Unbeaten BEA comes to town as Tyrone looks to rebound from first loss
Bald Eagle Area is a program with which Tyrone coach Jason Jones is intimately familiar.
The first-year head coach was the Eagles’ starting quarterback in 2013 and 2014. His father was a legendary BEA athlete who coached at his former school for decades, and his brother, who set Bald Eagle passing records in the years just before COVID, still coaches there.
So there are a lot of reasons why Friday’s game between the Golden Eagles and BEA at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field is more than just another game for Jones, but the most important is this: wins come at a premium when playing in the Laurel Highlands, where every week is a dogfight and the next opponent is more challenging than the one that came before it.
Nothing comes easy, and nothing is guaranteed, so the time to start stacking wins in hopes of making the District 6 playoffs is always now, and that’s even truer since Tyrone suffered its first loss one week ago.
“I know some of the guys over there, and my brother still coaches junior high football there,” Jones said. “It’s a game you’d like to win just because they’re one of the 10 teams on your schedule, but with the history and everything, it makes it a unique atmosphere. They have a good program with a lot of excitement. From my perspective, it’s a game we’ve got to win. I thought before the year it would be quite a big game, so it should be exciting.”
It’s a game you’d like to win just because they’re one of the 10 teams on your schedule, but with the history and everything, it makes it a unique atmosphere.
Tyrone Coach Jason Jones
There are few must-win games in Week 4, but after falling to Central 21-14 in overtime last week, Tyrone is entering a portion of its schedule that can separate contenders from pretenders. The Golden Eagles are currently ranked fifth in the 8-team field of District 6 3A, with games on the horizon against Bellwood-Antis and Bishop Guilfoyle.
But first they will have to contend with 3-0 BEA, which is tied for the top spot in 2A with B-A.
The Eagles from Wingate will present a challenge much different than the one Tyrone faced last week against the Scarlet Dragons. BEA has the talent to play an offensive game every bit as dynamic as Central’s, but their powerful offensive line and a loaded backfield make them a run-first team that can win games on the ground alone.
Senior quarterback Chase Cane has been the catalyst for BEA’s offense through three weeks, producing big plays with his arm and his legs. He’s completed 26 of 36 passes for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns, while running for 218 yards on 22 carries.
“Their offensive line and their size is really their strength,” Jones said. “They do have playmakers and they’ll try to use them in various spots. We always have to be aware that they’ll have a trick play or two up their sleeve. They’re very creative that way. These guys are a challenge because they’ll do things a different way (than Central). Just when you think they’re going to go power, power, power, they’ll pull their quarterback, run weak side and try to hit a seam. And he’s very fast and athletic. So it’s a big challenge for us in every phase of the game.”
Bald Eagle is averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground, led by senior Sam Clark, who has 335 yards on 54 carries. Sophomore Xavier Nagle has 101 yards on 16 carries, and both backs have run for 4 touchdowns.
But BEA has the ability to hit a big one with the passing game when teams stack to limit the run, with four players averaging at least 13 yards per reception, led by Luke Hosband’s 179 receiving yards.
It’s a difficult offense to stop, which is why BEA has scored more than 30 points in every game this season.
Tyrone’s defense has been strong against the run, allowing just over 100 yards per game. Sneior defensive end Kyler Suhoney has been at the center of most of the action, with a team-high 31 tackles and 6TFL. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles’ secondary, which has produced four of the team’s five interceptions, is as good as it gets in the Laurel Highlands, which makes for an interesting matchup against BEA.
“Our big strength has been our defensive line. The defensive line and our linebackers have been really good,” Jones said.
For its part, finishing drives and putting points on the board has been a struggle for Tyrone. Aside from the 34 points they scored against winless Westmont Hilltop, the Eagles have been steady at two touchdowns a game.
That would indicate they would rather not get involved in a shootout with BEA, but Jones said his team isn’t feeling any added pressure to score more.
“Obviously, you want to score and take a little pressure off the defense,” he said. “We’re well aware of what we have and what our strength is. We’re one play in regulation away from being 3-0. But offensively, for us, it’s not like we feel like to win it has to be 28-0. We’re going to win by whatever means necessary, and if that means playing the field position game and striking at the right time, we’ll definitely do that. I don’t think there’s pressure for us to score. Everybody wants to score, and we’re waiting for that breakout game. We just want to win the game. At the end of the night, it could be 3-0 or 37-34. We just want a W.”
Jones said one way for his team to achieve more offensive consistency is through execution and understanding individual assignments when his team leaves the huddle. That execution means getting to blocking assignments, but it also includes making catches when they’re there to be made. Against the Dragons, the Eagles dropped five key passes that could have extended drives.
Those plays skew the numbers of first-year starter Ben Walk, who has completed 20 of 48 passes for 231 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“We’re getting there,” Jones said. “We felt better this week. Now it’s about putting it to work on Friday night. I’m not upset with anything that has happened offensively. I think our guys have tried to get better. I’ve asked them to do a lot of different things, especially Ben Walk, and I think he’s taken everything in stride. Even with the drops last week, he stayed positive, and I’m proud of him for that.”
Mason Emigh is Walk’s top receiver, with 10 receptions for 155 yards. Jon Stroup is second on the team with 5 catches for 53 yards.
Emigh’s ability to make plays has drawn a lot of extra attention, and that has opened things up for other players, like sophomore running back Reid Star, who last week alone had 56 yards in total offense and a touchdown.
The Golden Eagles had dominated their series with BEA for decades, building a winning streak that reached 25 games through 2017, but things have changed since Jesse Nagle took over at BEA, with the Eagles taking 5 of the last 8.
That has turned the series into a pretty healthy rivalry in Jones’ mind, and he expects that to continue this week.
“Tyrone had always been the big brother until 2018, and it kind of flipped,” he said. “I think both sides have a respect for one another. It’s a big game for us because when you lose a heartbreaker on your home field, you don’t want to lose on your home field back to back. That’s the mentality we have to have.”
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