Bellwood-Antis (2-2) at Tyrone (3-1)
Gray-Veterans Memorial Field
Friday, September 19, 2025
Last Time Out: TYRONE – defeated Bald Eagle Area 21-14 at Alumni Stadium in Wingate. The Golden Eagles used big plays to jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and relied on its defense, which produced 4 interceptions, to hold off BEA the rest of the way. Tyrone got on the board with an 80-yard pass from Eli Woomer to Brayden parsons, and three minutes later Kyler Suhoney picked off Kaleb Irion and returned it 45 yards for another touchdown. After Bald Eagle had cut the score to 14-7 by halftime, Owen Oakes picked off Irion on the first play of the second half, leading to an Ashton Emigh touchdown that made it 21-7. BEA would cut the score to 21-14, but Caleb Whitby sealed the game with an interception on the Bald Eagles’ final possession. BELLWOOD-ANTIS – With its offensive line finally intact, the Blue Devils got their running game in full gear, with juniors Alex McCartney and Chase Plummer each rushing for more than 100 yards in a 20-0 victory over Central at Memorial Stadium. McCartney started and ended B-A’s scoring with touchdown runs in the second and fourth quarters, and Plummer extended a one-score lead in the second with a 30-yard run. McCartney finished with 127 yards and Plummer 112 as the Blue Devils ran for 277 yards. B-A was just as strong defensively, limiting the Dragons to 59 yards on the ground.
Series: Tyrone and Bellwood High School first played in 1934, as Tyrone was nearing the apex of its early 20th Century powers. The Golden Eagles won that game and took the next two before the jointure of Bellwood and Antis Township into one consolidated school. (Tyrone won the first seven games against Bellwood-Antis.) Until then, Huntingdon had been the fiercest rival on Tyrone’s schedule, but heat between the teams halted that series after 1946, just as B-A was producing some of its own finest teams. A rivalry was born.
B-A began to eat into Tyrone’s series lead in the 50s, winning 6 in a row from 1949 through 1954, but the Eagles dominated the 60s, winning 8 of 10 during the decade. The Devils did their biggest damage in the 80s and 90s, winning 7 straight from 1987 through 1994.
The peak of the series may have come in 2000, when the Devils topped Tyrone, which was defending its 2A state championship, 19-0 in the season-opener. Neither would lose for the remainder of the regular season, and the teams then ran it back in the District 6 championship game before a packed house at Mansion Park, with the Golden Eagles winning 24-3.
Since John Franco’s return to Tyrone in 2019, the Eagles are 2-4 against B-A.
The Eagles lead the overall series against Bellwood and Bellwood-Antis with 54 wins and 31 losses. One game ended in a tie. Against Bellwood-Antis, it’s 51-31-1.
Last 10 games: Tied 5-5.
Coaches: TYRONE – John Franco (227-66 in 25 seasons at Tyrone; 288-149-2 overall); BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Nick Lovrich (56-26)
Last Meeting: Bellwood-Antis defenders picked off Ashton Walk four times and flipped two of them into scores as B-A snapped a two-game skid in the series to defeat Tyrone 28-21 at Memorial Stadium on Friday, September 20, 2024.
At one point, from the end of the first half into the third quarter, three straight Tyrone drives ended in interceptions, and a 14-8 halftime lead for the Golden Eagles quickly changed into a 22-14 deficit.
B-A got three unanswered touchdowns from the third and into the fourth quarter on runs from Bradyn Partner and Colin Gibbons and a 66-yard pass from Holden Schreier to Ethan Shawley to go ahead 28-14. Tyrone answered with a Gage Miller touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter, but the potential tying drive ended as time expired with the Eagles at B-A’s 9.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: TYRONE – Eli Woomer (QB-DB) 36-for-70, 691 yards, 6 TDs … Caleb Whitby (RB-DB) 53 carries for 315 yards, 5 total TDs … Ashton Emigh (RB-LB) 18 carries for 42 yards, 4 TD, 7 receptions for 102 yards, 22 tackles, 10 TFL, 3.5 sacks … Brayden Parsons, (WR-DB) 9 receptions for 200 yards, 2 TDs, 2 Ints. … John Stroup (WR-LB) 3 receptions for 49 yards … Owen Oakes (OL-LB) 16 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 Ints. … Kyler Suhoney (OL-DE) 3 TFL, 29 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 Int. … Marshall Martin (HB-LB) 24 tackles, 3 TFL … Mason Emigh (WR-DB) 6 receptions for 208 yards, 2 TDs, 4 Ints., 1 FR 1 TFL. BELLWOOD-ANTIS – Bradyn Partner (QB-DB) 14-for-26, 202 yards … Alex McCartney (RB-LB) 92 carries for 484 yards, 7 TDs, 21 tackles, 6 TFL … Chase Plummer (RB-LB) 39 carries for 248 yards, 2 TDs, 35 tackles, 4 TFL … Ethan Shawley (WR-DB) 6 receptions for 102 yards … Colin Gibbons (SB-DB) 12 receptions for 133 yards, 2 Ints. … Cooper Lovrich (OL-LB) 25 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FR … Quinn Focht (OL-DL) 14 tackles, 1 TFL … Christian Jennings (OL-DL) 14 tackles, 1 TFL.
TYRONE – has run for just 122 yards per game and was held below 100 rushing yards for the second straight week last week … has forced 12 turnovers, including 10 interceptions … has not won against a team with a winning record … has recorded 35 tackles for loss.
Bellwood-Antis – has played most of the season without quarterback Bradyn Partner … is rushing for 182 yards per game … has not won in Tyrone since 2021.
Hidden Stat: Two B-A quarterbacks (Partner and Brendan McNelis) have accounted for 61 yards in losses
ORANGE AND BLACK 