Franco knows the threat posed by Huntingdon

A year ago Tyrone was riding high, undefeated and unchallenged heading into a Week 5 game against Huntingdon.

It probably should have been a blowout. The Bearcats had lost big twice already by that time and every quality team on their schedule ultimately won handily against them. Tyrone thought it was one of those teams.

But it didn’t turn out that way. Playing at War Vets Field, the game quickly turned into a real battle, with Huntingdon answering everything Tyrone could throw at it. The Eagles highly regarded passing game didn’t do much. Its emerging running game fell flat.

It’s time for our kids to step up nd say this is our next step towards our goals,” Franco said. “We know it’s going to be tough. If we don’t play our best game this week, we’re not going to beat them. You can throw the records out the window.

John Franco

Tyrone led 7-6 in the fourth quarter when it was able to add an insurance score on a touchdown pass from Ashton Walk to Ross Gampe, but the game wasn’t over yet. Huntingdon took over at the 50 and had a real shot at what could have been a game-tying score before Andrew Weaver and Austin Lucas emerged with defensive stops to end the ‘Cats’ hopes.

The point is, it’s hard to count out Huntingdon in a game against Tyrone, no matter what its record is.

That’s a message Golden Eagles coach John Franco has been drilling into his players’ heads this week.

Tyrone, now with an even 3-3 records, faces 1-5 Huntingdon Friday at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field in a Laurel Highlands East Section 1 game.