Thinking of the array of talented skill players returning to his team this season, Tyrone coach John Franco made an interesting, though tongue-in-cheek observation.
If they could play their games 7-on-7, he said, they could win a state championship.
That’s how confident the veteran coach is in the ability of his playmakers, heading by four-year starter Ashton Walk at quarterback, to make plays.
The problem, he knows, is someone has to block to give those guys space and time, which makes Tyrone’s situation in 2024 an interesting one. With one of the smallest lines Franco has had since his return to the borough in 2019, the Golden Eagles will have to find a way to limit the offensive line’s obvious disadvantage in size while accentuating it strengths, of which there are a few.
It’s a hardworking group, Franco said, one that comes to practice every day eager to improve. It’s also a unit that can run, and its mobility may be a way for Tyrone to mitigate its issues with size, at least until junior John Stanton returns from a knee injury midway through the season.
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ORANGE AND BLACK 