Tyrone coach John Franco knew a game like last night’s against Indian Valley was coming somewhere down the road, and he was interested in seeing how his team would respond.
Through the first seven games, no team had been within two touchdowns of the Eagles heading into the fourth quarter, and that luxury was becoming a double-edge sword, in the mind of Franco.
“People tend to think we’re going to walk on the field and beat everybody by 40 points,” Franco said. “We were challenged for the first time. I think our kids are back down to earth. You can tell them as a coach all you want, but they read in the papers how great they are. We’ve been a success this year because we’ve worked hard and we haven’t believed we’re better than anybody. This kind of knocked that home pretty well tonight.”
That sounds an awful lot like a speech of concession by a losing coach. But instead it was the reaction of a man whose team had just improved to 8-0 with a 28-6 Homecoming victory at Gray Veterans Memorial Field that was full of holes.
Indian Valley (3-5) was able to drive the ball against Tyrone’s defense most of the first half and into the third quarter, and trailed by just one score until the fourth quarter. Warrior running back Nam Shartzer (18-105) became the first rusher to gain 100 yards against the Golden Eagles’ defense since the first round of the 2005 District 6-AA playoffs.
But when push came to shove, the Eagles gained the tough yards and delivered the most meaningful stops when they needed them most.
Valley penetrated Tyrone’s 20-yard line on their first two second-half possessions, and each time they were turned away – once on an interception by Johnny Franco, and again on when Johnny Shaffer recovered a misfired option pitch.
Tyrone cashed in Shaffer’s takeaway with a 1-yard run by Franco to start the fourth quarter, capping an 85-yard drive to go ahead 21-6, and the Eagles never looked back.
“We had to put on some long, sustained drives, which is good,” said Franco. “We weren’t able to break any big plays tonight. We had to resort to a different mode of offense and that was very good. We were challenged for the first time.”
Johnny Franco and Tyler Gillmen, behind a strong effort by the offensive line, were the focal points of the Eagles’ adjusted attack, with each topping the 100-yard mark for the third straight game. Franco finished with 126 yards on 18 carries, while Gillmen had 121 on 17. The duo combined to break nine plays of 10 yards or more and accounted for all of Tyrone’s touchdowns.
“They have no weak spots,” said Valley coach Gawen Stoker. “They don’t make mistakes. They just play sound football and wait for the other team to make mistakes and they take advantage. We knew as long as we could go along without making too big a mistake (we would be fine).”
But that didn’t happen. In the toughest spots, when Valley needed a spark the most, it was Tyrone that produced the big play.
Trailing 14-6, the Warriors started the second half with a 42-yard kick return by Brent Hartman to set IV up at the Tyrone 42. A 17-yard completion from Will Goss to Hartman and a 10-yard run by Thad Rosenberry helped advance the ball as far as the Eagles’ 12, but on third down from the 18 Franco picked off Goss at the nine to thwart the drive.
Valley marched 53 yards on its next series to the Tyrone 15, on the tail of Nam Shartzer’s 52-yard run on third-and-16 from the Valley 26. But on fourth down the Warriors went with an option play to the short side of the field, and Goss’s errant pitched was smothered at the 18 by Shaffer.
Tyrone then drove 82 yards on 10 straight running plays to go ahead by two scores. Gillmen carried most of the load with a 13-yard run on second down, a 19-yard run two plays later, and a pair of 10-yard runs that put the ball at Valley’s 20. A personal foul penalty against the Warriors, followed by a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, placed the ball on the six, and three plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Franco crashed in from the one to make it 21-6.
“Our offensive line, I thought, really took the game over,” Franco said. “That’s what has to happen in any game when it’s a tough game. We were able to shut down their inside run, and then we established ours.”
Tyrone added one more score on a seven-play, 53 yard drive later in the fourth. Gillmen broke free for a 19-yard run to put the Eagles at the Valley 17, and two plays later Golden found tight end Donnie Conrad for an 11-yard gain on third-and-6. Gillmen scored from two yards out on the next play to set the final score at 6:32.
