Soaring high, the Golden Eagles defeat Forest Hills 35-7 in opening round of PIAA playoffs
Defense plays big in victory with four takeaways
Senior running back Aleic Hunter had 224 yards rushing for the game.
Coming into this game the Tyrone Golden Eagles were undefeated in their last five first round playoff games, so expectations were high for week’s matchup with the 5-5 Forest Hills Rangers.
The Rangers were able to keep the game close for almost three quarters, but ultimately the Eagles proved to be too much, defeating visiting Forest Hills by a score of 35-7.
Our line was so dominant all four quarters, on both sides of the ball
— Senior RB Aleic Hunter
Tyrone treated this game like they have in years past, with the utmost concern. The Eagles played a conservative brand of football for most of the game, running the football and playing stout defense, which ultimately proved to be the formula for success.
The first quarter ended with no score, with both teams missing a few opportunities.
The first score of the game didn’t come until the 9:15 mark of the second quarter when Tyrone quarterback Garrett Hunter found senior wideout Silas Crawford in the back of the end zone for a 37 yard touchdown.
The second half opened with a nice drive by the Rangers, ending in a pretty ten yard touchdown run by senior Shareef Blough, knoting the game at 7-7.
But Tyrone was then able to capitalize on turnovers, including a fumble recovery by sophomore lineman Anthony Grassi and an interception by junior linebacker Zach Soellner.
Tyrone’s 147 pound shifty senior running back Aleic Hunter had another monster game, rushing for 224 yards on 34 carries and three touchdowns, giving him an average of 6.6 yards per rush. Twenty two of Hunter’s carries came in the second half, as Tyrone began to wear down the Ranger’s defensive line.
“Our line was so dominant all four quarters, on both sides of the ball,” said senior running back Aleic Hunter, “they were instrumental at opening up holes to run through and giving us time to throw as well.”
Tyrone rushed for 262 yards total, and held the Rangers to only 77 yards on 24 attempts.
The Rangers were mostly able to stop Tyrone’s passing game, holding senior quarterback Garrett Hunter to only 90 yards passing.
However, Hunter and senior wideout Silas Crawford were able to make their completions count with touchdown passes of 37 and 5 yards.
“Our defense stepped up big after giving up a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half,” said senior linebacker Jake Makdad, “that score was the wake up call we needed to win in the end.”
Despite giving up 317 yards of total offense, Tyrone’s defense, “The Birds of Prey” put on a show with their four turnovers. The three forced fumbles and interception were difference makers in the game.
The second round of the playoffs showcases a rematch between the Golden Eagles and the Huntington Bearcats, a team Tyrone defeated 55-21 back in Week 3 of the regular season.
“Next week, we can’t underestimate anybody,” Hunter said, “Huntingdon is more than their 5-5 record.”
The Eagles will face Huntingdon at 7:00 pm Saturday at Gray-Memorial Field in Tyrone.
In the other District XI semi-final game, number one seeded Mount Union will clash with the Central Dragons in Mount Union on Friday at 7:00 pm.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Forest Hills 0 0 7 0 – 7
Tyrone 0 7 14 14 – 35
First quarter
No scores
Second quarter
T-Crawford 37 pass from G. Hunter (Vipond kick), 9:15.
Third quarter
FH-Blough 10 run (Donoughe kick), 10:20.
T-Crawford 5 pass from G. Hunter (Vipond kick), 5:05.
T-A. Hunter 1 run (Vipond kick), 1:41.
Fourth quarter
T-A. Hunter 5 run (Vipond kick), 3:10.
T-A. Hunter 19 run (Vipond kick), 1:33.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING:
Forest Hills- Blough 15-51, Wieczorek 5-22, Donoughe 2-4, Pinkas 1-1, Sherman 1-(-1).
Tyrone- A. Hunter 34-224, G. Hunter 5-21, Sleeth 4-17.
PASSING:
Forest Hills- Sherman 17-32-1-240, TEAM 0-1-0-0.
Tyrone- G. Hunter 8-19-1-90.
RECEIVING:
Forest Hills- Donoughe 5-62, Blough 4-59, Pinkas 4-56, Madison 2-35, Wieczorek 2-28.
Tyrone- Crawford 2-42, Makdad 1-29, Boone 2-13, Getz 1-3, A. Hunter 1-2, Sleeth 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS:
Forest Hills- Donoughe.
Tyrone- Soellner.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs FH – 16 T- 18
Rushes-yards F-24-77 T-43-262
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) F-17-33-1 T-8-19-1
Yards passing F-240 T-90
Total yards F-317 T-352
Fumbles-lost F-3-3 T-2-1
Penalties-yards F-4-15 T-2-15
Punts-avg. F-2-29.5 T-4-32
Oh hey, I didn’t see you there. My name is Adam Zook, Editor in Chief of the world’s greatest school newspaper: Tyrone Eagle Eye News! I am a senior...
