It’s a good thing Tyrone wide receiver-defensive back Justin Schopp isn’t a vindictive person.
He’s not the kind of player to say ‘I told you so,’ and he’s definitely not going to rub an opponent’s nose in the grass when he makes a big catch, which he’s done often this season.
If he was, then Chestnut Ridge may have been in even deeper trouble than it found itself in last night against the Golden Eagles at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field in the quarterfinals of the District 5-6 AA playoffs.
Fresh off a Mountain Athletic Conference Nittany Division snub that saw Schopp – who leads the conference in receiving yards and interceptions – left off both the first team offensive and defensive all-star squads at Wednesday’s awards banquet, the 6-foot senior hauled in four passes for 60 yards and came up with a pair of interceptions as the No. 1 Golden Eagles steamrolled the 8-seeded Lions 35-0.
Two third down receptions by Schopp set up Eagle touchdowns, while one interception led to another, and the Golden Eagles advanced to the District semifinals for the 11th time under coach John Franco.
“Not bad for second team all-conference,” Franco said wryly of Schopp’s performance. “Justin Schopp is as good a defensive back and receiver as there is in our bracket. But (awards) don’t matter to us. We’ve never preached individual awards and we really don’t care about it. The only thing that’s important is a team award.”
The understated Schopp said he tried to take the second-team placement and make it a positive.
“It really didn’t (bother me) at first, but the coaches and my parents just told me to take it as motivation for the rest of the season,” he said.
The advice worked, but it wasn’t just Schopp who was posting numbers against the Lions. Quarterback Tyler Golden completed 8 of 14 passes for 115 yards without throwing an interception, and junior Johnny Franco rambled for 175 yards on 18 carries, scoring three touchdowns.
That allowed the Eagles to outgain Chestnut Ridge 324-111 in total offense.
Tyrone’s defense registered 15 plays of zero or negative yards, sacking Lions quarterback Jason Deffibaugh three times while forcing three interceptions.
The unbeaten Golden Eagles (11-0) now await the winner of tomorrow’s game between No. 4 Forest Hills and No. 5 Marion Center. Chestnut Ridge finished its season 7-4.
“Flat out, we got beat by a better football team tonight,” said Chestnut Ridge coach Dan Wilkins. “There’s no ands, ifs or buts about it. Our kids played hard as long as they could. A few big plays early certainly helped to speed up the result.”
One big one came on the Eagles’ first series, a 13-play, six-and-a-half minute drive that went 67 yards. After Golden was sacked for a 10-yard loss on first down, Tyrone faced third-and-15 from its own 42 when Golden found Schopp open over the middle. Schopp broke one tackle and fought for extra yards on a 19-yard gain to the Lions’ 39.
Schopp had a 9-yard reception later in the series, and Franco blasted for 16 yards to the 1 before carrying it from there to make it 7-0 at the 5:29 mark.
It stayed that way until the start of the second quarter when junior Shayne Tate intercepted Deffibaugh at the Ridge 34 and raced down the left sideline for a touchdown. The second of Johnny Shaffer’s five PATs made it 14-0.
“To get the interception for a touchdown really gave us momentum and put us in the driver’s seat,” said Franco.
Tyrone scored once more before the half, going 88 yards in nine plays. Schopp kept the drive going early with a 14-yard catch on third-and-10 from the 22, and Tyler Gillmen put the Eagles in the red zone when he scampered 41 yards on a middle screen to the Chestnut Ridge 11. One play later, Franco broke containment along the sideline and scored to make it 21-0 with a minute left in the half.
“Every time you looked, they were making a play, and that’s a tribute to their kids,” Wilkins said. “They’re a complete team. There’s not anywhere you can isolate and pick on them to try to get something going. That’s why they are where they are.”
The Eagles scored on their first series of the third quarter to go ahead 28-0. It was a 62-yard drive punctuated by a 40-yard touchdown run by Franco at the 5:49 mark.
Tyrone’s last score came after a one-handed interception by Schopp, who was giving help on a fade pass from Deffibaugh to Mike Tomovich. The Eagles went 51 yards in six running plays, capped by a three-yard run by Gillmen.
“In the playoffs, you play with a little more intensity,” Franco said. “I think that’s what you saw.”
GRID TIDBITS: Schopp now has 755 receiving yards this season and eight interceptions … Tyler Hoover had two sacks and three tackles for loss. Franco credited sophomore Jarrod Good with occupying two blockers to free up Hoover … the Eagles limited the Lions to one first down in the first half and five total … Tyrone recorded its sixth playoff shutout under Franco, and its first since a 34-0 win over Philipsburg-Osceola in 2004 … it was Tyrone’s fifth shutout this season. The Eagles are now allowing 6.5 points per game.
Tyrone 35 Chestnut Ridge 0
Tyrone 7 14 14 0 – 35
Chestnut Ridge 0 0 0 0 – 0
First Quarter
T – Franco 1 run (Shaffer kick) 5:29
Second Quarter
T – Tate 34 interception return (Shaffer kick) 11:18
T – Franco 11 run (Shaffer kick) 1:00
Third Quarter
T – Franco 40 run (Shaffer kick) 5:49
T – Gillmen 3 run (Shaffer kick) 1:45
Team
T CR
First Downs 17 5
Yards Rushing 209 74
Pass Att.-Comp. 8-14 5-10
Yards Passing 115 37
Total Offense 324 111
Fumble-Rec. 0-0 1-0
Interceptions 0 3
Pen./Yards 6-40 2-18
Punts/Avg. 4-33 5-40.8
Rushing
Tyrone – Franco 18-175; Gillmen 11-37; Bradley 3-4; Ingle 1-3; Barlett 1-(-1); Golden 5-(-9).
Chestnut Ridge – Tomovich 23-80; McDannell 4-12; Kyle Hess 2-2; Deffibaugh 4-(-20).
Passing
Tyrone – Golden 8-14-115, 0 TD, 0 Int.
Chestnut Ridge – Deffibaugh 4-9-37, 0 TD, 2 Int.; Tomovich 0-1-0, 0 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving
Tyrone – Schopp 4-60; Gillmen 2-41; Tate 1-9; Franco 1-5.
Chestnut Ridge – Tomovich 2-16; Clark 1-14; McDannell 2-7.
