The 2-0 Tyrone Golden Eagle basketball team has a big weekend ahead of them with back-to-back games against the Central Dragons and Tussey Mountain on Friday and Saturday.

The Golden Eagles come off two convincing wins against Bellwood and Philipsburg. But Central is no Philipsburg, and they are probably better than Bellwood. The Golden Eagles will need to step it up a bit to be able to win again against the Dragons.

“This weekend is huge for us,” senior Pooky Soellner explained. “These two games are crucial, they are going to make or break the start of our season.”

Soellner has been playing very well for the Golden Eagles, hitting shots from just about everywhere on the court.

Actually, just about all of the Golden Eagles have been stellar so far this year. In two games they have scored 132 points while only allowing 68. And surprisingly enough, it is the defense that has been the difference so far this year.

Guards Shane Geis and Pooky Soellner have been pressuring ball handlers into bad decisions while big men Tony Politza and Tristan Lingafelt do a great job of limiting teams to just one shot. Tyrone has been very impressive on the boards so far, a trend they will want to continue throughout the rest of the year.

Central is a unique opponent in that year after year, they bring to the table a team of mostly guards. t. And their speed and dribbling skills often overwhelm their opponents.

Tyrone will need to slow these guys down and get the Golden Eagle big men involved to maximize their potential Friday night.

Tyrone will then play Tussey Mountain on Saturday night. Tussey has been pretty impressive so far this year. Although they lost to Huntingdon in their first game this season, they are definitely the real deal. However, it is very difficult to tell this early in the season, as teams have not yet proven how good or bad they really are.

“We know that Tussey is pretty good. But we’ll worry about Tussey on Saturday. for now, we are focused on beating Central,” junior forward Tony Politza said.

Like Geis pointed out, this weekend is huge for the Golden Eagles. Hopefully they will be able to step up and meet the challenge.