The Tyrone junior varsity football hosted Bishop Guilfoyle at Gray Veterans Memorial field on Monday evening. The Tyrone jayvees fought valiantly, but were their own worst enemy losing the pigskin three times on fumbles that killed any continuity the Little Eagles tried to maintain and committing a crucial penalty late in the game that allowed Bishop Guilfoyle to keep the ball and run out the clock for a 22-14 BG win.
Bishop Guilfoyle used a short field when the fumbles and a short first quarter punt allowed the Marauders to start near midfield or in Tyrone territory to score all but one touchdown.
A fourth quarter roughing the punter penalty kept the Eagles from getting the ball at midfield with about 2:40 to play needing just a single score and two point conversion to tie the score.
While Tyrone had trouble moving the ball on the ground, quarterback Jeremy Myers had a terrific game through the air.
Myers completed six of 10 tosses for 101 yards and was not intercepted. David Miller added one of two on end around passes, his one completion a 45-yard TD to Trey Brockett.
Bishop Guilfoyle held Tyrone on the opening series of the game, thanks in part to a big 16-yard Tyrone holding penalty, then marched down the field to put 10 points on the scoreboard. Starting from the Tyrone 45 after a short Eagle punt, BG marched to the T-20, where the Orange and Black defense stiffened. Tim Eck booted a 38-yard field goal with room to spare to get the Marauders on the scoreboard.
Tyrone fumbles on their next series with BG recovering on the T-26. Four plays later a Tom Seasoltz to Craig Ryan pass went for a 14 -yard TD pass and Ross Gioiosa’s PAT kick gave Bishop Guilfoyle a 10-0 cushion.
Nathan Woodring returned the kickoff 22 yards to the Eagles-48 to give Tyrone a jumpstart. Myers lost four yards on the first call, but Matt Lauder picked up five and Myers found Trey Brockett, who caught six passes for 109 yards overall, for a 42-yard hookup. A play later, Loy Bonsell went off right tackle, slanted toward the sideline and raced into the endzone for the eight-yard TD. Myers connected with Miller around the right side and Miller dove into the endzone for the two point conversion to cut the BG lead to 10-8.
Seasoltz came up with a huge play several series later, following his left guard on the quarterback sneak and breaking through and racing 41 yards to the T-four. The Eagle defense stopped BG for just one net yard on two plays, but a half the distance penalty against Tyrone allowed Seasoltz to blast one yard for the TD and a 16-8 advantage at the half.
Bishop Guilfoyle started their second offensive series of the third quarter at their own 20 and drove 80 yards for the only long march by either team to go up 22-8. The Marauders completed the drive with Andy Garofoli picking up a first down on a six-yard burst, then following that by sprinting 21 yards. Gioiosa scored the 15-yard TD on the next call, but the Marauders left Tyrone room when a two-point PAT try failed.
Trailing 22-8 with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter, Billy Dean scampered 32 yards with the kick to the BG-45. Myers missed on two pass attempts, then on the second end around call, David Miller fired deep downfield, where the ball was deflected off a BG defender and caught by Brockett, who raced into the endzone, completing the 45-yard TD. Although the 2-pt, PAT rush was stopped short, Tyrone trailed by only eight points (22-14)-a touchdown and two-point conversion.
On their final offensive series of the game, Tyrone marched from their own 17 to midfield on completions of 33 and six yards from Myers to Brockett, but was forced to punt.
The Tyrone defense seemingly had BG stopped and forced them to punt. David Miller returned the kick to near midfield, but a penalty for roughing the punter gave the Marauders a first down and new life. They proceeded to take advantage of it to run out the final two and a half minutes to gain the 22-14 win.
“We had a chance tonight,” said Tyrone assistant coach Tom Miller.
“We had to keep saying about how young we are,” explained Coach Chuck Banas. “Then tonight, we find out two kids can’t play because of academics. So now we have to put two kids, who are used to playing corners, all of a sudden playing linebackers. They don’t have a clue at those positions having never played there.
“I thought we did really good. They are going to make mistakes. The responsibility of the jayvee team isn’t to win. It’s to get the kids in, let them have fun, make sure they learn. They tried. All-in-all, I’m very proud of the effort the kids gave. They are getting better and showing improvement. The big thing is that a couple of those kids are going to be able to step up and help the varsity when we get into the playoffs, to give some of the varsity kids a break.”
The Tyrone jayvees complete their season mext Monday at Clearfield. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
