So much for advanced scouting, film review and statistics. After seeing Bishop McCort play, Tyrone coach John Franco broke the Crimson Crushers down in one succinct statement.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re really big and really fast. What else do you need to know?\u201d Franco said.
\nCertainly there\u2019s a little more to 10-1 McCort than that, but those are the two biggest concerns for Franco, whose 12-0 Golden Eagles, ranked No. 3 in the state, will face the Crimson Crushers tonight at Mansion Park in Altoona in the District 6-AA championship game (7 p.m.).
\nBoth teams made it to the championship with relatively easy victories in the semifinals. Tyrone took down No. 4 seed Forest Hills 46-22, while McCort blew out No. 6 Philipsburg-Osceola 34-10.
\nTyrone is seeking its eighth District title under Franco, while the Crushers are making their fifth finals appearance in the last six years. The game is a rematch of last season\u2019s semifinals, which saw McCort stun Tyrone 23-20 in overtime at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field.
\n\u201cThis is without a doubt the best football team we\u2019ve seen since Grove City in 2004 (in the PIAA semifinals),\u201d said Franco. \u201cThere\u2019s no weak area with them. But that\u2019s why you want to play in championship games, and that\u2019s what makes it fun. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be the best team they\u2019ve seen this season.\u201d
\nWhat makes McCort so dangerous, aside from an offense averaging over 26 points per game with a thousand-yard rusher and a thousand-yard passer, is its defense. Led by linebacker Scott Lewis (98 tackles, 8 sacks) and defensive end Chris Kawchak (71 tackles, 6 sacks), the Crushers are allowing just 7.1 points per game. They\u2019ve also forced 17 turnovers and recorded four shutouts.
\n\u201cThe key has been our defense,\u201d McCort coach Ken Salem said. \u201cThey\u2019ve carried us. We\u2019ve improved on the offensive line dramatically as the season has progressed, but we were able to win early on because of our defense.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s a defense that has allowed a stingy 670 yards on the ground (an average of 60.9 yards per game), and has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 14 games.
\nThat creates an intriguing matchup against the Golden Eagles, whose forte under Franco has been finding a way to run the ball effectively. They\u2019re averaging 240 yards per game running the ball, led by junior Johnny Franco (213 carries, 1,572 yards) and senior Tyler Gillmen (123 carries, 880 yards).
\nSalem is aware of the duo\u2019s abilities, but he\u2019s also concerned with Tyrone\u2019s passing attack, especially with sophomores Eric Lowry and Jack Schrey manning the corners. Senior Tyler Golden, in his first year as the Eagles\u2019 starter, has completed 64 of 113 passes for 1,272 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions, and many of his biggest completions have come from Tyrone\u2019s bread-and-butter play-action game.
\n\u201cTheir quarterback has a strong arm and he\u2019s very smart,\u201d Salem said. \u201cIt\u2019s a typical Franco-coached offense that forces you to defend the entire field.\u201d
\nMcCort\u2019s pass rush \u2013 more than its play in the secondary \u2013 has allowed the Crushers to stifle most passing attacks so far. The Crushers have registered 28 sacks on the season, and their opponents are averaging just over 80 yards a game through the air.
\n\u201cDefensively, they shut down the run and they defend the pass just as well,\u201d Franco said. \u201cWe\u2019re in for a heck of a battle.\u201d
\nOn offense, Bishop McCort averages 325 yards per game, led by Lewis, who\u2019s piled up 1,028 yards on 128 carries. He\u2019s complemented by Brad Barbin, who has added another 793 yards on 152 carries.
\nQuarterback Jordan DeFrances has completed 100 of 180 passes for 1,298 yards, 8 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, and he\u2019s spread the ball around, with three receivers totaling more than 190 yards.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re very good with their short passing game,\u201d Franco said. \u201cBut the key is to shut down (Lewis) and (Barbin) inside the tackles. They like to do a lot of fullback traps, dives and isos, and you have to stop that. That\u2019s hard to do.\u201d
\nLast season\u2019s semifinal game showed just how hard. In a game where finding room to run was difficult for both teams, Lewis (16-68) and Barbin (11-54) allowed the Crushers to dominate the ground battle with 153 yards to Tyrone\u2019s 42. In overtime, it took McCort just two Lewis rushes up the middle to cover 15 yards, score the winning touchdown, and hand the Eagles\u2019 their only loss of the season.
\n\u201cThis is a better version of last year\u2019s team,\u201d Franco said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe they didn\u2019t win the whole thing last year. This year, they\u2019re much quicker. Their running backs are a year older and wiser, and their quarterback, although he\u2019s new, may be better.\u201d
\nWith that said, Franco isn\u2019t ready to concede victory just yet. The Eagles, he said, are also much quicker this time around, their running backs are a much bigger factor in a solid passing game, and, through injury and bare necessity, they\u2019ve been forced to use more players on defense than ever before, giving them depth and rest.
\nBut the biggest difference, as Franco has said throughout the postseason, is Tyrone\u2019s hunger.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re a hungrier version of last year,\u201d Franco said. \u201cThis is the last rung on the ladder in our locker room, so there\u2019s not much that needs to be said. If anything, we\u2019ve had to calm the kids down this week because they are so hungry. They\u2019re chomping at the bit to get there.\u201d
\nGAME NOTES: Tyrone leads the all-time series against McCort with 3 wins and one loss. All four games have come in the playoffs \u2026 the Eagles are shooting for the program\u2019s ninth District championship \u2026 Tyrone has 21 interceptions and five fumble recoveries, making them a plus-20 in the turnover ratio \u2026 the Eagles have recorded 35 sacks this season, led by Jason Reese (9.5) and Tyler Hoover (9.0) \u2026 Franco is unbeaten at Tyrone in District championship games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So much for advanced scouting, film review and statistics. After seeing Bishop McCort play, Tyrone coach John Franco broke the Crimson Crushers down in one succinct statement. \u201cThey\u2019re really big and really fast. What else do you need to know?\u201d Franco said. Certainly there\u2019s a little more to 10-1 McCort than that, but those are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40035","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=40035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}