Out of the 48 minutes of football the Golden Eagles played on Friday, they were not trailing for one second until 21 seconds left in the game. Tyrone dominated the majority of the game, leading most of it 20-7. However, after an unfortunate couple of events, the lead was stripped away, and the Golden Eagles walked away with a 21-20 opening Friday loss.
The Golden Eagles opened up the game with a 9-play drive that ended with a Caleb Whitby 9-yard touchdown rush to go up 7-0, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Tyrone headed out on defense and was looking great after Kolsen Moore and Ashton Emigh performed a 6-yard tackle for loss. Unfortunately, though, on a crucial 3rd and long, Bellefonte broke a 49-yard touchdown run to tie the game 7-all.
After the remaining of the first quarter ended in a stalemate, the Golden Eagles finally started to pull ahead with an 80-yard Woomer to Emigh touchdown pass only three minutes into the second quarter. The remainder of the first half was fairly uneventful as both teams’ defenses were playing solidly, ending most drives in punts.
After a long speech from coach John Franco at halftime, the Golden Eagles came out of the locker room hellbent on performing better and securing the victory.
“We played decent, but we are definitely capable of performing way better, and that is what we were focused on coming out at half,” Said senior offensive lineman and linebacker Owen Oakes
Tyrone’s defense was set to start on the field in the second half, and when their name was called, they answered. Bellefonte was forced to punt after going three and out on the opening drive of the second half.
After the Golden Eagles forced a punt to open half, it was their time to have possession of the ball, and they did not disappoint. Tyrone put together an 11-play 73-yard drive that ended with an Ashton Emigh touchdown rush. That was thought to be the dagger that would put Bellefonte away for good, but it was not.
The rest of the game was relatively uneventful until the final two minutes. With four minutes left in the game, the Golden Eagles were forced to punt, and this would be the turning point of the game. The Red Raiders mustered up a quick and efficient scoring drive to cut the lead to 20-14. Since the Red Raiders were down by a score with only one minute and forty-three seconds left in the game, they were forced to onside kick.
The Golden Eagles were not ready for the kick, and the Red Raiders recovered the ball, putting immense pressure on Tyrone. The Golden Eagles make a stand, and the Red Raiders come up on 4th and long; however, a controversial defensive pass interference call gave the Red Raiders an automatic first down. The Eagles’ defense shakes the penalty off and regroups, and forces a third and long. The Eagles get a great rush out of junior Kyler Suhoney, who makes a great play and sacks Bellefonte’s quarterback. However, an unfortunate facemask call gave the Red Raiders another automatic first down and great field position inside the ten-yard line. The Red Raiders go on to throw a touchdown pass, and the extra point was good, defeating the Golden Eagles by a heartbreaking score of 21-20.
Records: Tyrone (0-1); Bellefonte (1-0).
Next week: Tyrone hosts Westmont Hilltop; Bellefonte travels to Forest Hills.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 7 7 6 0–20
Bellefonte 7 0 0 14–21
First Quarter
Tyrone–Whitby 9 run (Novak kick), 7:52.
Bellefonte–Smith-Kirk 56 run (Oskin kick), 6:19.
Second Quarter
Tyrone–M. Emigh 80 pass from Woomer (Novak kick), 9:03.
Third Quarter
Tyrone–A. Emigh 4 run (kick failed), 5:38.
Fourth Quarter
Bellefonte–Howell 1 run (Oskin kick), 1:43.
Bellefonte–Long 10 pass from Huntsinger (Oskin kick), 0:21.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs
Tyrone-7
Bellefonte-13
Total yards
Tyrone- 288
Bellefonte-238
Rushes-yards
Tyrone-22-54
Bellefonte-39-148
Yards passing
Tyrone-234
Bellefonte-90
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)
Tyrone-11-18-1
Bellefonte-12-18-1
Punts/avg.
Tyrone-5-36.8
Bellefonte-4-35.5
Fumbles-lost
Tyrone-0-0
Bellefonte-3-0
Penalties-yards
Tyrone- 7-80
Bellefonte-3-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Tyrone, Woomer 6-24, Whitby 11-18, A. Emigh 5-12. Bellefonte, Smith-Kirk 11-96, Howell 8-49, Huntsinger 14-16, Gall 3-4, Bartley 1-(-1), Long 1-(-5), TEAM 1-(-11).
PASSING–Tyrone, Woomer 11-18-1-234. Bellefonte, Huntsinger 12-18-1-90.
RECEIVING–Tyrone, Stroup 3-50, Parsons 2-24, A. Emigh 2-22, Parks 1-37, M. Emigh 1-80, Whitby 1-17, Martin 1-4. Bellefonte, Howell 3-24, Long 2-18, Dufour 2-7, Langville 1-13, Jodon 1-9, Gall 1-8, Ammerman 1-8, Bartley 1-3.
