He’s back.
After weeks of medical examinations followed by negative reports that kept him on the shelf for the first three games of the season, Tyrone senior Tyler Gillmen was cleared yesterday to play tomorrow when Bald Eagle Area visits Gray Veterans Memorial Field (7 p.m.) in a MAC Nittany Division Game.
It will be Gillmen’s first real football action since last November when the Golden Eagles lost to Bishop McCort in the second round of the District 6-AA playoffs. The All-Conference running back had been sidelined with a swollen spleen developed after contracting mononucleosis in the preseason.
As a result, Gillmen was forced to go week-to-week waiting on his doctor’s approval to return to the lineup. The process frustrated the emotionally charged Gillmen, and was just one of the factors in Tyrone’s ever-changing offensive and defensive units through the first three games. The Eagles have also been playing without tight end Doug Morrow (collar bone) and running back Johnny Barlett (ACL), among others.
“We’re going to let him play, but we’ll probably use him sparingly to start and let him work his way back,” said Tyrone coach John Franco. “We can’t expect him to not miss a beat. This will be the first action he’s seen this year because he didn’t even participate in a scrimmage. He’s got to be patient and so do we.”
After withering the initial storm of season-threatening injuries to key players, Tyrone finds itself 3-0 heading into its second Nittany Division game of the season.
And more than an unblemished record, the Eagles have discovered a little bit about the depth of their offensive talent.
With Gillmen out, junior Johnny Franco assumed the lead role in Tyrone’s backfield, and he made the most of it, rushing for 410 yards on 69 carries. He also caught two passes for 88 yards and scored seven touchdowns.
Tyler Gillmen completed 16 of 30 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns, while Justin Schopp emerged as a primetime receiver with 11 catches for 268 yards.
But according to coach Franco, there’s no question that the return of Gillmen – who finished last season as Tyrone’s second leading rusher – will add another dimension to the Golden Eagles’ offense.
“Anytime you can add an additional weapon, that helps,” Franco said. “After losing Barlett, we really need it. We’re going to start Mark Mingle at fullback again on Friday and work Gillmen in from there. And then that will allow us to do some more things with (receiver/running back) Shayne Tate.”
The Eagles will begin reshaping their offense against a 1-2 Bald Eagle Area team that is better than its 1-2 record (0-2 Nittany Division) might indicate. BEA is allowing just over 13 points per game, but has been offensively sketchy while implementing first-year coach John Bathurst’s system, which begins with a basic T set.
BEA has scored only 19 points and starts a first-year player at quarterback in senior Ryan McNamara (6-24-109, 0 TD, 5 int.). Brian Kochik leads the running attack with 118 yards on 44 carries.
Bald Eagle sandwiched a 13-6 win over Lewistown in Week 2 in between losses to Penns Valley in Week 1 and Bellwood-Antis last week.
“It’s not just that we’re bringing in a new coaching staff,” said Bathurst, who was hired to replace Mike Markle in mid-July. “For our seniors, this is the second coaching staff they’ve had to adjust to in their careers. There’s a pretty good football team there, but I’m not sure if the players can see it yet.”
“Their defense is awfully good,” Franco said. “They’re quick and hard-hitting and they get to the ball well. From what I’ve seen of them in the three games I’ve seen, is the team’s that have scored on them have done it mostly from turnovers. They don’t give up long drives or big plays.”
That could easily change against Tyrone, which has shown over the last two games an ability to score in a variety of ways with a variety of weapons. At the center of it has been senior quarterback Tyler Golden, who has completed 16 of 30 passes this season for 390 yards and four touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception and was sacked for the first time last week.
His main target has been rangy senior Justin Schopp, a starter at receiver last season who has blossomed into the No. 1 option in Tyrone’s passing attack. He’s caught 11 passes for 268 yards and two scores.
And even without Gillmen, who was the Eagles’ second leading rusher as a junior, Tyrone’s running attack has been second to none, led by junior Johnny Franco. He leads the team with 410 yards on 69 carries and he’s scored seven times.
“They just reload,” said Bathurst. “You name a position and I’ll name a player that’s a challenge for us. This game will be a great assessment for us of where our program is.”
Hitting the Sack
With three sacks last week against Lewistown, senior defensive end Jason Reese became Tyrone’s team leader in that category with four. He’s a half-sack ahead of defensive tackle Tyler Hoover – who leads the team with 8 tackles for loss – and one ahead of sophomore Johnny Shaffer.
Reese is one of several seniors starting on the varsity squad for the first time that Franco has credited with bringing hunger to the team.
“It’s been a lot of fun to see them achieve something,” said Franco. “That’s the neatest thing. We’re still a work in progress. We’ve had some good games, but after last week we know we have to get better.”
A Win is Not a Win
In referring to last week’s game, Franco was alluding to Tyrone’s 27-0 win over Lewistown that wasn’t necessarily everything a win is cracked up to be.
Franco was displeased with his team’s execution and he used the game as a teaching point on weekly intensity.
“We can’t just go out and go through the motions and expect to win,” he said. “We’ve had some teams that were talented enough to do that, but this one can’t. Any team can beat us if we don’t come to play on Friday nights. We saw that last week.”
NOTES: With a career-high three touchdowns last week, Johnny Franco has now scored in 13 of his first 14 games in a Tyrone uniform … BEA has turned the ball over seven times this season … the Golden Eagles have recorded 22 tackles for loss, an average of just over seven per game … Franco’s win over Lewistown last week was his 125th victory at Tyrone.
