Tyrone fell to Bellefonte 21-20 at Rogers Stadium in its season-opener on Friday after failing to protect a 13-point lead over the final four minutes of the game. As a result, the Golden Eagles open the season 0-1 for the third straight year.
Tyrone had built a 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter and aside from one long running play had dominated the Raiders defensively. But the Eagles allowed a late score and then were caught off guard by a quick onsides kick, setting up Bellefonte’s game-winning drive, which ended in a touchdown with 21 seconds left.
Here are four takeaways from the game.
FIRST DOWN: SPECIAL TEAMS
If there were any glaring areas that hurt Tyrone on a consistent basis, it was special teams, particularly kick coverage.
The Raiders’ average starting field position following a Tyrone kickoff was the 37, which is not great even in high school football. But considering sophomore Titus Novack sent all of his kickoffs inside the 15, two of them inside the 10, it was a problem.
But kickoff coverage wasn’t the only area in need of improvement. On punt coverage, the Eagles allowed a 17-yard return and a 35-yard return, the latter of which set up the late touchdown that pulled Bellefonte within 20-13. On that one, Novak had his best boot of the night, sending the ball 44 yards to the 15, but Jackson Long was still able to retreat inside the 20 after the ball bounced past him, pick it up, and make his way up the sideline.
Tack on the blocked PAT in the third quarter, along with the onsides kick the Raiders’ recovered late in the fourth, and it was an all-around tough day for the special teams in all aspects.
Franco said later the team was using a lot of young players on special teams to get starters breaks, and that’s understandable. It could also prove to be a good thing as the season goes on. For the younger guys, it’s hard to get better unless you’re getting game reps, and sometimes that means making mistakes and learning from them. Along with that, in just one game those players got a sense of the difficulty and importance of special teams while working through a variety of complicated, high-pressure situations.
SECOND DOWN: MIXED BAG FOR OFFENSIVE LINE
Tyrone’s offensive line is a strength, with experience and size it hasn’t had in a couple of seasons.
For that group to face Bellefonte in Week 1 was a unique challenge because the Raiders’ returned a unit that was similar in size and experience, and without questions Bellefonte pushed Tyrone in many ways.
The Eagles’ offensive front was excellent when it came to pass protection. Quarterback Eli Woomer was never sacked and he was only knocked down once. As an athletic passer, he was given plenty of opportunities to throw off rollouts and bootlegs, and the offensive line blocked those up well.
Creating space to run was a different story. The Golden Eagles averaged just 2.5 yards per carry and generated only 56 yards on the ground, so there’s improvement to be made.
Franco wasn’t completely disappointed in the line’s work following the game, noting that they were up against a quality defensive front.
Because the group seems to have figured out its pass blocking scheme pretty well early, it’s actually in a good position moving forward based on the backs it’s blocking for. While Caleb Whitby and Ashton Emigh are completely different kinds of runners – Whitby a lightning quick slasher and Emigh a bruising bulldozer – neither needs a ton of time. All they really need is a little room to get a head of steam to the second level.
When the Eagles play Westmont Hilltop next week in their home opener, they will be facing a team that allowed four rushing touchdowns in a 42-13 loss to Forest Hills, so that may be a better game for Tyrone to gauge its line’s ability to generate a running game.
THIRD DOWN: PASSING GAME
When the decision was made to go with Eli Woomer as the starting quarterback this season, Tyrone was going with an experienced playmaker who was highly mobile, but since he was also one of the Eagles’ top receivers over the last two seasons, the question was, who would he throw to?
Turns out even without Woomer Tyrone still has plenty of guys who can get open and help the passing game.
Against the Raiders, one was sophomore John Stroup, who caught caught three passes for 49 yards to lead the team, including a 37-yard reception in the the third quarter that set up a touchdown.
Mason Emigh showed off his track speed when he got open for an 80-yard touchdown in the second, and Braden Parsons had two catches for 23 yards to move the sticks. Both Whitby and Emigh had big catches on screens and swing passes out of the backfield.
By the end of the game, Woomer had completed 12 of 20 passes for 224 yards. It was a starting debut right up there with Ashton Walk’s 305 passing yards in his first start against Philipsburg-Osceola in 2021 and Steve Franco’s 229-yard performance against Huntingdon in 2009.
FOURTH DOWN: TOUGH DEFENSE
The Eagles were reeling in the final minutes against the Raiders. After losing an onsides kick, they were flagged for pass interference on a fourth-down stop, called for a facemask penalty on a sack, and were generally on their heels as the game got tight.
But take away those last couple of moments and Tyrone’s defense played exceptionally well. Until the fourth quarter, it had surrendered just one big play – a 56-yard touchdown by Ka’ven Smith-kirk in the first quarter – and made things difficult for quarterback Brennan Huntsinger.
Tyrone was strong against the run and got into the backfield frequently. Ashton Emigh, Owen Oakes, and Kyler Suhoney each had sacks, and the Eagles as a team dropped 14 plays behind the line of scrimmage.
Pass coverage was also good as Tyrone kept plays in front of its defense and prevented big plays deep. Marshall Martin stopped one swing pass in the backfield, Mason Emigh had an interception in the endzone in the second quarter, and Woomer broke up a long pass down the sidelines in the fourth.
With as much experience as Tyrone returned on that side of the football, they needed a strong showing early, and while there were some breakdowns late, they got it.
ORANGE AND BLACK 