Historically Tyrone has not had much success in overtime. In four previous trips to the fifth quarter, Tyrone was 0-4, losing to Mifflin County, Sharon, Bishop McCort and Huntingdon.

But after giving up a huge first half lead on Friday, the 2016 Golden Eagles rewrote history by recording the program’s first overtime win against the Huntingdon Bearcats.

In just his third varsity start, Tyrone sophomore Denver Light was the definition of a dual-threat quarterback. Light completed 11 of 29 pass attempts for three TDs and 207 passing yards and accumulated 77 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.

Tyrone came at Huntingdon right out of the gates, jumping out to a quick 21-0 lead after two TD passes to junior receivers Jake Meredith and Parker Mitchell and a rushing TD from Denver Light.

However, Tyrone lost that lead almost as quickly as they got it.  Huntingdon scored 28 unanswered points, 14 in the second quarter and 14 in the third to turn the momentum their way.

“You cannot relax when you get a lead,” said Tyrone Head Coach Jason Wilson, “we need to be able to finish teams whenever we pull ahead.”

After going scoreless in the third and seeing their 21 point lead evaporate into a 7 point deficit, Tyrone finally regained momentum in the fourth quarter before the game got out of reach. The teams exchanged touchdowns as the game turned into a shootout. After Tyrone fumbled on their own 10 yard line, Huntingdon pulled ahead 42-35 with only 3:20 left.

That’s when sophomore QB Denver Light stole the show, leading the team on a 10 play 63-yard touchdown drive. With 48 seconds on the clock the quarterback scrambled to the right and took it himself, tip-toeing the sideline on a 34-yard score that sent the game to overtime.

“I honestly didn’t expect to score, but I got a few good blocks, made a quick cut, and beat #44 to the sideline then I just managed to tiptoe in for the TD,” said Light.

“Denver played a great game,” said Wilson, “He’s a young quarterback and made some mistakes but when the game was on the line, he stepped up to make plays. He’s only going to get better as the season goes on and the game slows down for him.”

Tyrone won the toss in overtime and elected to defend first. The Golden Eagle defense had an impressive showing in OT and managed to hold Huntingdon to zero yards on three downs. The Bearcats were forced to attempt the field goal. Huntingdon’s kicker Tim Lightner, who had converted all 6 PAT attempts, shanked the 27 yard attempt.

Tyrone took the ball at the 10 yard line, and it only took the Eagles two downs to end the game.

Junior tailback Brandon Loose fought the Bearcat defense and dove into the endzone for a game-winning 7-yard TD. Loose finished with 109 yards and 2 TD’s on just 16 carries.

“It feels great to score a game winner, but I wouldn’t have been able to break free without the boys on the line,” said Loose. “They set me up me up with great blocks and all I had to do was dive for the goal line”

Coach Wilson was pleased with his team’s ability to come back.

“I think there are a couple things that we need to take away from this game –  this was a great win for us to overcome adversity,” said Wilson. “I’m really proud of the way this team has come together as one and continue to play as a team through difficult situations.”

Next week the Golden Eagles travel to play the Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties who are coming off of a 45-7 loss to Bellefonte.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Huntingdon 0 14 14 14 0 – 42
Tyrone 14 7 0 21 6 – 48

First Quarter

T-Meredith 51 pass from Light (Vipond kick), 10:30.
T-Mitchell 9 pass from Light (Vipond kick), 6:26.

Second Quarter

T-Light 4 run (Vipond kick), 10:07.
H-Border 1 run (Lightner kick), 8:49.
H-Price 36 pass from Hudy (Lightner kick), 0:33.

Third Quarter

H-Border 5 run (Lightner kick), 7:58.
H-Hudy 5 run (Lightner kick), 3:17.

Fourth Quarter

Tyrone-Mitchell 52 pass from Light (Vipond kick), 10:07.
Huntingdon-Hudy 57 run (Lightner kick), 8:16.
Tyrone-Loose 46 run (Vipond kick), 7:02.
Huntingdon-Border 1 run (Lightner kick), 3:20.
Tyrone-Light 34 run (Vipond kick), 0:48.

Overtime

T-Loose 7 run (no attempt), 0:00.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:

Huntingdon-Border 21-161, Hudy 19-120, Glenny 4-9, Weglarz 1-5, Werner 1-(-3).

Tyrone-Loose 16-108, G. Weaver 10-90, Light 10-80, TEAM 1-(-5).

PASSING:

Huntingdon-Hudy 6-11-0-95.

Tyrone-Light 11-28-1-209.

RECEIVING:

Huntingdon-Price 3-71, Border 2-16, Werner 1-8.

Tyrone-Mitchell 4-92, Meredith 3-77, G. Weaver 2-23, A. Weaver 1-10, Lewis 1-7.

INTERCEPTIONS:

Huntingdon-Mykut.

Tyrone-none.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs:

Huntingdon: 12

Tyrone: 19

Rushes-yards

Huntingdon: 46-292

Tyrone: 37-273

Passing (comp.-att.-int.)  

Huntingdon: 6-11-0

Tyrone: 11-28-1

Yards passing:

Huntingdon: 95

Tyrone 209

Total yards:

Huntingdon: 387

Tyrone: 482

Fumbles-lost:

Huntingdon: 3-2

Tyrone: 2-2

Penalties-yards

Huntingdon: 5-25

Tyrone: 7-41

Punts-avg.

Huntingdon: 5-36.8

Tyrone: 3-29.7