Tyrone suffered its worst loss of the season Friday at Memorial Stadium in the Backyard Brawl, falling to Bellwood-Antis 37-14. It was the most points Tyrone had surrendered to B-A since a 35-32 overtime loss in 2019.
The Blue Devils scored all 37 of their points in the first half, setting the mercy rule in effect for the entire second half on a 22-yard field goal by Miles Smearman as time expired in the second quarter.
The Golden Eagles did themselves no favors offensively, with four drops and three turnovers, including two interceptions thrown by quarterback Ben Walk, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Here are four takeaways from the game.
FIRST DOWN: Can’t keep pace
Even if the Golden Eagles had not put themselves in bad situations with costly turnovers, even if they had been able to execute their defensive game plan as John Shelton had envisioned it, topping the Blue Devils still would have been a monumental challenge because Tyrone’s offense is not yet in a position where it can go blow for blow with the top offensive teams.
Against B-A, Tyrone’s starters got just one score, and that came in the fourth quarter, after the Devils began making heavy substitutions on defense. Freshman Kaden Kustenbauder later scored an explosive touchdown on a 90-yard run in the final minute of the game, but that came against a defense made entirely of junior varsity players.
That means that in four of the Eagles’ five games, they’ve scored two or fewer offensive touchdowns four times.
As has happened every week since Week 1, Tyrone’s offense showed signed of progress and growth, and head coach Jason Jones said himself the team took steps forward in that area. Reid Starr ran for more than 4 yards per carry and the Eagles moved into B-A territory in six of their nine possessions. Receivers got open, and senior Mason Emigh was all but unguardable in his routes.
But it still might be a while before Tyrone can win in a shootout, and that puts a lot of stress on a defense that has performed beyond expectations to this point.
SECOND DOWN: A team that can finish
The Golden Eagles’ defense was pushed to its limits by B-A in part because turnovers placed it in tough spots frequently during the Devils’ 23-point second quarter.
Walk’s second interception had B-A starting at Tyrone’s 25 with 1:43 left in the half, which was plenty of time to move into position for a Smearman field goal with a drive where the Devils never needed to pass the football.
A fumble on the series preceding that turnover ended when an Emigh fumble was wrapped up by Jackson Dorminy. The field wasn’t as short as it was following the interception, but it did halt a promising Tyrone drive that advanced into B-A territory after the Eagles had started at their own 36.
Tyrone had turned the ball over five times entering the Backyard Brawl, but they hadn’t coughed the ball up against a team with the talent to convert turnovers into points quite like the Blue Devils. In the end, B-A turned every miscue into points, none more dramatic than Dorminy’s 65-yard interception return to begin the second quarter that made it 21-0.
Until last Friday, only one Eagles’ turnover had resulted in points for their opponents, when Central used a third-quarter interception in Week 3 to drive the field and punch in a go-ahead score.
That’s a credit to the Golden Eagles’ defenders, but turning away elite offenses following turnovers is a gamble, and it’s in Tyrone’s best interest to avoid it. And that makes ball protection this week against Bishop Guilfoyle ultra-important.
THIRD DOWN: Penalties galore
Tyrone was hammered with penalties against the Blue Devils, earning 7 flags for 88 yards in losses, but there were plenty of yellow handkerchiefs to go around.
Combined, the teams were penalized 13 times for just under 150 yards.
During one exchange in the second quarter, Tyrone was flagged for a personal foul following a sack to move the ball to the 20. On the next play, B-A earned one for an illegal formation. Tyrone then interfered with a receiver to get the ball to the 12, after which the Devils were called for a hold, negating a Chase Plummer touchdown.
The end result was the ball being placed at the 23, three yards back from where it was spotted after the initial foul.
Penalties were frequently a big part of the Backyard Brawl story when it was played in Week 1, when the teams were just starting and still working the kinks out. That hasn’t been the case as much since the game moved to Week 5 in 2023, but that changed this year, and it made for a game that was disjointed at times.
FOURTH DOWN: Uphill Battle
Tyrone’s loss to B-A sent the Eagles tumbling in the District 6 3A rankings, where they dropped from No. 3 to No. 6.
In a field more balanced than ever, four teams above Tyrone are sitting at 4-1, while No 1 Cambria Heights is still unbeaten at 5-0.
There’s plenty of work to be done, and there’s no way to view the next several weeks other than a steep climb to get into the postseason mix.
After playing BG this week, Tyrone travels to Huntingdon, which is 2-3 but coming off a win over Clearfield. The Eagles then host 3-2 Penn Cambria, which is not quite as strong as recent versions of the Panthers but still averaging over 30 points per game.
in Week 9, Tyrone travels to Philipsburg-Osceola, which is 4-1 and heading into Bellwood-Antis for a showdown this week, before the LHAC crossover game in Week 10.
The Eagles have been here before. Each of the last two seasons they’ve needed to string together wins late in the season to make the playoff field. But never before has their late-season schedule been as formidable as this year, and it’s going to take a lot of work to get it done.
All of the teams left on Tyrone’s schedule have offenses producing significantly more than the Eagles, with three of them averaging more than 30 points per game.
It’s not like Tyrone needs to go unbeaten in their remaining games to get in. Many of those teams above them are yet to play each other, so aside from Cambria Heights, which plays in the Heritage Conference, there’s no chance of all of them running the table with a single loss.
But there is some urgency now with Tyrone sitting at 3-2, and they’re going to need to piece together wins sooner rather than later to get into the postseason.
