Senior scores 4 touchdowns to secure District 6 victory
Anyone who’s been around sports long enough will tell you final scores can be deceiving.
So when you look at Tyrone’s 39-14 loss to Penn Cambria last night in the District 6 3A championship game, the 25-point spread doesn’t tell the whole story because it was still in the balance in the fourth quarter.
But by the same token, the Golden Eagles’ 14-8 halftime lead was somewhat deceptive, as well. That’s because by the end of the second quarter, the Panthers were yet to fully utilize their ace in the hole – senior Gavin Harrold.
That was going to change. Throughout the third and fourth quarters, while Harrold touched the ball just six times, he turned in the most impactful plays of the game – three that went for more than 30 yards, 3 touchdowns, and the singular play that shifted the tide and turned a game that looked looked like one going down to the wire into Tyrone’s most lopsided loss in a District championship game.
With the Panthers leading 16-14 late in the third quarter at Mansion Park Stadium, Tyrone was operating from it own 22 when, on second-and-10, quarterback Ashton Walk hit Klayten Moore crossing the field for what looked like a nice 10-yard gain. But Moore was wrapped up by Corbin Vinglish, who knocked the ball free just before he his knee hit the turf.
And there waiting to pick up the bouncing ball in stride was Harrold, who scooped up the loose pigskin at the 34 and scampered down the sideline for a game-changing score with 49 seconds left in the third.
It was the kind of play Harrold has made all season long, but one that, until then, Tyrone had prevented, and it sent the Eagles into the fourth down two scores to a team built for protecting leads.
“Your seniors, especially a player like Gavin – he’s been a starter for four years – they’re going to make big plays when the game’s on the line,” said Panthers coach nick Felus, whose team improved to 12-0 while capturing the program’s first District 6 championship. “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations, and he took over for us in the second half. It energized our team.”
While the Eagles had other chances, they never recovered from what ultimately was the play of the game. And they never truly had an answer for Harrold, who was the player of the game if ever there was one. He finished with 9 carries for 39 yards, 8 catches for 122 yards, and scored four of the Panthers’ five touchdowns.
“The fumble recovery returned for a touchdown was the killer,” said Tyrone coach John Franco. “It was a momentum changer, and we just weren’t able to overcome that. Things have a tendency to mushroom.”
It was the fifth finals loss for Tyrone, which was playing in its 15th championship game, and it ended the Eagles’ five-game winning streak. During that time, Tyrone had scored just under 50 points per game, so they were on a roll offensively like few in program history, one that continued in the first two quarters against Penn Cambria.
But that run came to an end in the second half, when the Eagles turned the ball over on three of their six possessions and punted on two others against a defense that was quick to the ball and opportunistic in the game’s biggest moments.
“We just had to execute better on both sides of the ball, take a deep breath, and play our brand of football,” said Felus. “Our defensive staff did a great job making some adjustments. Our offensive staff, as well. But credit to the kids. It’s all them. It’s heart. It’s grit. It’s how we’re built.”
Tyrone played with grit, as well, and even after Harrold’s scoop-and-score they battled back. On their next series the Eagles possessed the ball for 12 plays, marching from their own 29 all the way to the Panthers’ 9. Walk had some big passes on the drive – 11 yards to Seth Hoover, 12 yards to Ashton Emigh, 14 yards to Trent Adams, back to Hoover for 15.
But after Walk was dropped for a 6-yard loss back to the 15, he threw late over the middle to Mason Emigh in the endzone, and Marcus Eckenrode jumped in front of the route, picking off Walk for the first time since Week 7 against Huntingdon.
It was one of two times the Panthers intercepted Walk, who completed 18 of 29 passes for 211 yards, in the process going over 3,000 passing yards for the season.
“To shut them out (in the second half) was just a total team effort, a collective effort from everyone involved,” Felus said.
Just two plays after Eckenrode’s pick, Harrold was back to work, dicing Tyrone for 49 yards with a play that worked many times against the Eagles defense, a simple quick lateral to Harrold moving with a head of steam in motion to get him to the perimeter.
Those plays went down as passes, but they were as effective as any running play the Panthers had. Three plays after that, Harrold got his fourth score on a 6-yard run, and Tommy Plunkett’s 2-point conversion made it 32-14 with 5:53 to play.
Later, Walk’s final throw was intercepted by Grant Gides, setting up a 37-yard run by Plunkett with 1:06 remaining that set the final.
