The Tyrone Golden Eagles could never find an answer for a powerful Bellwood-Antis running attack Friday, surrendering 253 rushing yards in a 26-7 loss at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field.
It was the most rushing yards surrendered by the Golden Eagles this season, as well as the most points allowed.
Here are four takeaways from the game.
FIRST DOWN: Offense better than it may have seemed
It would be easy to look at the loss to B-A and think the Eagles were simply outclassed, dominated by a team that was simply playing in a higher stratosphere.
Where it comes to limiting the run, that may be true. B-A has one of the best, most seasoned offensive lines in the area, and Alex McCartney and Chase Plummer, with the team healthy, will have many more games like Friday, when McCartney ran for 150 yards and Plummer 74.
But offensively, the Golden Eagles weren’t bad.
Consider that running back Caleb Whitby averaged 5 yards per carry against the same unit of linemen that was pushing Tyrone’s defense from hash to hash at will. While the final totals aren’t impressive – just 2.8 yards per carry – those numbers include the losses absorbed by quarterback Eli Woomer on sacks, and they don’t account for the fact that the Eagles quickly moved away from a controlled, balanced attack to catchup mode following the pick-6 by Plummer in the first quarter, which put them down two scores.
Woomer himself threw for 148 yards, including four passes that went for 14 yards or more. He again spread the ball around to receivers and running backs.
But the turnovers Tyrone suffered changed the game dramatically, so it’s hard to tell if it could have ever evolved into a score-for-score type of game.
Perhaps the biggest room for improvement is in pass protection, an area where the line made great strides last season, but has yet to really find its stride in 2025.
If that can come around, and Woomer, who is at his best throwing on the run, can find the time to settle into the pocket more often, the offense could turn things around quickly.
SECOND DOWN: Turnovers
Clearly, the turnovers Tyrone gave away against B-A were killers. The Eagles fumbled the opening kick, and that led to a 7-0 deficit within 5 minutes. Plummer’s pick-6 came a few minutes later. A drive that could have made it a game following a defensive stop in the fourth quarter ended in one play following another fumble.
Those plays accounted for 20 B-A points.
But lost in the shuffle is the rate at which Tyrone has taken the ball away under defensive coordinator Jason Wilson. The Golden Eagles’ strength is in defending the pass, and that’s where they’ve gotten most of their takeaways, but with Bradyn Partner nursing an injury, and with rushing yards coming in bunches, the Devils were never going to take many shots through the air on Friday.
And still the Eagles forced two turnovers, those coming on fumble recoveries by Ashton Emigh and Kayden Ansman.
Those plays lifted Tyrone’s takeaway total this season to 15 for an average of 3 per game.
Numbers like that will keep a team in any game, and they’ve been a welcome addition to the Eagles’ defense this season. For a comparison, in 2023 Tyrone’s defense produced 19 takeaways for the season. In 2024, the figure rose to 23, with 13 coming on interceptions.
Tyrone has 11 of them already this season.
THIRD DOWN: Field position
B-A benefitted from a short field on numerous occasions in the Brawl, and while many times it was the result of a Tyrone turnover, the Eagles also struggled in kick coverage in ways that hadn’t surfaced since the Eagles played Bellefonte in Week 1.
The Devils’ worst starting field position in the first half, when they built a 14-0 lead, was their own 41, and that was following a punt that went just 27 yards. Jackson Dorminy returned another punt earlier 20 yard to set up B-A at Tyrone’s 35. Dorminy then returned the second half kickoff 28 yards to begin the Devil’s opening drive of the third quarter at the 38.
After Tyrone finally got on the board in the third quarter on Brayden Parson’s 68-yard touchdown reception, Tytus Novak sent the ensuing kick to the 3, but from there Brady Crist brought it back 34 yards to the 37.
It wasn’t necessarily going to take a flawless game to defeat B-A or to at least make it a closer game, but it was going to take Tyrone playing solid in the areas they could control, and their special teams play was one of those.
FOURTH DOWN: Fallout
The Golden Eagles are now in a tough spot. The difficulty level of navigating District 6 3A hasn’t waned as the season has progressed, and teams that may have looked like pretenders early have stood the test of scrutiny.
Huntingdon is legit, and after suffering their first loss to Bishop Guilfoyle two weeks ago, the Bearcats rebounded to topple Clearfield in Week 5. Forest Hills suffered its first loss of the season last week against Richland, which catapulted Huntingdon into the top spot in the classification.
Penn Cambria held steady with a win, and they’re locked into the No. 3 slot.
That leaves Tyrone and Philipsburg-Osceola in a battle for the final playoff spot heading into Week 6, which will be a challenging one for both teams. The Golden Eagles are off to face Guilfoyle in a Saturday night game at Mansion Park, while the Mounties host Bellwood-Antis.
After that, they’ll play Bellefonte which defeated Penns Valley last week for its first victory since its comeback upset over Tyrone in Week 1.
That one should be a lock for P-O, but the Mounties close their season with Bishop McCort and then Tyrone before their Week 10 Laurel Highlands crossover game.
After playing BG, meanwhile, Tyrone will have Huntingdon before traveling to play Penn Cambria.
If nothing else, Tyrone holds the keys to its fortunes in its grasp, with the opportunity to win its way into the playoffs by facing the schools above it in the standings, but none of those games are gimmies.
Over the last two seasons, Tyrone has played its way into the playoffs with strong finishes, and they’ll need another one this year to do the same.
ORANGE AND BLACK 