Tyrone senior receiver Justin Schopp delivered a blow to Philipsburg-Osceola in last night’s MAC Nittany Division showdown at Memorial Stadium in Philipsburg when he took a second quarter hitch pass from Tyler Golden, juked inside to avoid a defender, and sprinted outside on his way to a 65-yard touchdown.
That got the Golden Eagles on the board and set in motion a 31-0 shutout against the only other unbeaten team in the division.
But it was Tyrone’s response to a blow delivered to Schopp in the fourth quarter that may have best punctuated Tyrone’s fifth win in five games.
After hauling in a 22-yard pass to convert on third-and-10 from Tyrone’s 24, Schopp (2 receptions for 87 yards) was hit hard out of bounds with a shot that knocked him to the fencing behind the Philipsburg-Osceola benches. He was down for nearly five minutes, and in that time seniors Donnie Conrad and Tyler Hoover, along with junior Johnny Franco, made it a point to go to each Golden Eagle player and encourage them not to forget the play.
They didn’t.
After the hit on Schopp, it took Tyrone just two plays to get into the endzone on a 24-yard run up the middle by senior Tyler Gillmen. That touchdown set the final score and served as more than a subtle reminder that if there’s anything the Eagles’ slew of early-season adversity has done, it’s been to bring the squad closer together
“It gets frustrating when you’re on the other side and everything’s going against you, so you can understand that, but we can’t retaliate,” said Tyrone coach John Franco. “You’ve got to shut your mouth and bite your tongue, and just go back and play the next play. We did that, so I was really pleased with our guys there.”
That’s not to say Tyrone was blameless. One play after the hit on Schopp, a penalty on a second P-O hit out of bounds was negated when the Eagles were flagged for an offsetting personal foul of their own. Later in the fourth quarter, Tyrone was flagged one more time for pushing after the whistle.
Still, Gillmen’s touchdown was the right answer at the best time.
“It was huge,” junior receiver Shayne Tate said of the Eagles’ last score. “The fans were behind us and the line led us. Tyler Hoover got us fired up and opened the hole for Gill.”
The victory puts Tyrone at 3-0 in the Nittany Division heading into the final stretch of the season, while P-O fell to 3-2 and 2-1. It also allowed the Eagles to avoid the pitfall they experienced in 2004, when another divisional showdown with P-O on the road ended in a 7-6 loss during an 8-1 regular season.
“This week, coach Franco put on the game film from 2004,” said linebacker James Updike, who had a second quarter interception. “We watched it and some of the other captains and seniors and I picked it up and made sure the attitude wasn’t poor this week. We wanted to come up here and get respect.”
If they didn’t earn respect, the Eagles certainly put a lot of Class AA teams on notice with an effective display of offensive depth and defensive quickness. Gillmen and Johnny Franco combined for 164 yards and three rushing touchdowns, Golden completed 5 of 7 passes for 149 yards and a score, and Tate and Schopp each had catches of 50 yards or more.
Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense limited P-O to 23 plays of two yards or less. Quarterback AJ Czap, who led the Mounties with nearly 800 yards rushing and passing, managed to complete only 2 of 7 passes for 38 yards, while rushing for minus-2 yards on nine carries. Top receiver JD Mason – blanketed by Schopp – went without a reception.
In all, the Tyrone outgained P-O 366-118 while recording their third shutout of the season against a team that was averaging nearly 25 points per game.
“Our defense did a super job,” said coach Franco. “James Updike and Tyler Hover really led the charge and everyone else fulfilled their roles. They really did an outstanding job, no doubt about it.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Tyrone got on the board 13 seconds into the second on Schopp’s long touchdown reception, opening the gates on a 21-point quarter. After holding the Mounties to a three-play series, Tate set up the Eagles’ next score with a 46-yard punt return to P-O’s 29.
From there, Franco and Gillmen split carries, with Gillmen covering the last six yards for a touchdown at the 8:15 mark. The second of Johnny Shaffer’s four PAT kicks made it 14-0.
The Mounties again went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, setting up Tyrone’s third scoring drive, a four-play, 67-yard series that took less than two minutes. The big play came on 50-yard pass to Tate on a post route where Golden perfectly placed the ball between two Mountie defenders.
After the catch, Tate split the coverage and was hauled down at the six. A facemask penalty placed the ball on the three, and Franco scored on the next play on a run up the middle to make it 21-0 with 4:51 left until halftime.
“Don’t forget Shayne Tate,” Franco said. “He’s like the unsung hero. He does so many little things. That punt return was a big play. It kick-started us and really turned the tide and put momentum in our favor.”
On their first possession of the third quarter, Tyrone moved the ball 59 yards on seven plays before stalling at the P-O 9. Shaffer came on to kick his first varsity field goal from 27 yards out to make it 24-0 at the 5:05 mark.
Gllmen’s long touchdown run came on Tyrone first series of the fourth quarter, a drive that went 76 yards on five plays.
It took the Mounties until the 3:03 mark of the second quarter to register their initial first down.
P-O played on Tyrone’s side of the 50 just three times and penetrated the red zone only once, when the Eagles stopped the Mounties on fourth down from the five.
GAME NOTES: Philipsburg-Osceola coach Jeff Vroman was not available for comment after the game … since beating Tyrone in 2004, the Mounties have been outscored 104-7 in three games against the Eagles … Tate had a sack in the second quarter for a 10-yard loss … Franco was held below 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, while Gillmen netted a season-high 97 yards on 13 carries … the Eagles are undefeated after Week 5 for the seventh time under Franco … the Eagles’ defense has surrendered only 13 points this season for an average of 2.6 points per game. Huntingdon had a special teams touchdown in Week 2, while BEA returned a blocked kick for a score last week … Tyrone travels to Bellefonte next week, while the Mounties host Bellwood-Antis.
Tyrone 31 Philipsburg-Osceola 0
Tyrone 0 21 3 7 – 31
Philipsburg-Osceola 0 0 0 0 – 0
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
T – Schopp 65 pass from Golden (Shaffer kick) 11:47
T – Gillmen 6 run (Shaffer kick) 8:15
T – Franco 3 run (Shaffer kick) 4:51
Third Quarter
T – Shaffer 27 field goal 5:05
Fourth Quarter
T – Gillmen 24 run (Shaffer kick) 10:58
Team
T PO
First Downs 14 8
Yards Rushing 217 80
Pass Att.-Comp. 5-7 3-10
Yards Passing 149 38
Total Offense 366 118
Fumble-Rec. 0-0 0-0
Interceptions 0 1
Pen./Yards 4-25 6-28
Punts/Avg. 3-31.3 6-31.6
Individual
Rushing
Tyrone – Gillmen 13-97; Franco 14-67; Mingle 8-31; Golden 5-19; Walk 1-3.
Philipsburg-Osceola – Rocco 7-37; Harris 7-23; Sidorick 5-13; Shimel 1-2; Barnyak 1-1; Czap 9-(-2).
Passing
Tyrone – Golden 5-7-149, 0 Int., 1 TD
Philipsburg-Osceola – Czap 2-7-38, 0 Int., 0 TD; Reifer 1-3-1, 1 Int., 0 TD.
Receiving
Tyrone – Schopp 2-87; Tate 1-50; Gillmen 1-9; Catich 1-3.
Philipsburg-Osceola – Smith 2-38; Czap 1-1.