“Give them credit. They’ve got some great ball players, and this was their night,” said Franco.
Tyrone executed its game plan flawlessly in the first half to establish its lead at the break, first stopping Penn Cambria on its opening possession, and then moving 87 yards for the game’s first score. The Eagles converted twice on third downs on passes to Eli Woomer and Adams, and on second down from the 25 Walk got loose up the middle to score on a 25-yard scramble.
Dante Novak’s PAT made it 7-0 with 3:31 left in the first quarter.
It was an impressive drive, and the Panthers responded with one just as good, marching 80 yards in 17 plays. They converted four times on third downs, but the biggest play came on fourth-and-10 from Tyrone’s 43 when Brady Jones found Vinglish out of the backfield for this 22-yard gain to the 21.
Six plays after that, Harrold bounced in for his first touchdown, and Jones ran in the PAT to make it 8-7 midway through the second quarter.
Tyrone didn’t flinch and came back with a 62-yard drive to go back on top. Gayge Miller got the Eagles into the red zone with a 37-yard reception to the 10, and after a procedure penalty moved the ball back to the 15 Walk connected with Adams on a fade route to make it 14-8 with 4:37 until halftime.
The Panthers nearly got the tying score late in the half. advancing all the way to Tyrone’s 6, but on second down Woomer got in the backfield to sack Jones and strip the ball at the same time, allowing the Eagles to run out the clock.
That put Tyrone in a strong position to start the second half with an opportunity to go ahead by two scores, but it was the Panthers that took control out of the locker room. After limiting the Eagles to five plays and a punt, they took over at their own 34 and, aided by a pass interference call, moved to Tyrone’s 36. From there, Penn Cambria made good on another third down thanks again to Harrold, who took a pass on the outside from Jones, alluded traffic, and sprinted in for the score.
Harrold also ran in the PAT to make it 16-14 at the halfway point of the third.
“We got one first down, and then we got stopped,” Franco said of his team’s second-half start. “They ended up beating us at the line of scrimmage in the second half, whereas in the first half we pretty much controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Tyrone’s season ended 7-5 and gave Franco his second finals appearance since returning to coach the Eagles in 2019, which was no small feat considering the team was 2-4 after losing to Bishop Guilfoyle in Week 6. Franco credited the turnaround to Tyrone’s senior class.
“They have been great role models for the younger kids because there’s no way they should have been playing at the level they we re playing,” he said. “They busted their tails. They kept coming at you. We were never out of a game. My hats off to our senior class. They’re a tribute to the program.”
For the Panthers, it was their first win in the finals in six tries. They had lost the last three 3A championship games to Central.
“These kids are so resilient,” said Felus. “We’ve faced so much adversity, especially the seniors these last four years. There’s no other group that we as a staff would want to go to battle with.”
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 7 7 0 0 – 14
Penn Cambria 0 8 16 15 – 39
First Quarter
T – Walk 25 run (Novak kick) 3:31
Second Quarter
P – Harrold 2 run (Jones run) 7:14
T – Adams 15 pass from Walk (Novak kick) 4:37
Third Quarter
P – Harrold 36 pass from Jones (Harrold run) 6:34
P – Harrold 34 fumble return (Jones run) :49
Fourth Quarter
P – Harrold 6 run (Plunkett run) 5:53
P – Plunkett 37 run (Jones kick) 1:06
TEAM STATISTICS T P
First downs 15 18
Total yards 275 339
Rushes-yards 19-64 39-188
Yards passing 211 151
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 18-29-2 11-12-0
Punts-avg. 2-24.5 2-30.5
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 4-45 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Tyrone: Hoover 13-28; Walk 4-26; Whitby 1-11; Team 1-(-1). Penn Cambria: Plunkett 14-84; Harrold 9-39; Mento 8-55; Jones 8-10.
PASSING—Tyrone: Walk 18-29-211, 1 TD, 2 Ints. Penn Cambria: Jones 10-10-148, 1 TD, 0 Int.; Harrold 1-2-3, 0 TD, 0 Int.
RECEIVING—Tyrone: Adams 5-54; Woomer 3-22; Miller 1-37; Emigh 3-40; Hoover 4-48; Moore 2-12. Penn Cambria: Harrold 8-122; Jones 1-3; Vinglish 1-32.
ORANGE AND BLACK 