Tyrone locked itself into the No. 3 position in the District 6 3A playoffs last Friday with a 35-34 victory over Chestnut Ridge in Fishertown. It was the Golden Eagles’ fourth straight win and their fifth consecutive game scoring at least 32 points.
Here are 4 takeaways from the game.
FIRST DOWN: SECOND HALF SURGE
If there’s been one pattern for Tyrone’s defense over its four-game winning streak, it has been slow starts and strong finishes. That pattern continued Friday against the Lions, who gashed the Golden Eagles in the first half before finding tough sledding in the second.
Over the first two quarters, Ridge totaled 273 yards of offense and scored four times in building a 28-20 lead by halftime. The Lions produced six plays of 15 yards or more and eight that went for 10 more more.
Working against the misdirection of the wing-T, the Golden Eagles were frequently out of position and often making tackles once a back reached the second level of the defense. They shifted back into their base defense for the second half, and the move made all the difference in the game.
Throughout the second half, the Lions had just one play over 10 yards and managed just one touchdown on their final drive.
That’s been par for the course over the last four games. While Tyrone has allowed 88 points over those 16 quarters, only 24 of them have come in the second half.
SECOND DOWN: O ON A ROLL
After scoring on 12 consecutive possessions against Penns Valley in a record-setting performance the week before, Tyrone’s offense slowed slightly against the Lions, with the Eagles getting touchdowns on 5 of their 8 series.
The Golden Eagles’ final possession ended with Seth Hoover rushing for a first down before Tyrone took two knees to drain the clock. That means, when eliminating possessions that ended with kneel-downs, Tyrone has scored 22 of the last 24 times it has had the football.
It would be hard to imagine a Golden Eagles team in history with a string of success quite as prolific.
During the three games those possessions encompass, the Eagles are averaging 523 yards and 57.3 points per game.
One overlooked development over that time has been the production Tyrone is getting from quarterback Ashton Walk in the running game. In Tyrone’s last 3 games, Walk has run for 94 yards and 3 touchdowns while not taking a sack.
“Earlier in the year, I was making some bad decisions, and a lot of that was on me,” Walk said after running for 55 yards against Chestnut Ridge. “Now, if I see an opening, I’m taking it rather than trying to force something to make an even bigger play. If I use my legs, defenses have to watch a lot of different things.
Walk is still making plays with his arm, and on Friday his 301 passing yards pushed him past Stevie Franco as Tyrone’s single-season passing yardage leader. Franco held the record with 2,598 in 2011. Walk now has 2,676, and he’s gotten that amount in six fewer games than it took Franco.
THIRD DOWN: WOOMER THE PLAYMAKER
Eli Woomer does a lot of things for the Golden Eagles. A player who rarely leaves the field, he’s Tyrone’s leader in receptions, he provides lock-down coverage at cornerback, and he serves as the holder for PATs.
He’s also a backup quarterback, and those skills came in handy against the Lions when Woomer took a PAT snap in the third quarter and smoothly threw to Tyler Weston for a 2-point conversion that tied the game at 28-28.
But when it comes to special teams, Woomer may be most valuable on the kick block team, where he has batted down 6 PAT kicks this season. His block of the Lions’ final PAT attempt on Friday preserved Tyrone’s 1-point victory.
With 9 receptions for 85 yards, Woomer boosted his season total to 728 yards, solidifying his spot among eight other receivers at Tyrone with more than 1,000 career yards in the passing game. He now has 1,116 yards, which ranks him ninth, just behind Aaron Jefferies, who had 1,127 from 2000-2001.
FOURTH DOWN: CLASSIC MATCHUP
Tyrone’s win, coupled with Forest Hills’ 22-21 victory over Central in another Laurel Highlands crossover game, set the stage for a playoff matchup that has become a right of passage of sorts for players in the borough.
The Golden Eagles will travel to Sidman this week for the District 6 3A semifinals, and it will be the 11th times Tyrone and Forest Hills have faced each other in the postseason.
The 1990s was an era of District 6 football dominated by Tyrone and Forest Hills. While the Rangers won the 2A title from 1991 through 1994, the Golden Eagles claimed four of five championships from 1995 through 1999. Three of those championship runs for Tyrone required victories over Forest Hills, including title game wins in 1996 and 1999.
The series remained hot throughout the early 2000s, with the Rangers winning first-round games in 2001 and 2002 before Tyrone topped them 31-7 in the 2003 championship game. The Eagles won again in 2006, but the Rangers came back to claim back-to-back 2A crowns with wins over Tyrone in 2009 and 2010.
In the schools’ last playoff meeting, Tyrone won 35-7 in 2014 on its way to a 2A title.
In all, Tyrone and Forest Hills have combined for 20 District 6 championships (10 each) and both have played in PIAA title games.
The last time the Rangers played Tyrone was Week 10 of last season, when the Eagles jumped to a 14-0 lead before falling 31-29.
Tyrone leads the all-time series with 6 wins and 5 losses.
ORANGE AND BLACK 