Lucas Leads Eagles to Second Straight Win
The Golden Eagles picked up their second win in a row Friday night as they completed a comeback against PO, defeating the Mounties 22-16 behind another outstanding performance by junior quarterback Brandon Lucas.
Tyrone has not lost to Philipsburg in the last 16 years, but things were not looking good for the Golden Eagles at halftime. They were down 16-7 and had injuries to several key players.
However, thanks in large part to runs by Lucas, Tyrone rallied in the second half and scored 15 unanswered points to beat Philipsburg.
“It feels great to get the win. But without our linemen blocking hard every play and my receivers making big plays we would never have been in a position to get the win,” said Lucas.
With Tyrone down one running back to start the night, they also lost running backs Noah Zimmerman and Cory Beck to injuries during the game.
Tyrone Head Coach John Franco had to turn to Lucas in both the passing and running game to help secure the victory.
The Eagle defense also made plays when needed, led by junior defensive end Matthew Clifton who came up with several big tackles.
“All I did was tackle and hit people. We were in a bad position at the end of the first half and everyone knew that. We needed big defensive stops every time PO had the ball to give us the best chance to win and in the second half, everyone did their share and it feels good to get the win,” said Clifton.
Lucas led the rushing attack for the Golden Eagles, racking up 92 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns.
Through the air, Lucas went 10-15 passing for 135 yards. Damon Gripp had 8 receptions for 100 yards and Brandon Homan had 2 receptions for 35 yards including a 30 yard reception that set up a one yard rushing touchdown for Lucas.
PO got on the board first when Ryan Whitehead found his receiver for a 4 yard touchdown, giving the Mounties a 6-0 lead with 7:57 after a failed two point conversion. Tyrone took the lead back with 3:03 left in the quarter when Brandon Lucas punched the ball in from one yard out for his first touchdown of the game, giving the Eagles a 7-6 lead when Keegan Raabe’s extra point soared through the uprights.
The second quarter was all PO as they scored another touchdown with 11:19 left in the quarter on a 5 yard run by Stamm giving them a 13-7 after a successful extra point. They scored again with 4:33 left in the half on a 25 yard field goal, giving them a 16-7 lead going into the half.
Tyrone came out with a new life in the second half their defense flying around making plays all over the field even with their signal caller Noah Zimmer out of the game with a shoulder injury.
Tyrone cut PO’s lead to two points with 4:33 left in the third quarter when Brandon Lucas ran the ball in from three yards out for his second touchdown of the game. PO still held a 16-14 lead over the Eagles after another Raabe extra point.
Tyrone drove the dagger into PO midway through the fourth quarter when Brandon Lucas took the ball and breaking away from every PO defender trying to bring him down finding the endzone from 13 yards out for his third touchdown of the game. Tyrone took a 22-16 lead after Lucas found Gripp for a two point conversion.
That final scored proved to be the game winner for the Golden Eagles as their defense snuffed out any hope PO had of retaking the lead.
With the victory Tyrone moves to 2-2 on the year. They look to pick up their third consecutive win this Friday as they welcome a tough opponent in the Bellefonte Red Raiders to Gray Field.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Philipsburg-Osceola 6 10 0 0 –16
Tyrone 7 0 7 8 –22
First Quarter
PO–Depto 4 pass from R. Whitehead (pass failed), 7:57
T–Lucas 1 run (Raabe kick), 3:03
Second Quarter
PO–Stamm 5 run (Parks kick), 11:19
PO–Parks 25 field goal, 4:33
Third Quarter
T–Lucas 3 run (Raabe kick), 4:33
Fourth Quarter
T–Lucas 13 run (Gripp pass from Lucas), 8:11
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs
PO 16
T 15
Total yards
PO 356
T 282
Rushes-yards
PO 35-156
T 30-147
Yards passing
PO 200
T 135
Passing (comp.-att.-int)
PO 15-22-0
T 10-15-0
Punts-avg.
PO 2-32.0
T 3-30.6
Fumbles-lost
PO 0-0
T 0-0
Penalties-yards
PO 7-68
T 1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Philipsburg-Osceola–Stamm 29-129, Weitoish 1-19, R. Whitehead 4-8. Tyrone–Lucas 19-92, Zimmerman 8-58, Beck 3-1.
PASSING — Philipsburg-Osceola–R. Whitehead 15-22-0-200. Tyrone–Lucas 10-15-0-135.
RECEIVING — Philipsburg-Osceola–Weitoish 3-63, J. Whitehead 3-52, Chapman 3-40, Stamm 3-23, Depto 3-22. Tyrone–Gripp 8-100, Homan 2-35
Hi, I’m Michael Stoner. I’m currently a senior at Tyrone Area High School, and this is my third year as a member of the Eagle Eye staff. This year,...
