After losing at Bishop Guilfoyle last week, the Junior Varsity Eagles came away with a 13-0 victory over Clearfield Monday night.
The shutout came courtesy of a sound defensive game by the Golden Eagles, who came away with a fumble recovery and an interception, and held the Bison offense to 134 total offensive yards.
“We had 15 kids down here tonight,” said head coach Chuck Banas after the win. “We had a real gut check.”
Both teams came out of the gate slow offensively, with Tyrone finally gaining the advantage when Jeremy Myers’ second punt of the game rolled out of bounds inside the Bison one. Clearfield took over with four seconds left in the first quarter, using a pair of runs up the middle to gain some room.
However, on the next play Tyrone’s Jason Hunter fell on a fumble, and the Golden Eagles set up shop on their opponent’s 26 yard line. From there, Shane Christine took a handoff up the middle, breaking tackles on his way to a 22 yard run. On the next play, he ran up the middle once more, scoring from the four to put the Eagles on the board. Matt Wheland’s extra point was good, and Tyrone led 7-0.
The Bisons were unable to move the ball, and the Golden Eagles started their next offensive series at midfield. After stuffing a run and forcing an incompletion, things looked good for the Bisons, with Tyrone facing third and long. However, sophomore quarterback Brandon Maceno found tight-end Max Soellner wide open over the middle, and Soellner burned through the secondary for a 45 yard touchdown. The extra point was no good, but Tyrone was on top for good 13-0.
Maceno started the year at the junior varsity level, and after moving up to varsity duty to fill holes left by injury, returned to junior varsity for work at quarterback. Soellner sees extensive action at the varsity level, but needs work after recently changing positions on both sides of the ball.
“It was good to get them some work,” stated Banas when asked about Maceno and Soellner. “Not only was it big for JV, but it was great for the varsity.”
Clearfield responded to the long touchdown run by forcing their way down the field, marching 59 yards from their own 40. Unfortunately for the Bisons, the Golden Eagle defense turned into a wall inside the ten, turning Clearfield away on a fourth and goal.
The Bisons never quit, playing tough throughout the second half. Clearfield’s defense tallied 6 sacks on the night, with most of them coming in the second half. The Bison defense was equally tough when Maceno was able to get the ball off, forcing incompletions on all three of Maceno’s second half throws.
Following the Tyrone victory, Banas said, “We’ve had it rough the past couple weeks. I’m really proud of the kids, they just keep coming and coming.”
The Golden Eagles wrap up their Junior Varsity season next Monday when they host Huntingdon, the 4-4 Eagles looking to end the 2002 season above .500.
