{"id":3650,"date":"2008-09-11T13:19:16","date_gmt":"2008-09-11T17:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/v3\/?p=3650"},"modified":"2008-09-11T13:19:16","modified_gmt":"2008-09-11T17:19:16","slug":"eagles-put-winning-streak-on-line-at-lock-haven-u","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/?p=3650","title":{"rendered":"Eagles put winning streak on line at Lock Haven U"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Larry Glace<\/td>\nJosh Graham<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Question No. 1 \u2013 how do the Tyrone Golden Eagles \u2013 with their mystique, their 34-game regular-season winning streak and their No. 5 Class AA ranking \u2013 stack up against the top Quad-A schools from the region?
\nQuestion No. 1-A \u2013 what is a Quad-A school doing playing two classifications down?
\nThe first question will be answered tomorrow at Jack Hubert Stadium on the campus of Lock Haven University, when the 2-0 Golden Eagles face the 2-0 Central Mountain Wildcats, who have spent the first two weeks of the season unloading on a pair of traditional rivals. Game time will be 7:15 p.m.
\nThe answer to the sub-question is a bit more elusive, but it can be found somewhere buried in the logic of the new-look Mountain Athletic Conference, an awkwardly aligned conglomeration of teams that this season has Triple-A schools in its small school division and two Class AA teams facing Central Mountain.
\nThe rhyme and reason for moves like those may never be adequately understood, but whether or not Tyrone can play with what may be the hottest Quad-A team in Central (and North Central) Pennsylvania will be pretty easy.
\nTwo teams, forty-eight minutes, winners and losers. It\u2019s a challenge Tyrone coach John Franco said the Eagles are relishing in.
\n\u201cThis is honestly one of the few times when we are legitimate underdogs,\u201d Franco said. \u201cThe kids are very excited. It\u2019s a chance for us to see where we are and to test ourselves against the best talent. Regardless of the outcome, we\u2019ll know more about our team when it\u2019s over. As a successful Double-A school, you always would like to think you can play against the big boys. We have a chance to see how we match up.\u201d
\nIn many ways, the teams are similar. Both like to run the football and do it effectively, with Tyrone totaling 477 yards in two games and the Wildcats 437. Both like to mix the run with the pass and can do it a lot if they have to. Of Tyrone\u2019s 179 passing yards, 148 came in Week 1. Of Central Mountain\u2019s 405, 260 came in Week 1.
\nBoth have big and physical lines on both sides of the ball. Both have broken some big plays for touchdowns.
\nThe biggest difference, as Franco sees it, is depth, something you might expect when matching big schools and small schools. So while the Wildcats, with a roster of more than 60 players, will be able to substitute and rotate more freely than the Eagles, Tyrone will be playing most of its personnel both ways.
\n\u201cWe think we can offset that with our conditioning,\u201d Franco said.
\nBut if Central Mountain is as good as its first two games seem to indicate, all the conditioning in the world might not make that much difference. In their season-opener, the Wildcats opened up on Jersey Shore in the second half and won going away, 43-29 before traveling last week to Williamsport and dropping 46 points on the Millionaires in a shutout victory.
\nAlong the way, they scored points in every way imaginable \u2013 field goals, long runs, long passes, interceptions, punt returns \u2013 you name it.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think I expected us to score as many points as we have this early in the season,\u201d said Central Mountain coach Steve Turchetta. \u201cBut we have played pretty well and hit some big plays. It hasn\u2019t all been just our offense.\u201d
\nThat\u2019s not to say the Wildcats aren\u2019t loaded on that side of the ball. Their offense has accounted for 11 touchdowns \u2013 five more than Tyrone \u2013 led by two strong rushers and a talented passer. Matt Overdorf (30 carries, 233 yards; 5 receptions, 117 yards) and Scott Zuback (9 carries, 114 yards; 7 receptions, 199 yards) carry most of the workload, while Cody Dolan has completed 16 of 25 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns.
\n\u201cWe have a good balance of running and passing,\u201d said Turchetta. \u201cOur run probably sets up our pass. We\u2019ve got some talented kids to run, kids who can catch the ball and a pretty good quarterback.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen you watch them, it\u2019s just big play after big play,\u201d said Franco. \u201cThey have several game-breakers and play-makers.\u201d
\nTyrone has had some big plays, too \u2013 like Larry Glace\u2019s 57-yard touchdown reception against B-A, and his 82-yard run against Huntingdon \u2013 but not nearly as many as the Wildcats.\u00a0 Six of their scores have come on plays of 40 yards or more.
\nThat\u2019s a big challenge for a Tyrone defense that looked pretty good last week against Huntingdon. Stopping 12 plays behind the line of scrimmage, Tyrone \u2013 behind big games from Matt Murray (2 sacks), Johnny Shaffer (3 tackles for loss) and Shane Walker (blocked punt, recovery) \u2013 limited the \u2018Cats to negative net rushing yards and recorded its first shutout.
\nEric Desch got his second interception of the season, and the Eagles even stopped a late drive that went as far as their own 4-yard line.
\nTyrone is allowing just 136 yards a game.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re very well disciplined and well coached,\u201d Turchetta said. \u201cThey\u2019re physical and athletic, and they know how to win.\u00a0 Their defense has just been stellar.\u201d
\nBut the Wildcats have a solid defense of their own. They\u2019re allowing 211 yards per game and are particularly strong against the run, allowing only 49 yards per game.
\nAccording to Franco, the \u2018Cats do a lot on defense schematically, which should come as little surprise, considering that former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is a coordinator on their staff.
\n\u201cI think I read somewhere that their starting varsity defense has only allowed 82 yards rushing this season. They don\u2019t believe they will give up 100 yards to a team, let alone an individual,\u201d said Franco. \u201cI\u2019m anxious to see how our offensive and defensive lines stack up.\u201d
\nCausing Commotion
\nTyrone\u2019s greatest strength through two games may well be its defense\u2019s ability to wreak havoc in its opponent\u2019s backfield. After the big game last week against Huntingdon, Tyrone had recorded 20 tackles for loss and 8 sacks.
\nMurray is tops on the team with 5 tackles for loss, while Shaffer, Dustin Weaver and Jeremy Barlett each had three.
\nTyrone\u2019s pass rush has been one reason why opposing quarterbacks have completed just 25 percent of their passes and thrown three interceptions.
\nTwo-Headed Monster
\nGlace and Mark Mingle have each logged a 100-yard game through the first two weeks of the season. Mingle got his in Week 1 with 166 yards against Bellwood-Antis, while Glace\u2019s came with his 149 yards last week.
\nIt\u2019s the fourth straight season the Golden Eagles have had two different running backs rush post 100-yard games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larry Glace Josh Graham Question No. 1 \u2013 how do the Tyrone Golden Eagles \u2013 with their mystique, their 34-game regular-season winning streak and their No. 5 Class AA ranking \u2013 stack up against the top Quad-A schools from the region? Question No. 1-A \u2013 what is a Quad-A school doing playing two classifications down? […]<\/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-3650","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\/3650","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=3650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}