The 66th Tyrone/Bellwood-Antis football game is less than a month away and people in both communities are already talking. High School football is a hotbed in Blair County and no rivalry is larger than the one between Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis.
Walk into your local convenient store in Tyrone or Bellwood-Antis and people are already discussing what each team has back this year, predictions of this year’s game and which team has that shot of taking home District 5-6 gold. It may be a little early to decide either, but it shows how much the rivalry means to both communities.
The annual rivalry began in 1939 with Tyrone coming out victorious in a lopsided 32-0 win. In 2001, Bellwood-Antis disposed of Tyrone in a 20-13 victory. Throughout the years Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis have exchanged blows back and forth claiming bragging rights, which makes the rivalry special. Tyrone holds a 40-24-1 advantage all time in the series.
In recent years Coach John Hayes and Coach John Franco have reaped the benefits of community support for the respected Bellwood-Antis and Tyrone football teams. It is a guarantee that Gray-Veterans Memorial Field will be sold out and then some come August 30th.
The coaching and talent on the field decides the outcome of the game, but the people in the stands influence the play of the kids. Both communities can attest to that, from the parades in downtown Tyrone after the 1996 State Runners-Up team and the 1999 State Championship victory in Hershey to the continuous Bellwood-Antis support in their three in a row near misses of District 5-6 titles.
And no one will ever forget the rematch in the 2000 AA District 5-6 title game that brought practically everyone out of their homes in Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis to pack Mansion Park beyond capacity. Regardless of Tyrone coming out victorious, the sight of all the orange and black and blue and gold was overwhelming for any fan of football.
There is nothing as heart-pounding and exciting than hearing and feeling the crowd get behind their beloved football team, whether it be Tyrone or Bellwood-Antis. Both communties of Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis are fortunate to get a double dose of that when the two teams clash in the first game of the year.
With both towns being separated by a mere eight miles, there are people and families that may have played football for Tyrone and now reside in Bellwood-Antis, or vice versa. What disrupts that even more is that some of those families that made the switch have children playing football for either Tyrone or Bellwood-Antis.
So who do you cheer for? Do people continue to bleed the colors of their alma-mater or do tides change as times change? Frankly, it shouldn’t matter. It is just a game as it is said. Or is it?
Two members of the first ever 1940 Tyrone State Championship football team represent the Bellwood-Antis and Tyrone communities respectively. Interestingly enough, one member is now the Bellwood-Antis mayor. The other member, to say the least, his front yard of his house is practically Gray-Vets Memorial Field, on which his feet have trodden for decades.
Mayor of Bellwood-Antis, James Bonsell, was a player on the 1940 State Championship team at Tyrone. Bonsell moved to Bellwood after W.W.II. He had one son who played football for Bellwood in 1964-65 and another son and daughter who were active in sports and other extra-curricular activities.
Being as it is said, Bonsell has developed a solution through the years when his former alma-mater, Tyrone, and the town he is mayor of play each other. “In the first half I root for Bellwood, but in the second half I root for Tyrone.” He added, “I think as much of Bellwood right now as I do Tyrone.”
Bonsell noted, “The Tyrone/Bellwood football rivalry is the best thing that’s ever happened. Sportsmanship is the most important thing in the game and the rivalry is simply who’s going to win.”
Bill Ellenberger is the other member of the 1940 Tyrone State Championship team. Although Ellenberger was not a player due to an injury, he served as a manager by which he continued for a decade in the 1980’s at Tyrone. But Ellenberger has been involved with Tyrone sports and its kids for over 50 years.
Like Bonsell, Ellenberger has witnessed many Tyrone/Bellwood football games, but he cheers for Tyrone the whole game. Ellenberger made it simple when asked what the game means to him. “Just one thing, that Tyrone does good.”
Ellenberger pointed out that through all the years he has been involved with football at Tyrone, the one thing he realized is that it is “just a game.” He said, “I’ve found that the kids put pressure on themselves because they know each other and they try to outdo each other either physically or mentally, instead of just playing each other.”
Ellenberger added about the rivalry between Tyrone and Bellwood, “There’s good and bad in all things. It all depends on who the good loser is.” He continued, “You have to be a good loser to be a good sport.”
Ellenberger loves Tyrone and its football, but he said the attitude of the boys playing is the only thing that will keep the building football tradition alive at Tyrone.
In 27 days the Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis football teams will take the field once again to christen another hopeful season. One team will have to go home a loser, but with the situation as it is in Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis with its football programs and fans, no one really loses.
It is “just a game.” The beautiful part about the rivalry is watching the Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis communities come together at large and support the hard work of the kids and coaches.
Come August 30th to Gray-Veterans Memorial Field and show your support for Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis. Without the fans, there would be no rivalry.
Expect and enjoy another great game.
