Tyrone’s Junior Varsity football team took a 2-2 record into Bellefonte Monday evening, but came out with their second loss in two weeks.
To their credit, however, the Golden Eagles have improved on what has been one of their most troublesome areas: the second half. In their previous two losses, Tyrone had been outscored in the second half 34-0. However, against a tough Red Raider team boasting several players that see considerable varsity action, the Golden Eagles won the second half 8-6.
“Our kids didn’t quit,” stated Tyrone Coach Chuck Banas after the game. “At least five of their players played against our varsity. In the second half, our 10th graders actually beat a lot of their varsity players.”
Bellefonte, however, owned the first half. On their second possession, the Red Raiders used an 18-yard pass play and several Nate Carson runs to get into the end zone first. Carson finished the night with 78 yards rushing on 16 carries, along with two touchdowns.
Shane Christine was Tyrone’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 27 times for 113 yards against a defense that consistently had eight or nine players in the box. The Golden Eagles used several Christine rushes to move the ball down the field on their ensuing possession, but Bellefonte picked off a Bill Schreckengost pass and set up shop at their own 41 yard line.
From there, Bellefonte and Tyrone each had two unsuccessful offensive possessions. Tyrone’s offense finally got something going, riding high on the momentum generated when Christine picked off a Red Raider pass and returned it to the Bellefonte 41. The Golden Eagles made their way down to the Red Raider ten, but Tony Button stole all the momentum away from Tyrone when he stepped in front of a Schreckengost pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.
The Golden Eagle defense stood tall after Tyrone turned the ball over on their next possession, turning away the Red Raiders in the red zone before half time.
The defensive game remained that way after the break, with both teams once again trading fruitless offensive series. The third quarter was very nearly scoreless, but Carson took a fourth down pitch six yards into the end zone with only 5 seconds remaining in the quarter. The two point conversion run was no good, and Bellefonte held the lead at 18-0.
Tyrone had seen too many second half letdowns, however, and got things together in the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles drove 53 yards in 4 minutes, scoring when Schreckengost plunged in from the one yard line. Tyrone pulled out some razzle-dazzle for the two point play when Schreckengost pitched to Christine, who threw back to his wide open quarterback to narrow the gap to 18-8. After Bellefonte used speedy running back Matt Munday to get inside the Tyrone 10, the Golden Eagle defense held fast again and stopped the Red Raiders from adding another score.
“Basically our kids played a good game,” commented Banas on his team’s performance against the Red Raiders. “We gritted it out.”
Although the Golden Eagles came away with a loss, they displayed the character to become a better team. Their defense kept the Raiders out of the end zone just before half time to hold the score at 12-0, and held Bellefonte out of the end zone near the end of the fourth quarter when the game was all but over.
After leaving the field disappointed with his team’s effort the past few games, Banas seemed happy with Tyrone’s outing against Bellefonte. “That’s something to build on, I liked the attitude.”
The Golden Eagle Jayvees continue action next Monday when they host West Branch.
