{"id":5403,"date":"2008-10-02T09:47:41","date_gmt":"2008-10-02T13:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/v3\/?p=5403"},"modified":"2008-10-03T09:50:09","modified_gmt":"2008-10-03T13:50:09","slug":"golden-eagles-must-stop-st-marys-ground-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/?p=5403","title":{"rendered":"Golden Eagles must stop St. Marys ground game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ben Ingle<\/td>\nZach Gault<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

At some point in a 10-week football season, a team comes to a realization that goes something like this: you are who you are.
\n If you average a couple turnovers a game, that means you\u2019re turnover prone. If you win a lot of 7-0 and 6-3 games, you\u2019re a defensive team.
\n The question for Tyrone tomorrow at St. Mary\u2019s, will be whether the die has been cast on the 4-1 Flying Dutchmen.
\n So far, St. Mary\u2019s has run the ball on 83 percent of its offensive plays. They are a running team, and it would be hard to deny the Dutchmen\u2019s success. They\u2019ve piled up 1,194 yards on 179 carries, 6.67 yards per carry, and they\u2019ve scored all 18 of their touchdowns on the ground.
\n With Tyrone\u2019s penchant for determining what a team does best and taking it away, it will be interesting to see if the Dutchmen are a running team because they want to run, or because they have to run.
\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to pass,\u201d said St. Mary\u2019s coach Joe Schlimm. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of confidence in our quarterback. We haven\u2019t thrown a lot this season because we haven\u2019t had to. Against Tyrone, we\u2019ll have to show more balance.\u201d
\n Completing 54 percent of his passes, junior Greg Simchick can\u2019t be too bad. But he\u2019s only thrown the ball 37 times for 243 yards and three interceptions.
\n Despite the limited role, Tyrone coach John Franco said Simchick, within St. Mary\u2019s offensive scheme, has the ability to beat a team with his arm.
\n \u201cFrom the pass plays we\u2019ve seen them run, he\u2019s pretty good,\u201d said Franco. \u201cEven though they\u2019re a wing-T team, he\u2019s a basic drop back passer. They\u2019re one of the best screen teams we\u2019ve seen all year. They have the ability to hurt you in a lot of ways, but the key is to stop the run.\u201d
\n One thing that makes slowing St. Mary\u2019s running game so difficult is the Dutchmen\u2019s ability to spread the ball around. Four players have rushed for over 100 yards, with two \u2013 Kevin Hoy and Michael Straub, over 300. Shane Krise is on the doorstep with 294.
\n \u201cThey\u2019re excellent at running sweeps, they have a nice fullback to keep you honest in the middle, and they have a good counter game,\u201d said Franco. \u201cThe quarterback is very deceptive with his ball-handling. They have the ability to make a lot of defenses look silly.\u201d
\n \u201cWe have some quality running backs and some kids with experience who are good athletes,\u201d said Schlimm. \u201cWe have some kids with speed to get to the perimeter and we\u2019ve been blessed with some kids with power. And our offensive line has gotten better every week.\u201d
\n No one has found a way to stop St. Mary\u2019s relentless ground attack yet, but Tyrone will try by getting penetration into the Dutchmen\u2019s backfield, to squelch St. Mary\u2019s misdirection.
\n \u201cThe key to stopping any wing-T offense is you have to get penetration and to key on their guards,\u201d said Franco. \u201cThey\u2019ll usually take you to the ball. It\u2019s important that you attack them. The tendency is to get caught staring into the backfield, but you\u2019ve got to just read your keys and attack.\u201d
\n Lest anyone be concerned, the 4-1 Golden Eagles do plan to attack. After losing for the first time during the regular season in four years two weeks ago against Clearfield, Tyrone got a bit of its swagger back last week with a 41-0 pasting of much-improved Bald Eagle Area. It was a game where the Eagles fired on all cylinders, pitching their second shutout of the season, while totaling 419 yards of offense.
\n Larry Glace rushed for 169 yards and scored four touchdowns, giving him 579 yards on the season, and Levi Reihart completed 7 of 12 passes for 140 yards. He\u2019s now passed for 650 yards (39-for-58) and four touchdowns without an interception.
\n Franco said he doesn\u2019t plan to deviate from the offensive balance that has made Tyrone successful through five games, and that\u2019s exactly what Schlimm expects.
\n \u201cThey have no places where they\u2019re vulnerable,\u201d Schlimm said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a lot of weapons, and what they run, they run well. They\u2019re not sloppy. It\u2019s not a team that beats itself.\u201d
\n While the Eagles rarely beat themselves, they\u2019ve got some other obstacles that are beginning to make the season a little tougher. Jeremy Barlett, a senior defensive back, will miss the game this week after suffering a sprained knee against BEA while pulling in a touchdown pass. He will undergo an MRI today, and \u2013 best-case scenario \u2013 he could return to playing in two weeks.
\n But his injury weakens an already thin secondary. Eric Desch, who leads the team with 4 interceptions (along with 246 receiving yards), could be limited on defense again this week, after spraining an ankle two weeks ago. He played sparingly on defense against BEA, but was in long enough to register one pick.
\n Cody Weaver will shift on defense to fill in for Barlett, and Ben Ingle (2 interceptions) will continue to provide experience and stability in the secondary. But the injuries mean Reihart will have to assume a greater role in the defensive backfield, a scenario that doesn\u2019t exactly thrill Franco.
\n Fullback Mark Mingle (80 carries, 391 yards) is also recovering after a toe infection limited him almost exclusively to defense last week. He carried the ball just once for 12 yards.
\n Franco said Tyrone will work with the tandem of Glace and Zach Gault in the backfield to start against St. Mary\u2019s, with Mingle\u2019s role expanding as the game goes on.
\n \u201cWe\u2019ll use Mark as the game goes on to spell Larry, and by the fourth quarter you could see more of Larry and Mark in there together,\u201d Franco said. \u201cWe\u2019re really fortunate to have two tough backs we can do that with.\u201d
\n They may need it against St. Mary\u2019s 3-5-3 defense, which employs five fast linebackers to swarm to the ball. Against Tyrone\u2019s running game, Schlimm said the key would be controlling the line of scrimmage.
\n \u201cIt all starts at the line,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re successful there, you go a long way in controlling the game.\u201d
\n Schlimm said his team will also have to overcome any self-doubts his team may have about competing with Tyrone.
\n \u201cIf we\u2019re successful, it adds instant credibility to our program,\u201d Schlimm said. \u201cWe\u2019re new to (the MAC Nittany Division) and Central PA football. It\u2019s a great opportunity. For us it will be a confidence thing. We need to believe we belong on the field with Tyrone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben Ingle Zach Gault At some point in a 10-week football season, a team comes to a realization that goes something like this: you are who you are. If you average a couple turnovers a game, that means you\u2019re turnover prone. If you win a lot of 7-0 and 6-3 games, you\u2019re a defensive team. […]<\/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-5403","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\/5403","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=5403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}