{"id":3181,"date":"2007-10-04T11:19:10","date_gmt":"2007-10-04T15:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/v3\/?p=3181"},"modified":"2008-09-05T11:23:31","modified_gmt":"2008-09-05T15:23:31","slug":"tyronepunxsutawney-game-a-battle-of-opposites-golden-eagles-go-for-their-29th-straight-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/?p=3181","title":{"rendered":"Tyrone\/Punxsutawney game a battle of opposites, Golden Eagles go for their 29th straight victory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nick Wilson<\/td>\nBrandon Gehret<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The past time Tyrone and Punxsutawney hooked up, it was a special day for the Tate family.
\nPlaying in a downpour that helped to account for seven total turnovers, Terry Tate, a sophomore starting on the defensive line, recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the game to help ice a 20-12 victory that locked up a first-round home game in the District 6 playoffs for the Golden Eagles.
\nOver the next two seasons, the accolades would pour in for Tate, who was a two-time All-State defensive lineman and the 2004 Pennsylvania Football News Defensive Player of the Year. But he would never again taste the end zone.
\nHis brother Shayne, the leading rusher in the MAC Nittany Division, is hoping to cross the goal line a couple times himself tomorrow night, when the Golden Eagles return to LeMarca Stadium in Punxsutawney for a non-divisional game against the Woodchucks (7 p.m.).
\nThe game will be will be a contrast of opposites. Tyrone enters 5-0 and riding the crest of its two best offensive games of the season in wins over Bald Eagle Area and Lewistown, teams the Eagles defeated by a combined 63-6. The \u2018Chucks, meanwhile, are 0-5, and they haven\u2019t scored more than a single touchdown in a game in three weeks.
\nBut that doesn\u2019t mean Tyrone isn\u2019t preparing for them like they would a playoff opponent, nor are the Eagles looking past Punxsy to their headline game against Philipsburg-Osceola next week.
\n\u201cIf our kids don\u2019t respect our opponent, then they\u2019re stupid,\u201d Franco said. \u201cWe only play one game a week, and you either get better or worse. As young as we are, if we\u2019re not getting better, we\u2019re not going to achieve our goals.\u201d
\nIn fact, the \u2018Chucks are just the kind of team that could give Tyrone a run for its money. They\u2019ve got a massive offensive line (three of their front five go 290, 275 and 265), and they run a multiple offense with enough different sets to make preparing for them a challenge. They also defend well against the inside run, which through five games has been the Eagles\u2019 biggest strength.
\nThe problem for Punxsy has been converting inside 25-yard line.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t move the ball badly, but we can\u2019t seem to find the end zone when we get into the green zone, from the 25 and in,\u201d said Punxsutawney coach Blake Moilan. \u201cWe do silly things. We have a lot of young kids up front and a lot of inexperienced players in key areas. We actually have a lot of players playing on Friday who should be playing on Mondays (junior varsity).\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m amazed they\u2019re 0-5,\u201d Franco said. \u201cI watched their tape against Huntingdon from last week (a 20-6 Bearcat victory), and they moved the ball up and down the field. But they haven\u2019t been able to make the big play. They get in the red zone and then, boom \u2013 they have a sack, or they put the ball on the ground.\u201d
\nThe red zone, where the Eagles are scoring at a 70 percent clip, hasn\u2019t been a problem Tyrone, but neither has scoring in general over the last two weeks. Part of that has been a side effect of playing two of the worst defenses in the Nittany Division, but it\u2019s also a credit to an offense that is beginning to develop an identity despite playing without its leading rusher from 2007 or starting a sophomore at quarterback.
\nIn the absence of Johnny Franco, who will miss this week\u2019s game but is still labeled week-to-week by coach Franco, Tyrone is leading the division in rushing with 1,142 yards for an average of 228 yards per game. That figure is due in no small part to Tate, the division\u2019s leading rusher by nearly 250 yards.
