No. 2 Tyrone (9-1) vs. No. 3 Philipsburg-Osceola (9-1)
District 6-AA Semifinals
Gray Veterans Memorial Field, Tyrone 7 p.m.
What’s at Stake: The winner advances to the District 5-6 AA championship game next week against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 5 Forest Hills and No. 4 Bishop McCort.
How They Got Here: TYRONE – defeated Purchase Line 56-13 at Gray Veterans Memorial Field on Friday, November 5. Brice Mertiff scored a school record six touchdowns, while the Eagles’ defensive unit forced five turnovers. PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA – defeated Chestnut Ridge 31-14 at Memorial Field in Philipsburg on Saturday, November 6. Jeff Winters threw for 122 yards and a touchdown, and ran for one other score.
Last Meeting: On October 1, Philipsburg-Osceola defeated Tyrone 7-6 at Memorial Field before an overflow crowd estimated at more than 7,000 people. Tyrone advanced as far as the Mountie 25 on seven possessions, but came away with points only once, with just over two minutes to play in the game. Brinton Mingle scored a touchdown on a three-yard run to pull the Eagles within a point, but P-O linebacker Ryan Mostyn broke through the line to block the extra point. Tyrone got the ball back for one more drive and moved to the Mountie 25, but Ben Gummo’s 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired fell short.
Series History: Tyrone began playing Philipsburg High School in 1923, and took on Osceola Mills beginning in 1927. The Eagles have a record of 31-23 against the consolidated Philipsburg-Osceola High School, in a series that dates back to 1955.
Including games against Philipsburg and Osceola Mills, Tyrone leads the series 67-25-5.
This is the third time Tyrone and Philipsburg-Osceola have faced each other in the District playoffs, with each postseason pairing coming in the semifinals. The Golden Eagles defeated the Mounties 14-7 at Hollidaysburg’s Golden Tiger Stadium in 1986 when both teams played in Class AAA, and won last season 58-14 at Gray Veterans Memorial Field.
District 6 Playoff History: Making its 12th appearance in the semifinal round of the District 6 playoffs, Tyrone enters the game with a 29-11 overall mark (.725) under the current District playoff format. The Eagles are 8-3 in semifinal games, with their last loss coming to Forest Hills, 20-13 in 2002. Overall, the Eagles, who are making their tenth consecutive playoff appearance, have won seven District titles, with six coming in the John Franco era.
Philipsburg-Osceola is making its third post-season appearance with its second straight berth in the District semifinals. The Mounties won their second overall postseason game last week. P-O has never won a semifinal game.
TYRONE: has outscored its opponents 206-44 since losing to P-O in October … is limiting opponents to 76 rushing yards per game … is plus-15 in the turnover ratio … quarterback Leonard Wilson has not thrown an interception since being picked off twice against the Mounties … has four players with over 100 yards receiving … has not allowed a second-quarter touchdown this season … has not lost a playoff game at home since losing to United 20-0 in the 1998 semifinals.
Hidden Stat: Tyrone outrushed P-O 171-69 in earlier meeting.
Players to Watch: Ben Gummo, WR-LB-K, 19 receptions, 322 yards, 3 touchdowns, 42 extra points, 4.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 2 takeaways … Terry Tate, OL-DL, 3.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss … Brice Mertiff, RB, 179 carries, 1612 yards, 22 touchdowns, 8 receptions, 143 yards, 4 touchdowns … Leonard Wilson, QB, 55-118-818, 7 touchdowns, 2 interceptions … Brinton Mingle FB-LB, 583 yards, 18 touchdowns.
Coach John Franco: “We’ve made more progress in the last five weeks than we did in the five weeks leading up to that game. That game shook us and made us realize that we’re just like everybody else. We had to regroup and prove ourselves again.”
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA: allowed 20 or more points three times this season … has not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Bellwood-Antis’ Josh Kleinfelter in Week 7 … led the Mountain Athletic Conference in passing yardage … receiver Lou Lafuria became the school’s all-time leading receiver in the win over Chestnut Ridge … quarterback Jeff Winters has thrown for over 100 yards seven times … have recorded 18 quarterback sacks.
Hidden Stat: While rushing for more than 200 yards per game, the Mounties have had only one 100-yard rusher this season (Bjorn Scoggins, 7-115, Week 2).
Players to Watch: Lou Lafuria, WR-DB-K, 25 receptions, 692 yards, 8 touchdowns, 3 rushing touchdowns, 6 interceptions … Jeff Winters, QB, 59-118-1191, 10 touchdowns, 6 interceptions … Ryan Mostyn, RB-LB, 112 carries, 534 yards, 6 touchdowns, 4 blocked kicks … Kurt Ammerman, OL-DL, 5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 10 tackles for loss … Ron Pollock, DL, 42 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 5 sacks.
Coach Jeff Vroman: “We have playmakers, but I expect it to be a team effort. There’s going to be an unsung hero somewhere in the game that makes a big play. It will probably be someone people don’t expect who doesn’t get a lot of ink.”
GAME NOTES
The game matches the top two offensive teams in the Mountain Athletic Conference Nittany Division. Tyrone is tops in rushing (2,690) and total offense (3,508), while P-O is first in passing (1,198) and second in total offense (3,211). The teams are also 1 and 2 in scoring offense, with the Eagles (35.4) leading the Mounties (26.5) by nine points per game.
Tyrone also leads the Nittany Division in total defense, rushing yards allowed and scoring defense.
Along with his school record six touchdowns against Purchase Line, Mertiff became the third rusher in Tyrone history to run for over 4,000 yards in his career, joining Marcus Owens (4,314) and Jesse Jones (6,902). Mertiff now had 4,037.
