It was almost too perfect when, with 21 seconds to play in the first quarter, Tyrone quarterback Tyler Golden completed a touchdown pass to No. 21 in his first game in a Golden Eagle uniform since the 2005 playoffs.
But for the first 12 minutes of last night’s Mountain Athletic Conference Nittany Division game against Bald Eagle Area, everything was going perfectly for Tyrone.
“Is it the 21st of the month?” BEA coach John Bathurst quipped when the coincidental figures were called to his attention.
Golden’s 19-yard pass to Tyler Gillmen to end the first quarter made it – not surprisingly – 21-0, and the Golden Eagles went on to win 35-14 to improve to 4-0 for the second straight season. But it was one of the few highlights left for Tyrone, which committed more mistakes than coach John Franco would care to see, despite winning its 17th consecutive regular season game and hiking its Nittany Division record to 2-0.
“We were okay, but not great,” said Franco. “We made way too many mistakes, but we’re a work in progress.”
Gillmen, out since the preseason with a swollen spleen as a result of mononucleosis, is a work in progress, as well, but after last night it appears he is well on his way to a full football recovery. The 5-10 senior caught three passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing eight times for 64 yards and another score.
He also recorded a sack of Bald Eagle quarterback Ran McNamara in the second quarter that resulted in a 10-yard loss. Originally, Franco had planned to use Gillmen sparingly, but his game action increased from series-to-series, not without a little prodding from his players.
“I kept bugging coach on the sidelines to put me back in, so maybe my persuasion worked a little,” said Gillmen.
“(Running back) Johnny (Franco) asked me a couple of times to move him to fullback so Tyler could get more time at running back,” coach Franco said. “I said ‘Just be patient.’”
But Franco admitted that Gillmen’s return gave the team an obvious lift.
“He’s one of our emotional leaders,” said Franco. “We knew there would be a little of him getting is feet wet. This is the first time he’s been tackled since the McCort game last season.”
Despite the boost Tyrone received from Gllmen’s return, after the opening period much of the game played out like a preseason scrimmage. The teams combined for 13 penalties, six fumbles, six turnovers and one blocked punt.
But Tyrone’s defense was again up to the occasion, limiting Bald Eagle to 124 yards in total offense while stopping six plays in BEA’s backfield. Jordan Good recovered a fumble, Justin Schopp and Dustin Rudasill picked up interceptions, and it was late in the third quarter before Bald Eagle made it as far as the Tyrone red zone.
Johnny Franco turned in his fourth 100-yard game of the season with 122 yards and one score on 17 carries. He also completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to junior Shayne Tate when he briefly relieved starting quarterback Tyler Golden in the second quarter.
For his part, Golden completed 4 of 7 passes for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns without throwing an interception. Both of his touchdown lobs came in the first quarter, when the Golden Eagles built their three-touchdown lead.
“There are very few teams who can get down that many points against a quality team,” said Bathurst, whose team dipped to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the Nittany Division. “It was 21-6 at one point and then we gave up a big one before the end of the half.”
The big one Bathurst alluded to was Franco’s bomb to Tate with just 1:09 left before halftime. Franco was forced into action at quarterback after Golden slightly bruised his knee (he would return before the end of the half), and his first passing effort ended in a 9-yard loss on a sack. After a procedure penalty left Tyrone with a third-and-21 situation, Franco gunned the ball to Tate, who bobbled the ball in double coverage while being interfered with and hauled it in for the first touchdown reception of his career.
“It doesn’t matter where we put him, Johnny will do whatever we ask him to help the team,” Franco said of his son. “He has no choice – he’s the coach’s son.”
The fourth of Johnny Shaffer’s five extra-point kicks made it 28-6 and deflated BEA, which ad been energized two series earlier when Zack Bowes blocked Levi Reihart’s first punt attempt. Justin Koleno scooped it up and raced 14 yards for a score that made it 21-6.
“We talked about who was going to be that difference maker, and that was a spark for us,” Bathurst said. “But we couldn’t build a fire from it.”
