When the Laurel Highlands expanded to swallow up the remnants of the Mountain League two seasons ago, one of the unique opportunities if presented was a football championship week where Week 10 could be used as an open week for the top teams from the East and West divisions to square off for an outright title.
What that meant for everyone outside of the top 2 varied. For teams outside of postseason contention, it meant an extra week of practice and a game against a similar team from the opposite division. For those in the playoff mix, it meant a week of seasoning against a tough opponent to get ready for Districts.
For teams like 5-4 Tyrone, it means even more. The Golden Eagles are in a position where their postseason entry is established. As one of the top 4 teams in 3A, Tyrone is in whether they win or lose Friday in Fishertown against Chestnut Ridge.
But a win still changes things significantly for the Eagles. By defeating the Lions, Tyrone would secure the No. 3 position, meaning they would avoid a date with No. 1 seeded and undefeated Penn Cambria until the finals, should they make it that far.
The Panthers will hold the top spot no matter the outcome of their game this week in the Laurel Highlands championship against unbeaten Bishop Guilfoyle.
Should Tyrone win and Central win, they would play Central in the first round in Roaring Spring. If Tyrone wins and Forest Hills wins, the Rangers will jump to No. 2 and the Eagles will travel to Sitman.
But if the Golden Eagles lose, they will be the No. 4 seed and play Penn Cambria in Cresson in the first round.
In short, there’s a lot at stake, and Chestnut Ridge is a formidable opponent, one that hits Tyrone right where the Eagles struggle the most. A wing-T running team, the Lions have made it to 4-5 on the strength of their ground attack, so if Tyrone is to leapfrog the two schools above them it will have to earn it the hard way.
Here are three keys for Tyrone against the Lions.
1. Battle against the run
The Lions run the ball an average of 35 times per game, and they’re producing 148 yards each time out. Their clear go-to is senior Haydan Webb, who has run for 1,000 yards and has gobbled up 60% of his team’s carries.
On the other hand, Chestnut Ridge quarterback Cale Harrison has thrown the ball just 85 times for 505 yards and 5 touchdowns.
From that perspective, the strategy is clear and familiar for Tyrone: make the Lions one-dimensional by loading up against the run and forcing them to pass.
It’s a plan Tyrone can attempt because their secondary is good enough to play man-to-man in pass protection, but it will still come down to the ability of the defensive line to generate enough up-field pressure to disrupt the misdirection of the wing-T.
Stopping the run hasn’t been easy for the undersized Eagles, who are surrendering 148 rushing yards per game and have seen six backs gain 10 yards. But there have been positive signs in this direction for the Eagles. Players like Cian Hockenberry, Ashton Emigh, and Austin Lucas have spent a lot of time in the opponents’ backfield over the last three games. Defensive end Ian Gibbons should be back after missing last week due to illness, and Kyler Suhoney has come on as a strong backup on the line who can cause havoc against the run and pass. Junior linebacker Owen Oakes returned last week after missing six games with an ankle injury, and he could be inserted into the mix on defense this week, which would be a plus for the Eagles. The performance of those players in particular will loom large, but Tyrone will also have to tackle well as a team
Even Tyrone’s best defenses have had their share of struggles against wing-T offenses. It’s a different animal, and there’s a lot to try to manage where misdirection is concerned. The push the Eagles get from their players up front is a big part in that, but so too is simply playing fundamentally sound and recognizing keys.
Those are areas where Tyrone has both shown growth and the need for growth, so it makes its game against Chestnut Ridge a big one heading into the playoffs.
2. Score
Taking away two series at the end of the last two games where the Eagles took a knee to kill the clock, Tyrone has scored on 17 straight possessions.
The quality of the defenses they were facing plays a part in that, and it should be noted the two opponents enter Week 10 a combined 1-17, but 17 scores on 17 possessions is impressive nonetheless.
While the Eagles won’t need 100% efficiency against Chestnut Ridge, they will need to maximize their possessions against a run-heavy team that would like to control the clock.
One thing is for certain and that is that Tyrone has plenty of weapons, and with Ashton Walk playing lights-out at quarterback the last two weeks, they’re all getting touches.
Receivers Eli Woomer (38 receptions for 643 yards) and Trent Adams (34 receptions for 712 yards) both had 100-yard games last week against Penns Valley. Both stretch the field with their speed and both are sharp enough in their patterns to play the possession game, as well. The attention they garner has also freed up other players, like Emigh at tight end, Gayge Miller, and Seth Hoover out of the backfield.
Walk has a lot of quality targets: 7 players with 10 or more receptions and 6 with at least 115 receiving yards. When everyone is healthy, that’s a lot to try to defend, and that’s one reason Walk is approaching Tyrone’s single-season passing yardage record, entering Week 10 with 2,375 passing yards.
Add to that the strong reemergence of Hoover in the running game in the second half of the season. Since going over 100 yards against Bellwood-Antis in Week 5, Hoover has produced three 100-yard games, capped by a career-high 196 yards and 3 touchdowns a week ago.
In their five losses, the Lions have surrendered 329 yards per game, 169 of which came through the air. They’re averaging a little more than 17 points per game.
If the Eagles defense can hold serve enough times to give the offense a couple opportunities, it will be difficult for anyone to keep pace. But that will require Tyrone to continue a promising pattern that has developed over the last several weeks. Starting in the second half against Huntingdon in Week 8, the Golden Eagles have turned the ball over just once in 10 quarters.
3. Playoff approach
Although the actual postseason doesn’t begin for another week, Tyrone’s game against the Lions is a close facsimile.
In his remarks to the team in the minutes following its win over Penns Valley last Friday, Coach John Franco said the playoffs begin now.
That puts a much different spin on the game than any Tyrone has encountered this season. Until now, the games were all about getting things right internally, but now there’s something outside to play for.
That’s the beauty of the Laurel Highlands crossover games, and it provides a timely measuring stick for Tyrone. Their game against Ridge will be a spotlight game with high stakes, as will every game they play afterwards.
Up until now, Tyrone has shot itself in the foot in most of the marquee games it has played in, with turnovers and injuries and missed playing time factoring into losses against Clearfield, Central, Bellwood-Antis, and Bishop Guilfoyle.
The Eagles will hold the direction of the next two weeks in their hands in their game against the Lions. It’s the perfect time to play like a team that has championship aspirations come playoff time.
ORANGE AND BLACK 