Eagles rally falls short

Late conversion stop gives Rangers the win

Justin Myers was a star quarterback at Forest Hills in the 1990s, leading the team to the PIAA finals when he was a senior in 1994. But though he’s one of the icons responsible for building the Rangers’ program into a football powerhouse, he wasn’t there for the years later in the 90s and into the 200s when Tyrone emerged to challenge and often surpass Forest Hills in the Central Pennsylvania hierarchy.

However, while last night was the first time he stepped into the mix of a rivalry that dates back to 1996, that doesn’t mean he was unfamiliar with Tyrone coach Jon Franco.

“I never got to play against Tyrone, but I’ve known Tyrone for years and years, and the way Coach Franco does things,” he said. “I love that man. He was the guy, when I became a quarterback, I went to his camp, and that’s where I learned how to do stuff.”

Every teacher holds out the hope of their student surpassing them one day. Franco was probably hoping that day wouldn’t have been last night, when the Rangers visited Gray-Veterans Memorial Field for a Laurel Highlands Week 10 crossover game. But in a back-and-forth game that saw wild swings in momentum and enough penalties to last a season, it was a goal line stand on a try for two with under a minute to play that allowed Myers to win his first head-to-head matchup with his former mentor.

The Rangers rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit and nearly gave it all back in the fourth quarter but held on to win 31-29 after stopping Tyrone quarterback Ashton Walk inches short of the goal line on a 2-point conversion attempt with 43.8 seconds left.