The 6-1 Tyrone Golden Eagles will host the 1-6 Central Mountain Wildcats this Friday at Gray-Memorial Field on Tyrone’s annual senior night.

Tyrone comes off of a 26-14 loss to the 5-2 Clearfield Bisons last Friday, Tyrone’s first of the season. Central Mountain is on a six game losing streak, winning only their first game against Williamsport.

The timing of this game for both teams could have an impact on the outcome.

Tyrone was undefeated until last week.  They will need to pick themselves up and make the commitment to improve if they want to keep their Mountain League Championship hopes alive and position themselves well for the playoffs

Central Mountain, on the other hand, has endured a six week losing streak and will be looking to salvage their season with a win over the Eagles, a team that historically has had their number.

Both teams should be hungry for a win.

“We have to go hard this week at practice. What happened last week can’t ever happen again. Everybody needs to improve,” said senior wide receiver and defensive back Nick Getz.

It is also important to remember that although Central Mountain is winning a mere 14% of its games, they are a AAAA team with a much larger enrollment and generally tougher schedule than AA Tyrone.

Despite their dismal record, Central Mountain cannot be overlooked and has the firepower to hand the Golden Eagles their second loss.

The Wildcats have a respectable rushing attack, averaging over 200 yards on the ground per game. Their passing game is below average but not pitiful, churning out about 90 yards per contest.

The Golden Eagle defense should redeem itself as one of the best in the league this week. Tyrone allowed its first 100 yard rusher last week with a 103 yard performance from Erik Sellers.

Tyrone’s game plan may suffer as a result of a hip injury to star linebacker and fullback Eli Sleeth against Clearfield. Sleeth will likely miss the game this Friday.

Even without Sleeth, Tyrone should not have much trouble moving the ball on offense. They have found a lot of success playing simple hard-nosed football up the middle, and Central Mountain is not known to have a stellar defense.

Expect Tyrone to come out of the gates strong and take out some frustration on the Wildcats.