Injuries at several key positions have had a huge impact on the Golden Eagles this season.  However, this week the  Golden Eagles got some good news on the injury front with senior tail back Gary Weaver back on the field to add to an improving Tyrone offense.

Weaver’s senior season looked to be over after a knee injury sidelined him for the majority of the season, but he handled an aggressive workload with ease Friday on 18 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown. Weaver’s return was triumphant as he and Parker Mitchell helped lead Tyrone to a 20-10 victory over Penns Valley.

“It was really good to have Gary back,” said Coach Jason Wilson. “We knew going into this game that we were going to give him the ball more. He was a really hard runner and a leader on this team since spring.”

Penns Valley scored first with a 30 yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Tyrone answered immediately when sophomore QB Denver Light connecting with senior wide out Alex Weaver for 37 yards.  Light followed up with a 32 yard scamper of his own to get the offense to the red zone.  Gary Weaver finished the drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown.

The Golden Eagle defense made quick work of Penns Valley’s next drive by forcing them to punt after a three and out. Parker Mitchell made the Rams special teams look foolish and returned took the punt back to the house for a 55-yard score.

There’s not much opposing teams can do when it comes to stopping junior Parker Mitchell on offense either.  He’s a common name on opposing scouting reports and is usually faced with the challenge of double coverage.

“You definitely have to game plan for [Michell],” said Penns Valley Head Coach Martin Tobias. “He’s got some special, special skills. He catches the ball well, runs good routes and is fast.” 

That game plan didn’t seem to be too effective when Mitchell smoked the Rams for 140 yards and 8 receptions including a 41-yard touchdown right before halftime. Tyrone’s two point conversion attempt failed.

Penns Valley’s only touchdown of the game came late in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard carry. Tyrone’s defense was stellar otherwise.

With this victory Tyrone improved to 5-4 and kept their playoff hopes alive and Penns Valley dropped to 2-7.

“Penn’s Valley was a big team, they’ve had a lot of improvement over the season and have been in several tough games,” said Wilson.

Tyrone’s next challenge is Chestnut Ridge to end the regular season. The Golden Eagles are still in the playoff race and seeding will be determined after the final regular season game.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone 14 6 0 0 –20

Penns Valley 3 0 0 7 –10

First quarter

Penns Valley–Woodford 30 FG, 8:13

Tyrone –G. Weaver 4 run (Vipond kick), 5:50

Tyrone–Mitchell 55 punt return (Vipond kick), 4:43

Second quarter

T–Mitchell 41 pass from Light (pass failed), 1:42

Fourth quarter

Penns Valley–Ripka 3 run (Woodford kick), 6:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:

Tyrone–G. Weaver 18-126, Light 10-35, Loose 7-25, Plummer 2-7, Albright 2-5,

Penns Valley–Ripka 12-78, Fegley 9-31, Steiger 3-9, Tobias 4-3, Wenrick 1-1.

PASSING:

Tyrone–Light 11-25-2-198.

Penns Valley–Tobias 8-24-0-62.

RECEIVING:

Tyrone–Mitchell 8-140, A. Weaver 1-37, Lehman 1-11, G. Weaver 1-10.

Penns Valley–Duffield 2-22, Kubalak 2-19, Hurd 2-16, Woodford 2-5.

INTERCEPTIONS:

Tyrone-NONE

Penns Valley–Hurd, Kubalak

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs

Tyrone:19

Penns Valley: 8

Yards rushing

Tyrone: 41-196

Penns Valley: 29-122

Passing (comp.-att.-int)

Tyrone: 11-25-2

Penns Valley: 8-24-0

Passing yards

Tyrone: 198

Penns Valley: 62

Total yards

Tyrone: 394

Penns Valley: 184

Fumbles lost

Tyrone: 1-1

Penns Valley: 1-0

Penalties-yards

Tyrone: 9-77

Penns Valley: 3-35

Punts-avg.

Tyrone: 3-34.0

Penns Valley: 7-31.2