\nAfter switching from receiver to running back at the start of the season, Tate has eclipsed 100 yards every game and currently stands at 704 yards and four touchdowns on 91 carries.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s such a versatile athlete,\u201d coach Franco said. \u201cWhen Johnny got hurt, I told him I was thinking about moving Tate back there and he said he thought that would be a great move because he\u2019s such a good athlete. He would be great no matter where you put him.\u201d
\n\u201cTate has done a really good job filling in,\u201d Moilan said. \u201cHe\u2019s tough to stop.\u201d
\nFranco gave credit for Tate\u2019s success to his emerging offensive line, which he credited for \u201cgetting better every week. They still make mistakes, but they\u2019re mistakes of hustle and effort, and I can live with that.\u201d
\nLevi Reihart deserves some of the credit, as well. After the Eagles\u2019 offense went stagnant in the second half against Penns Valley in Week 3, a 10-3 win, Reihart stepped up his game at quarterback to open up the offense and create opportunities outside the running game.
\nThat in turn improved the running game. In the last two weeks, Reihart has completed 15 of 21 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and Tyrone has improved its season-high point total in each, rushing for five touchdowns.
\nWith his young offensive line, Moilan can relate to some of Tyrone\u2019s growing pains. He can also relate to losing a top rusher to injury. Mike Smiley was the \u2018Chucks\u2019 best running back through two weeks \u2013 a close loss to DuBois and a 48-21 loss to Hollidaysburg \u2013 but he went down with an injury in Week 2, and Punxsy\u2019s offense hasn\u2019t been the same since.
\n\u201cWe basically had to find a new identity,\u201d Moilan said.
\nAndrew Furman has rushed for 226 yards in Smiley\u2019s place, while also pulling in 12 receptions for 190 yards.
\nDespite their problems, Moilan said the \u2018Chucks are approaching their game against Tyrone with confidence.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re the No. 4 team in the state, and that\u2019s a challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cI told the team you can either go hide in the corner or play football. Hopefully, we\u2019ll play football.\u201d
\nFranco\u2019s Status
\nFor the second straight week, Johnny Franco looked like the running back that rushed for over 1,600 yards a year ago when he was able to go north and south against Lewistown. But when he was forced to plant and cut on his left leg, he was hobbled.
\nHe left last week\u2019s game after two series and finished the game on crutches.
\nCoach Franco said it\u2019s a mystifying situation because the broken fibula he suffered in preseason is completely healed. The problem now is swelling inside the bone.
\nFranco is going to Pittsburgh today to have the injury looked at by a doctor who works with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
\n\u201cThe doctors here have been outstanding,\u201d said coach Franco. \u201cDr. Port and Drayer have done a tremendous job. The swelling in the bone makes it extremely painful. People have told us it could be better in a week or it could drag on for months. You just don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nFranco said the uncertainty of his son\u2019s playing status has affected the team, but he credited them for playing well despite the situation.
\n\u201cI have to give the guys a lot of credit for pulling it together,\u201d he said.
\nStreak Continues
\nBeginning with a 35-13 win over Bellefonte on Oct. 8, 2004, the Tyrone football team has won 28 straight regular season games. The Golden Eagles school record is 29 straight wins, a streak that was ended when Bellwood-Antis defeated Tyrone 15-0 in the opening game of the 1949 season. With a win on Friday, the current edition of the Orange and Black will tie that mark, setting up the opportunity to set a new record next week at Gray-Vets Memorial Field against archrival Philipsburg-Osceola. Those two squads are the only teams in Tyrone football history to compile back-to-back undefeated seasons. The Eagles began the original streak in 1946 and were undefeated in both 1947 and 1948. The current Eagles put together undefeated marks in 2005 and 2006.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nick Wilson Brandon Gehret The past time Tyrone and Punxsutawney hooked up, it was a special day for the Tate family. Playing in a downpour that helped to account for seven total turnovers, Terry Tate, a sophomore starting on the defensive line, recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the game to help […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area","category-excerpts-from-the-tyrone-daily-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}