Area’s top high school rivalry renews on Friday
For most of the 86 times Tyrone and Bellwood have met on the gridiron, the stakes were straightforward and clear. The game was, in the words of Tyrone coach John Franco, a season in itself.
What he meant was that, as the season-opening game, the Backyard Brawl was all about pride. Win and you have bragging rights for 365 days.
But the loser never went home empty handed. Since it was the first game of the season for 73 of 78 games from 1944 through 2022, the team that came up short never had to worry about one loss spoiling an entire season. Once each team began serious league play, followed by the inception of District playoffs in 1985, there were other stakes further down the road, and with Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis playing in different classifications and different conferences, that one game had no bearing on playing for a championship.
The lone exception in all that time was 2000, when B-A toppled Tyrone in the season-opener before the teams met again in the 2A title game.
But when both schools joined the Laurel highlands Athletic Conference in 2023, that formula was thrown on its head. The Backyard Brawl was moved from Week 1 to Week 5, the competition each week got a little stiffer, and now the Game of Games in Blair County is as important to each team’s fate as that classic game in November at Mansion Park back at the turn of the millennium.
When the Eagles and Blue Devils renew their rivalry on Friday at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field, it will still be about pride, for sure. The schools are separated by just eight miles and most of the players have grown up playing both with and against the guys on the other side of the football. That alone makes it a game any high school boy wants to win.
But now, as the 2025 season reaches its midpoint, it’s quickly becoming a race to the postseason, and both Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis need wins to make it into the playoffs in their respective classifications.
Tyrone comes into the Brawl 3-1 and tied for fourth in an ultra-competitive 3A grouping. Most years a record like that after four games would rank near the top, but Huntingdon, holding steady at No. 2, has emerged as a serious contender for the throne, and Penn Cambria, the defending champion, doesn’t seem willing to relinquish the crown anytime soon. The team tied with Tyrone, Philipsburg-Osceola, is having one of its best seasons in a decade.
So there’s no easy way into the postseason. For Tyrone, it’s going to take wins stacked on wins, and while it still has the opportunity to face three of the four teams ranked ahead of it down the line in the regular season, any loss means you’re falling behind.
B-A, meanwhile, got off to a rough start. Playing one of the more challenging early-season schedules in the LHAC, the Devils beat perennial power Clearfield in the season-opener, but that was with a team that was generally healthy. Quarterback Bradyn Partner suffered an injury that sidelined him for Weeks 2, 3 and 4. Along the way top lineman Jayce Quick fell victim of the injury bug. Running back Chase Plummer was less than 100 percent.
For Coach Nick Lovrich, his locker room may have looked more like a MASH unit at times, and combined with a slate that included games against Bishop McCort and Huntingdon, times got tough in a hurry. The Devils dropped two in a row before rebounding with a win over Central last week and come into the Brawl 2-2.
B-A is currently the No. 7 team in 2A, and with the classification taking 8 to the playoffs, they’re in good shape. But there are contenders below them like Bald Eagle Area poised to make a run, and if given their druthers the Devils would probably prefer not to go into the playoffs at No. 8 for an immediate rematch with top-seeded McCort.
So in an ironic twist on the biggest rivalry game for both schools, there will be a lot more on the line on Friday than bragging rights.
Here are three things to look for.
Injuries
Partner’s ankle injury is a key factor in B-A’s prospects, not just in the Brawl but for the rest of the season. With him healthy, the Devils are a dynamic offense that is really difficult to contain. That much was clear a season ago when Partner was a game-changer, rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing for a 2-point conversion.
In his absence, sophomore Brendan McNelis has performed admirably, but there’s little doubt Partner gives B-A something special when it has the football. Combined with the 1-2 punch of runners Alex McCartney and Plummer, he makes it almost impossible for teams to key in on one aspect of the Devils’ attack.
Aside from Partner, B-A is nursing several other injuries both on their line and on defense that keep them from playing at 100 percent.
Against Central a week ago, it didn’t seem to matter. Both McCartney and Plummer rushed for 100 yards in a 20-0 win, and the two-headed monster of a running attack did what most people thought it would do all season.
If Partner can go and be anywhere near 100 percent for the Brawl, it will make that running game even more dangerous and create quite a challenge for the Eagles, who have been relatively strong against the run.
Line Play
B-A has the goods on its offensive and defensive fronts, and that’s been the case for a couple of seasons. But Tyrone, which has been undersized in those areas of late, came into 2025 with a group of experienced players who were big and physical.
On defense, that has made them a formidable group. While BEA had some success rushing the ball against Tyrone last week in their wildcat formation, the Eagles’ defensive line has limited big runs and produced a heavy pass rush.
But this week will be the real test. A big key will be first and second downs.
Should Tyrone find a way to get a push against B-A’s tough offensive line, they would gain an advantage on third downs and passing situations. Led by pass-rushing ends Ashton Emigh and Kyler Suhoney, the Eagles have generated 35 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Tyrone’s pass defense has been as good, with 10 interceptions.
Passing downs are downs Tyrone likes, but getting B-A into passing downs is another story.
It all comes down to the battle up front, and it will be even more challenging for Tyrone on the other side of the ball because while the line has been good against the run, blocking for the run hasn’t yielded the same success.
In four games, running back Caleb Whitby has gone over 100 yards only once, and the Eagles have been held under 100 rushing yards as a team in each of the last two games.
That puts a lot on the shoulders of quarterback Eli Woomer and Tyrone’s passing game, and while Woomer has been good in his first season calling signals (691 yards and 6 touchdowns), one dimensional teams in the Backyard Brawl don’t tend to fare so well.
If the offensive line can make room for Whitby to hit open space, Tyrone will be able to fall into the balanced rhythm Franco has been looking for all season. It was there against Westmont Hilltop and for a half against Central, but the past 6 quarters for Tyrone offensively have been a struggle.
Mistakes
When the Brawl was played in Week 1, mistakes were bound to happen, and in an emotional game of momentum they often turned the tide in favor of one team or another.
By Week 5, both coaches are hoping mistakes aren’t the inevitability they once seemed in the Backyard Brawl, but the fact is they play a factor.
Last season, Tyrone, playing without two starters, still found a way to forge a 14-8 lead against the Blue Devils by halftime. But turnovers changed the game.
At one point, from the end of the first half into the third quarter, three straight Tyrone drives ended in interceptions, and by the fourth quarter Tyrone was staring at a 22-14 deficit.
Woomer has thrown two interceptions in each of the last two games, but his confident demeanor has kept them from changing his play. Even after being picked off on consecutive possessions last week against BEA, he still made some nifty throws in tough spots in the second half, one of which, a 13-yard rollout to Brayden Parsons, set up what would become the deciding touchdown.
In all, Tyrone has 7 turnovers, as does B-A, which has protected the ball remarkably well considering the number of injuries at key positions it has dealt with. Four of B-A’s turnovers have come on interceptions and three by way of fumble.
Beyond that, penalties could be a factor. Last week was a good one for Tyrone, which was flagged just three times against Bald Eagle. B-A, meanwhile, is a traditionally disciplined team.
Often in the Brawl, all it takes is a single miscue to open the floodgates one way or the other, and the team that wins the turnover battle almost always wins the game. It’s one more factor to keep an eye on once the game kicks off.
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