Most of the three-thousand or so fans who were at Gray Veterans Memorial Field last Friday for Tyrone\u2019s 47-30 victory over Penn Cambria in the first round of the District 5-6 AA playoffs came away with one of two philosophies on the Golden Eagles\u2019 chances in this year\u2019s postseason: either the team survived a much-needed wake-up call that will set it in line for the rest of the playoffs, or it exposed itself as a squad that may not be up to its No. 1 seeding.
\nIt should come as no surprise that the game inspired such emotion and interest. The Eagles used a frenetic third quarter to score three touchdowns and rally from a 30-13 halftime deficit, orchestrating the biggest second-half comeback in Tyrone playoff history.
\nFor coach John Franco, the game helped the Eagles if only by exposing them to the short end of the score. Before then, Tyrone hadn\u2019t trailed at any time this season, and even their biggest games were over by the third quarter.
\nWhat that all means as Tyrone advances in the postseason \u2013 which continues for the Eagles tomorrow in a semifinal game against No. 5 Bishop McCort at Gray Veterans Field \u2013 is debatable.
\n\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t kill you, it will make you stronger, so in that sense it definitely made us better \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t guarantee us anything,\u201d Franco said. \u201cWe may be a better team and it still may not be enough against Bishop McCort. They\u2019re a good football team.\u201d
\nThat much was evident in the Crushers\u2019 semifinal game against Bedford where, like Tyrone, McCort was forced to play much of the game from behind. In fact, McCort trailed by 12 as late as the 3:30 mark of the fourth quarter, but was able to rally behind the arm of veteran quarterback Mike Sheridan. His two touchdown passes in the final period boosted the Crushers to a 24-21 win, and a set up a rematch of last year\u2019s District 5-6 AA championship.
\n\u201cI\u2019m proud of the heart and character we showed in the comeback,\u201d said McCort coach Ken Salem. \u201cThat was our best effort this season when it was late with the game on the line.\u201d
\nSalem, who is in his tenth season with the Crushers, no doubt could do without another nail-biter this week, but if his strategy works according to plan, it may be exactly what he gets. After seeing the Golden Eagles\u2019 high-powered offense rack up three touchdowns in less than nine minutes in the third quarter against Penn Cambria, he feels the Crushers\u2019 best bet is to simply keep Tyrone\u2019s offense in the one place he knows it can\u2019t do any damage \u2013 on the sidelines.
\n\u201cWe feel we have to move the ball for two reasons,\u201d Salem said. \u201cOne, we want to get into a rhythm offensively, and two, to keep their offense off the field. Scoring is not as much of a concern as moving the ball and not giving their offense opportunities.\u201d
\nThat was precisely the strategy of Penn Cambria coach Ernie Fetzer, and it worked better than even he could have anticipated for two quarters last Friday. But with the multitude of weapons Tyrone has in its offensive arsenal, it\u2019s one that often only works for so long.
\nRunning back Brinton Mingle and quarterback Leonard Wilson scored four of Tyrone\u2019s five second-half touchdowns, and Johnny Franco turned a Penn Cambria turnover into another score as the Eagles outscored the Panthers 34-0 without ever throwing a pass.
\n\u201cThey have a very balanced offense, a physical offensive line, three good running backs, and a quarterback that probably has the best arm in the District,\u201d said Salem. \u201cOur plan is to play mistake-free. We can\u2019t have any turnovers. Penn Cambria moved the ball in the second half against them, but they turned the ball over when they started to get some momentum.\u201d
\nFranco, too, appreciates the role turnovers play in the playoffs. Last week, the Eagles turned the ball over twice in the first half and trailed by 17. They went without a turnover in the second half and won going away.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve preached that for years,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery year since 1995 we\u2019ve been on the plus side in turnovers, so that tells you how important that is.\u201d
\nIf Tyrone has any advantage against McCort, it may be on the defensive side of the ball. Until last week, only one team had scored more than once against Tyrone\u2019s first-string defense.
\nTyrone has made 74 stops behind the line of scrimmage and limited its opponents to only 170 yards per game. James Updike, Tyler Hoover and Robert Emigh have led the charge, combining on 38 of the Eagles\u2019 tackles for loss and 16 sacks.
\nThey will be challenged this week by a line Franco compared favorably to Tyrone\u2019s offensive line from a season ago \u2013 the biggest in school history.
\n\u201cThey don\u2019t really resemble their team from last year that was quick and fast,\u201d Franco said. \u201cNow, they\u2019re big, strong guys. They\u2019re a power running team. Their line is almost identical to our from last season.\u201d
\nTheir work has given the Crushers a very balanced rushing attack, with three players accumulating over 350 yards on the ground. Brad Barbin is the leader with 522 yards on 107 carries, while Scott Lewis has gained 467 yards on 54 carries.
\nTheir strength is balanced by the precision of Sheridan, who has completed 71 of 118 passes for 793 yards and 16 touchdowns.
\nMcCort\u2019s ability to run and pass is a concern for Franco, but he\u2019s hoping the Eagles\u2019 mental approach will prepare them for a battle from the outset.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been as good as I can remember all year,\u201d she said of his team\u2019s approach this week. \u201cThat\u2019s more than I can say for last week. It\u2019s amazing what a change one game can cause.\u201d
\nMillennium Man
\nMingle eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau last week with 170 yards on 18 carries. He now has 1,103 yards on 170 carries, and more than 2,000 yards for his career.
\nMingle becomes the fifth running back under Franco to reach 1,000 yards, and the thirteenth rusher in Tyrone history to accomplish the feat.
\nIt was Mingle\u2019s 92-yard touchdown run to start the second half began the Eagles\u2019 amazing comeback, but Franco said Mingle\u2019s contributions to the Penn Cambria game, as well as to the team\u2019s preparation for McCort, go beyond what the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder brings to the table physically.
\n\u201cHe really was the one that stepped forward (against Penn Cambria) and got everyone together for the second half,\u201d said Franco. \u201cBrit and Leonard have set the tone for us all year. They\u2019re the vocal ones and they\u2019re the ones that tell the players when someone\u2019s not working hard enough or focused enough.\u201d
\nRETURN VISIT
\nMcCort has played one other game in Tyrone in 2000 at old Gray Memorial Field. The Crushers led early but were overpowered in the second half in a 34-20 loss in the District quarterfinals.
\nSalem remembers the game, but what stands out most is not the players or the action, but the crowd support.
\n\u201cCoach Franco has built something very special, and when you go there to play, you know they\u2019re going to have great support and an enthusiastic crowd,\u201d Salem said. \u201cIt\u2019s the premier program in District 6.\u201d
\nFLOWER POWER
\nIt\u2019s an unsolved mystery, but Sue Franco doesn\u2019t need Agatha Christie to get to the bottom of this caper.
\nEvery year since her husband John took over as the Eagles\u2019 coach in 1994, Sue has received a bouquet of flowers from an anonymous donor who no doubt understands the challenges of being a football-coaching widow from August through November.
\n Now that John has extended his contract with Tyrone and moved his family to the borough, the secret floral arrangement may be landing on the Franco\u2019s doorstep for years to come. It\u2019s a mystery Sue can live with, but as in year\u2019s past, she would like to extend a thank you wish to whomever sent them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most of the three-thousand or so fans who were at Gray Veterans Memorial Field last Friday for Tyrone\u2019s 47-30 victory over Penn Cambria in the first round of the District 5-6 AA playoffs came away with one of two philosophies on the Golden Eagles\u2019 chances in this year\u2019s postseason: either the team survived a much-needed […]<\/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-42078","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\/42078","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=42078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42078\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}