yards passing: Bellefonte-112, Tyrone-26

Total yards: Bellefonte-234, Tyrone-155 

Penalties-yards: Bellefonte-10-80, Tyrone-3-20

Punts-avg.: Bellefonte-4-36.0, Tyrone-5-32.8