Tyrone and Forest Hills play for the 11th time in the District playoffs
In the 2008 production of The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger’s Joker confronted Batman with a hard truth:
“This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object … I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”
While the Joker was talking about the greatest rivalry in the DC Universe, he could have just as easily been referring to the series between Tyrone and Forest Hills, which will reboot Friday night when the Golden Eagles travel to Sidman to face the Rangers in the District 6 3A playoffs.
Unlike Tyrone’s Backyard Brawl with Bellwood-Antis, it’s not a rivalry built from proximity, and unlike its series against Huntingdon, it’s not one born of animosity or frequency.
The truth is, the two powerhouse programs will be playing for just the 12th time on Friday, but like each of the 11 games that came before it, this game will hold heavy stakes for the winner and the loser, and that, in a nutshell, is what has made this series special.
In the mid- to late 1990s, it was all about supremacy. Where the Rangers won District 6 2A championships form 1991 through 1994, the Golden Eagles claimed five of six from 1995 through 2000, and two of those came at the direct expense of the Rangers in District 6 finals.
Tyrone would get another championship win over Forest Hills in 2003 before dropping back-to-back title games in 2009 and 2010.
In all, the teams have played 10 times in the postseason, with the Golden Eagles holding a 6-4 edge.
Friday’s game will be No. 12 between the District 6 monsters after Forest Hills won the only regular season matchup last year in a 31-29 thriller in Tyrone where the Rangers stopped a two-point conversion inches short of the goal line with 43 seconds left.
The makeup of the two teams that squared off last October is essentially intact. Tyrone is still led offensively by record-setting quarterback Ashton Walk, who last week broke the program’s record for passing yards in a season while simultaneously becoming the first Golden Eagle to eclipse 8,000 total yards in a career. He’s surrounded by a highly-effective cast of skill players who have combined to grab 185 passes.
It’s led by the duo of Trent Adams and Eli Woomer, who together have 87 receptions, 18 touchdowns, and nearly 1,500 yards. But those are just two of Tyrone’s seven players who have more than 10 receptions on the season, and lately the Golden Eagles have been as effective running the ball as passing. Senior Seth Hoover is approaching 1,000 yards on the ground (156-917), and Walk himself has run for 94 yards and three scores in the last three games.
But the Rangers, who like Tyrone have won four in a row, have a potent offense as well, one just as balanced as that of the Golden Eagles. Nate Cornell, who passed for 122 yards and the go-ahead touchdown against Tyrone a year ago, has thrown for 1,675 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Mason Papinchak has run for 830 yards and 7 scores, averaging more than 6 yards per carry. Five of the Rangers’ receivers have at least 15 catches, led by Chase Williamson’s 47 grabs for 716 yards.
These are two teams as evenly matched as 2023’s two-point spread would indicate.
Here are three keys for Tyrone to come away with a win and advance to its 15th District 6 championship game.
1. Keep Hoover rolling
It would be easy to look at Tyrone’s offense and say players like Woomer and Adams are the biggest beneficiaries of its wide-open format, but the player who has benefitted the most has been Hoover, who has more than 1,100 yards from scrimmage.
Adams and Woomer both have the speed to stretch the field, and both run underneath patterns and square-out with precision. They draw a lot of attention, which has freed up players like Gayge Miller and Tyler Weston, who both average more than 10 yards per reception.
But when defenses have found a way to cover all of those receivers, it’s been Hoover who has been Walk’s go-to slipping out of the backfield. He’s shown skill in setting up blocks on screens and he’s been deadly when catching quick swing passes with a head of steam behind him. With 229 yards on 22 catches, he’s the team’s fourth-leading receiver.
Since the Bald Eagle Area game in Week 4, Hoover has also been powering his way to big games as a rusher. Starting with his 95-yard performance against BEA, where he ran in the winning touchdown in overtime, Hoover has produced three games with more than 100 yards on the ground and two with more than 90.
Hoover is the X-factor because teams can only cover so much, and ultimately every defense is going to leave somebody unguarded. That was evident last week against Chestnut Ridge when he had 92 rushing yards and a touchdown to go along with 6 receptions for 68 yards.
If Hoover can have another big game in both departments against the Rangers, it will go a long way in keeping the Eagles’ offense on track against the best defense it has seen since Week 6 against Bishop Guilfoyle.
2. Limit big plays
A year ago, Tyrone was in total control against the Rangers after building a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter, but the game changed because of the Rangers’ ability to break big plays.
Xander Richardson got Forest Hills on the board with a 67-yard run. Papinchak put the Rangers ahead with a 73-yard run. A 25-yard pass from Cornell to Williamson gave Forest Hills the lead for good in the third quarter.
Tyrone has been susceptible to big plays this season. Just a week ago, the Eagles’ defense allowed 6 plays of 15 yards or more against the Lions. Against B-A they gave up two touchdowns on plays of 29 yards or more. A week later versus Guilfoyle the Marauders scored on four plays of 36 yards or more.
It’s been an issue, but lately it’s an issue the defense has figured out as the game goes on. Against Ridge, for example, Tyrone limited the Lions to just one play longer than 10 yards in the second half.
Tyrone’s offense can hurt a team in a lot of ways, but the last thing it needs in the playoffs is to find itself in the position of needing to hold serve. By limiting big plays, the Eagles will give their offense opportunities to put the pressure on the Rangers to score and keep up.
3. Win the turnover battle
The Rangers and Eagles are middle-of-the-road teams when it comes to the turnovers margin, which is one reason they’re both 6-4 and playing the 2-3 game in the first round. While the Rangers have produced 14 takeaways, they’ve turned the ball over 12 times themselves.
For Tyrone, which is minus-4 in give-away/take-away, things have gotten better of late. Since throwing 4 interceptions in a 28-21 loss to B-A in Week 5, Walk has thrown just 4 picks in the last 5 games. During that same time, the Eagles have come away with 10 takeaways, dramatically improving the team’s outlook in that area. In fact, Tyrone hasn’t turned the ball over in the last three games, which is no small factor in the offense averaging 57 points per game during that time.
Every game comes down to limiting mistakes, and turnovers are a big past of that. Protecting the ball and maximizing possessions will be the deciding factor against the Rangers, who had three interceptions a week ago in a 22-21 victory over Central in the Cove.
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