The Tyrone Golden Eagles (8-1) will enter tomorrow\u2019s District 5-6 Class AA first round playoff game as the No. 2 seed and the top defensive team in their classification. The Eagles allow just over seven points and 154 yards per game, and when it comes to run defense, they\u2019re absolutely stingy \u2013 74 yards per game with only one rushing touchdown against the starters during the regular season.
\nIn terms of defensive numbers, the only team that rivals Tyrone is their first round opponent, seventh seeded Purchase Line.
\nThat\u2019s why Franco says this is the toughest Double-A field he\u2019s competed in since taking over at Tyrone. It\u2019s bold statement considering the competition the Eagles have faced in Franco\u2019s 10 playoff appearances, but when you look at the Red Dragons \u2013 a No. 7 seed \u2013 it holds true.
\nAs a 6-3 seven-seed that needed a win in the final weekend of the season just to make the bracket, Purchase Line is the only other AA team to have held its opponents below 10 points per game. They allow just under 170 yards per game, and they win with defense.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re a very defense-oriented team,\u201d said Franco, who has never lost a first round playoff game at home. \u201cPeople haven\u2019t scored against them. They\u2019re pretty basic on offense in that they try to run it at you; they try to win with their defense.\u201d
\nAnd win with defense they have. The Red Dragons have three shutouts to their credit, and allowed just one score through the first four weeks of the season. They\u2019ve allowed only two teams to score more than two touchdowns.
\n\u201cOur defense is a big part of our team,\u201d said Purchase Line coach Dave Small. \u201cIt\u2019s been outstanding all year. We always go in hoping we can play well offensively, but we count on the defense to keep us close.\u201d
\nTyrone and Purchase Line will kick it off at Gray Veterans Memorial Field at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, No. 3 Philipsburg-Osceola (8-1) hosts Chestnut Ridge (7-2), No. 1 Bedford (9-0), hosts Central Cambria (5-4) and No. 4 Bishop McCort (7-2) hosts Forest Hills (7-2).
\nIn almost every case, Purchase Line\u2019s defense has been outstanding because it has had to be. The Red Dragons\u2019 offense averages just over 16 points per games, and only twice this season have they won in blowout fashion. That\u2019s put added pressure on Dragon defenders, and they\u2019re responded.
\nBut Tyrone has seen outstanding defenses already this season, and not one has been able to slow the Eagles\u2019 multi-faceted offense. Against Bellwood-Antis, Huntingdon, Bellefonte and Philipsburg-Osceola \u2013 all teams that are playing in the postseason \u2013 Tyrone was never held below 300 yards in total offense and averaged 27 points per game.
\nOne reason for the Eagles\u2019 offensive success is that, while star running back Brice Mertiff (160 carries, 1,377 yards, 20 touchdowns) has been the focal point, many other players have shown the ability to contribute in big ways when called upon. Fullback Brit Mingle has 17 touchdowns and over 500 rushing yards. Quarterback Leonard Wilson has thrown for over 700 yards and six touchdowns. Ben Gummo leads receivers with 322 yards, but four receivers have caught seven or more passes.
\nThat level of offensive parity has allowed Tyrone to average more than 33 points and 347 yards per game while barely breaking a sweat.
\n\u201cI still think we can get better,\u201d said Franco, who has authored the top three scoring and yardage offenses in Tyrone history. \u201cWe haven\u2019t put it all together yet on offense, even though we\u2019re scoring some points. I still feel it\u2019s a work in progress.\u201d
\nPurchase Line could challenge the Eagles in one area where they consistently dominated opponents during the regular season: in the trenches. Physically, the Dragons are one of the few teams able to push Tyrone in a pound-for-pound shoving match, with a pair of 300-pounders on their interior line in Joseph Perkovich and Robert Barger. Michael Yamrick, another defensive tackle, is 275.
\nThat makes the major battle of the game Purchase Line\u2019s physical linemen against Tyrone\u2019s heralded offensive line of Terry Tate, Ralph VanAllman, Ron Miller, Jake Houck, Mike Jones and Tad Chamberlain\u2013 which has been praised by opposing coaches as big, quick and athletic.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re one of the bigger teams we\u2019ll see,\u201d said Small. \u201cTheir guys move very well. Physically, we probably can\u2019t go man-up against them, but we\u2019ll try to find one place that\u2019s maybe not as strong. We\u2019ll try to be physical and play with heart.\u201d
\nWinning with Defense
\nFranco has listed the Eagles\u2019 defense among the team\u2019s bright spots throughout the season. Even in the 7-6 loss in October to Philipsburg-Osceola \u2013 a game where the offense made it inside P-O\u2019s 25 seven times and scored only once \u2013 the defense limited the Mounties to one score and 131 total yards.
\nClass A Juniata Valley is the only team in District 6 to have allowed fewer points than Tyrone this season (2.2), and only three of the touchdowns the Eagles have allowed have come against their first string defense. Instead, most have come in the second half of games that have long been decided.
\nSo good has Tyrone\u2019s defense been that it has surrendered just 20 points in the first half this season.
\nPlayoff Passion
\nYou would think that qualifying for the postseason would have become old hat by now to Franco, if not by his players.
\nBut that\u2019s not so. In fact, Franco said the Eagles practiced with a new enthusiasm this week.
\n\u201cAnytime you\u2019re in the playoffs, things get a little more intense,\u201d Franco said. \u201cIt\u2019s something special. Anytime you\u2019re in the playoffs with an opportunity to win, you should enjoy it. You have a whole new attitude in the playoffs. There are no records now. Our No. 2 seed doesn\u2019t give us any points come Friday night.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Tyrone Golden Eagles (8-1) will enter tomorrow\u2019s District 5-6 Class AA first round playoff game as the No. 2 seed and the top defensive team in their classification. The Eagles allow just over seven points and 154 yards per game, and when it comes to run defense, they\u2019re absolutely stingy \u2013 74 yards per […]<\/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-43921","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\/43921","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=43921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43921\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}