The name of the game for the Tyrone junior high football team is “DEFENSE.” The Little Golden Eagles recorded their fourth shutout of the season on Thursday at Wingate while the offense piled up 30 points in a 30-0 victory over Bald Eagle Area, that improved the Eagles record to a perfect 6-0. Only one team has scored more than a single touchdown and that was Quad-A Central Mountain, who fell 20-12. The other points allowed by the Tyrone junior high defense was in a 45-7 triumph over Huntingdon.
“Defense continues to be one of our strongest focal points,” stressed Tyrone junior high coach Dan Plummer. “Last night we struggled early on with our offense. We moved the ball, but fumbled a couple of times in the first quarter. Then with our defense holding strong, we refocused, executed well and carried the ballgame over the last three quarters.”
Tyrone intercepted four Bald Eagle passes with Caleb Snyder, James Dorminy, Charles Wilson Adams and Courtland Pannebaker each picking one off. Snyder and Cody Dickson each recorded one quarterback sack and Maverick Mills had two, as the Little Eagles had a total of nine tackles for losses, behind the line of scrimmage.
When the Eagles finally were able to hold onto the football, they put all their points into the middle two quarters. Caleb Snyder, who did a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball, scored two second-quarter touchdowns on short runs of five and two yards. Snyder, who rushed 12 times for 62 yards, also rushed for both two-point conversions and a 16-0 Tyrone lead at halftime.
Christian Getz, who finished with 57 yards on just eight carries added a third-quarter score on an 11-yard run, and Snyder made it a trio of TDs with a four-yard run to cap the scoring. John Romano, who rushed for 44 yards on five carries, rushed for the two-point PAT following Snyder’s third score.
Kaleb Chronister completed three of seven passes for the Eagles for 35 yards. Nick Romano caught one pass for 15 yards, Marcus Wagner had one catch for 13 yards, and Snyder added one reception for seven yards.
“I hope that we can continue this momentum into next week, when we have a game against a Triple-A school (St. Marys),” added coach Plummer.
Tyrone will host St. Marys in junior high action on Thursday, with the 7th/8th grade game beginning at 4 p.m. and the ninth grade contest following at 5:30.
