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| It takes two Two Huntingdon defenders converge on Tyrone running back Larry Glace on Friday during the Golden Eagles 21-0 shutout victory over the Bearcats. Glace led all runners with 11 carries for 149 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. (The Daily Herald/Amanda McIlroy) |
Sack time Tyrone junior Shane Walker (13) tackles Huntingdon quarterback Nathan Betts for a loss during Friday night’s 21-0 Tyrone triumph at War Vets Field in Huntingdon. (The Daily Herald/Amanda McIlroy) |
The Red Sea couldn’t have parted any better for Moses than the hole did for Tyrone running back Larry Glace on a draw play midway through the first quarter last night against Huntingdon.
Chances are pretty good, though, that Moses didn’t have the wheels Glace has.
With the Eagles clinging to a 7-0 lead and facing third-and-6 from their own 18, Glace took a draw handoff, burst through an open seam on the left side of the line, and then exploded between Huntingdon’s safeties on his way to an 82-yard touchdown that drained the life out of the Bearcats.
Tyrone added one more touchdown late to win 21-0 at War Vets Field and improve to 2-0, 1-0 in the MAC Nittany Division. The Eagles also extended their regular-season winning streak to 34-straight games.
“It was just a feel,” Tyrone coach John Franco said of the call to run on third-and-long. “They saw our formation, so we knew they were going to adjust, but it wasn’t the call. It was a guy making a play. Larry did a nice job of finding an open area and then getting through.”
“His speed surprised us,” said Huntingdon coach Jim Zauzig. “I didn’t know they had anyone with breakaway speed. He was on top of our safeties before they had time to react. That was a killer.”
While the play put a gaping hole in the ‘Cats’ balloon of confidence, truth is, it was leaking for quite a while. Tyrone punctured it early with its relentless pass rush, and stretched it open wider and wider with each successive rush.
Golden Eagle defenders lived in Huntingdon’s backfield, stopping 12 plays behind the line of scrimmage, including five sacks of quarterback Nathan Betts – two by defensive end Matt Murray, and one each by Shane Walker, Johnny Shaffer, and Jeremy Barlett.
“We knew their quarterback could run and we had to put pressure on him,” said Shaffer, who added two other tackles for losses.
No stops were bigger than the two Murray delivered on the ‘Cats’ first possession. It took Huntingdon only three plays to move from their own 35 to Tyrone’s 24, with Betts connecting with Derek Heath twice for gains of 28 and 11 yards. On second-and-8, Murray dropped Betts for a 7-yard loss, and on the next play he brought him down again for a loss of one.
A running play on fourth down went for only seven yards, and Tyrone took over.
“Murray and Shaffer are awfully good in 1-on-1 or even 1-on-2 situations,” Franco said. “Our pass rush and our defense were the key for us.”
“We didn’t run many stunts. It was just Shaffer and me working together,” said Murray. “On the sacks, Shaffer kept containment and I ran down the quarterback. The sacks should go in the books for Shaffer.”
But despite the Eagles’ efforts on defense, which limited to Huntingdon to minus-8 yards rushing, they weren’t able to get on the scoreboard until late in the second half, when they drove 70 yards in 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Glace, who finished with a career-high 149 yards on 11 attempts, carried three times for 38 yards, and a pass from Levi Reihart to Mark Mingle put the ball at the Huntingdon 1 on fourth down. The Eagles went back to Mingle the next play, and his one-yard blast made it 7-0, following Shaffer’s PAT.
Huntingdon (1-1, 0-1) drove as deep as Tyrone’s 17 with under a minute to play in the half, but on second-and-10, Walker dumped Betts for a 7-yard loss. After an incompletion in the end zone on third down, Evan Yoder’s 41-yard field goal attempt fell short.
The ‘Cat’s got a momentum boost early in the second half when Michael Sellers stripped Mingle and recovered the fumble at the Tyrone 40, but on second down Shaffer stuffed Andrew Sharpless for a 2-yard loss. On third-and-9, Barlett came off the left corner clean and drilled Betts from the blind side, folding the quarterback in half and causing a fumble.
The ‘Cats recovered, but were forced to punt, setting up Glace’s run to make it 14-0.
“Their pass rush was very instrumental in how things went down for us offensively,” said Zauzig. “Betts has got a gun, but he needs time to find his receivers.”
Tyrone’s defense followed Glace’s big play with two of its own. First, Jerrod Good stopped Jared Donelson for a 2-yard loss, and then on fourth down Walker broke through the line and blocked Betts’ punt and recovered the loose ball.
Tyrone’s last score came on a 50-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Mingle did most of the leg-work, carrying six times for 36 yards, but Shaffer delivered the biggest blow. On third-and-8 from the 16, he took a pass across the middle from Reihart and turned up field for the end zone. Inside the five, Shaffer ripped through a tackle attempt by Sellers and then put his head down and plowed over Michael Kalos for his first touchdown of the season to make it 21-0.
“As soon as I saw the goal line, I knew no one was going to stop me,” Shaffer said.
Tyrone kept its shutout with one more stop on Huntingdon’s final drive. The ‘Cats marched as far as Tyrone’s 4, but on first down, Murray popped Donelson for a 1-yard loss. Betts followed with three straight incompletions, and the Eagles had their first shutout of the season.
GRID TIDBITS: Betts completed 12 of 25 passes for 156 yards … he was intercepted once by Eric Desch … Mingle finished with 79 yards on 21 carries.
Tyrone 21 Huntingdon 0
TYRONE 0 7 7 7 – 21
HUNTINGDON 0 0 0 0 – 0
Second Quarter
T – Mingle 1 run (Shaffer kick) 2:51
Third Quarter
T – Glace 82 run (Shaffer kick) 6:51
Fourth Quarter
B – Shaffer 16 pass from Reihart (Shaffer kick) 3:11
Team Statistics
T H
1st Downs 12 9
Yards Rushing 238 (-8)
Pass Att.-Comp. 4-8 12-25
Yards Passing 31 156
Total Offense 269 148
Int. By 1 0
Fum. Rec. 2-1 1-0
Punts-Avg. 4-32.5 5-38.6
Penalties/Yards 3-24 3-25
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
TYRONE – Glace 11-149; Mingle 21-79; Barlett 2-9; Gault 3-3; Reihart 3-(-2).
HUNTINGDON -Minor 9-22; Donelson 4-15; Posey 1-2; Sharpless 1-(-2); Heath 1-(-6); Betts 13-(-38).
PASSING
TYRONE- Reihart 4-8-31, 1 TD, 0 Int.
HUNTINGDON – Betts 12-25-156, 0 TD, 1 Int.
RECEIVING
TYRONE – Shaffer 1-16; Desch 1-11; Mingle 1-8; Ingle 1-(-4).
HUNTINGDON – Heath 4-68; Seller 1-28; Kalos 2-25; Pierotti 2-23; Donelson 1-12; Minor 2-0.