Tyrone got on the board quickly with its first possession. Franco took the Golden Eagles’ first play from scrimmage and zigzagged his way for a 58-yard gain to the BEA 8, and two plays later ran it in from the 6 for a 7-0 lead with three minutes expired.
The Eagles’ next drive went 86 yards in eight plays, and was capped by Golden’s first touchdown pass of the night, a 43-yarder to Gillmen, who made a leaping grab and glided into the endzone for his first touchdown of the season to make it 14-0 at the 2:21 mark.
Good’s fumble recovery on the first play of Bald Eagles’ ensuing series gave Tyrone the ball at the BEA 42, and it took six plays for the Eagles to cash in on the turnover. Gillmen ran once on the drive for 25 yards, and scored three plays later on the 19-yard pass from Golden.
“We planned to use him in a lot of different capacities,” Franco said of Gillmen, who at different times lined up at tailback, split out wide, on the wing and in the slot. “The idea is to move him around in different spots to best utilize his abilities.”
Gillmen scored Tyrone’s last touchdown in the third quarter on an 11-yard run around right end to punctuate an 81-yard, 11-play drive. Along the way, Golden hooked up with tight end Donnie Conrad for 17 yards and sophomore Mark Mingle ran for 43 yards on three carries.
“I think with everyone back in the mix, we’re a very dangerous offense,” said Gillmen. “We’re so versatile. We just find the mismatches against a defense and take advantage of them.”
Bald Eagle added a late score in the fourth quarter following a Tyrone turnover. The drive went 32 yards in six plays and ended when Luke Nyman ran 16 yards for a touchdown at the 5:22 mark. Nyman also added the two-point conversion on a pass from McNamara.
GAME NOTES: Jason Reese recorded his team-leading fifth sack in the fourth quarter … Golden has thrown five touchdown passes in the last three games … McNamara was sacked twice for 12 yards … Tyrone’s youth football teams were recognized prior to the game and greeted the Eagles as they took the field … Tyrone travels to Philipsburg-Osceola next week … the Mounties face Bishop Guilfoyle tonight at Mansion Park.
Tyrone 35 Bald Eagle Area 14
Bald Eagle Area 0 6 0 8 – 14
Tyrone 21 7 7 0 – 35
Scoring
First Quarter
T – Franco 6 run (Shaffer kick) 9:00
T – Gillmen 43 pass from Golden (Shaffer kick) 2:21
T – Gillmen 19 pass from Golden (Shaffer kick) 0:21.3
Second Quarter
B – Koleno 14 punt block return (PAT pass failed) 7:54
T – Tate 46 pass from Franco (Shaffer kick) 1:09
Third Quarter
T – Gillmen 11 run (Shaffer kick) 4:27
Fourth Quarter
B – Nyman 16 run (Nyman pass from McNamara) 5:22
Team
T B
First Downs 19 9
Rushing Yards 265 71
Pass Att.-Comp. 5-8 6-15
Passing Yards 131 53
Total Yards 396 124
Fumbles/Recovered 4-3 2-1
Interceptions 0 2
Pen./Yards 6-60 7-55
Punts/Avg. 2-25.5 5-36.2
Individual
Rushing
Tyrone – Franco 17-122; Gillmen 8-64; Mingle 8-46; Golden 5-15; Barlett 2-5; Riehart 3-5; Williams 2-4; Ingle 1-3; Crowell 2-1.
Bald Eagle Area – Kochik 12-29; Koleno 8-26; Nyman 3-21; Viehdorfer 3-13; Cleaver 1-(-6); McNamara 2-(-12).
Passing
Tyrone – Golden 4-7-85, 2 TDs, 0 Int.; Franco 1-1-46, 1 TD, 0 Int.
Bald Eagle Area – MacNamara 5-12-39, 0 TD, 1 Int.; Cleaver 1-2-14, 0 TD, 1 Int.; Kochik 0-1-0, 0 TD, 0 Int.
Receiving
Tyrone – Gillmen 3-68; Tate 1-46; Conrad 1-17.
Bald Eagle Area – Nyman 4-30; Sowash 2-22; Kochik 1-1.