“I think we definitely wore them down in the third quarter,” said Tyrone quarterback Tyler Golden, who finished 4-for-9 for 25 yards. “They were getting up slower and taking longer to get set on the ball. We know once we hit that third and fourth quarter, that’s our game.”
In a game marred by penalties – the teams were flagged a combined 17 times for 109 yards – Tyrone took the lead on their second possession of the game with a 60-yard drive that went eight plays in four minutes. They key play came on a 28-yard run by Franco to set the ball at the Valley 5-yard line. He scored from the one two plays later, and the first of Shaffer’s four PAT kicks made it 7-0.
But the Warriors responded with a 36-yard drive to tie the game after Rosenberry returned the ensuing kick 44-yards. On second-and-8, Shartzer broke free for 28 yards to the Tyrone 6, and scored on a 2-yard run at the 1:35 mark of the first quarter.
Goss’s 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete in the flat, and Tyrone led 7-6.
Gillmen returned the Warriors’ kick 48 yards to the IV 32, but on second down Golden overshot Gillmen on a pass over the middle and Hartman came up with the interception, Golden’s third this season.
But Tyrone held, thanks to a third-down sack by Tyler Hoover that set Indian Valley back eight yards, and the Eagles promptly extended their lead with a 43-yard drive. Gillmen ran for 14 yards to the Warrior 17, and three plays later Franco scored from the 7 to make it 14-6 at halftime.
“You’re always disappointed when you lose,” Stoker said. “It doesn’t matter that we stayed in the game as late as we did with a good, quality football team like Tyrone.”
While pushed to the limit, Tyrone’s defense responded with nine stops in Valley’s backfield, including a pair of sacks by Hoover and one from Shaffer.
GRID TIDBITS: Franco’s rushing total left him on the doorstep of 1,000 yards, with 995 on 144 carries … receiver Justin Schopp was held without a catch for the second time this season … the last running back to gain 100 yards against Tyrone was Penn Cambria quarterback Luke Tomasselli, who totaled 102 last November … Shane Emigh had Tyrone’s other interception, and also came up with two tackles for loss … after surrendering three kick returns of 30 yards or more last night following a tough outing for the kick team against BG, Franco said he will initiate a major overhaul of the kick team this week … the Eagles travel to Penns Valley Friday in their Nittany Division finale.
Tyrone 28 Indian Valley 6
Tyrone 7 7 0 14 – 28
Indian Valley 6 0 0 0 – 6
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
T – Franco 1 run (Shaffer kick) 3:37
I – Shartzer 2 run (PAT pass failed) 1:35
Second Quarter
T – Franco 7 run (Shaffer kick) 7:39
Fourth Quarter
T – Franco 1 run (Shaffer kick) 11:56
T – Gillmen 2 run (Shaffer kick) 6:32
Team
T IV
First Downs 16 10
Yards Rushing 255 145
Pass Att.-Comp. 4-9 8-18
Yards Passing 25 71
Total Offense 280 216
Fumble-Rec. 1-0 1-1
Interceptions 2 1
Pen./Yards 8-47 9-62
Punts/Avg. 3-34.6 4-30.5
Rushing
Tyrone – Franco 18-126; Gillmen 17-121; Mingle 1-6; Golden 3-4; Tate 1-(-2).
Indian Valley – Shartzer 16-105; Goss 9-17; Hartman 2-7; Rosenberry 4-11; Battista 2-7; Harris 1-1.
Passing
Tyrone – Golden 4-9-25, 1 Int., 0 TD.
Indian Valley – Goss 6-11-40, 1 Int., 0 TD; Mannino 1-5-23, 1 Int., 0 TD; Harris 1-2-8, 0 Int., 0 TD.
Receiving
Tyrone – Conrad 1-11; Gillmen 1-6; Franco 1-6; Catich 1-3.
Indian Valley – Hartman 26; Daubert 1-12; Kratzer 1-23; Battista 1-8.
