With nearly 240 yards in total offense, two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground, Tyrone senior quarterback Tyler Mertiff could have easily been awarded the game ball for Saturday’s 55-20 pasting of Big 8 Conference rival Bald Eagle Area.
More deserving may have been Mother Nature, or the Tyrone Area School District brass that made the decision Friday to postpone the game one day as a result of the heavy precipitation the region received from Tropical Storm Isidore.
A game in the slop at Gray Veterans Memorial Field on Friday night would have played right into the hands of BEA, whose mammoth line had made way for the Eagles to rush for 371 yards against Indian Valley a week before.
But Saturday’s brisk but dry conditions were best suited for the multi-faceted Golden Eagles, whose balanced offense posted its best numbers of the season with 403 total yards- 219 passing, 184 rushing.
“Who wouldn’t want it that way,” said Tyrone coach John Franco, who hasn’t lost to BEA since his first season at Tyrone in 1994. ”The one strong point of our team is we’re able to run the ball and pass the ball.”
Tyrone scored on its first eight possessions of the game with three touchdowns coming on the heels of Bald Eagle turnovers to move above the .500 mark for the first time since Week 9 of the 2001 season at 3-2. The Golden Eagles ran their conference record to 3-1 and sit alone in second place behind unbeaten Huntingdon and Indian Valley.
Bald Eagle, meanwhile, dropped its fourth consecutive game, falling to 1-4 on the season and 1-3 in the Big 8.
But while BEA had experienced some hard times this season, none were as frustrating as those it endured against Tyrone. Bald Eagle had no answer for the Golden Eagles’ balanced attack and no one near the ability of Mertiff, who finished his day after three quarters of work having completed 10 of 13 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Mertiff threw for 203 yards in the first half alone as Tyrone built a 42-14 halftime lead.
“Two-hundred and three,” is that all quipped BEA coach Curt Heverly when informed of Mertiff’s first-half stats. “We had people around the ball a lot of the time, but we never got any pressure on the quarterback. “He’s a great player and he has a nice arm. They blocked us very well.”
Mertiff was aided by more than a few outstanding individual efforts by receivers Aaron Jeffries and Tom Crowl, who each posted the top single-game performances of their careers. Jeffries, a senior, caught eight passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, twice out-jumping defensive backs for highlight reel receptions. Crowl caught three passes for 56 yards, including a 41-yarder in the second quarter that had him laid out flat in midair to haul in a pass led about three yards too far.
Tyrone’s defense, meanwhile, handcuffed BEA’s running game and its entire offense for most of the game, with the exceptions being three big plays the Eagles’ reeled off against Tyrone’s first-team defense. Bald Eagle finished with 225 yards of total offense, 148 of the coming on the ground.
The Golden Eagle defense recorded 12 plays of 2 yards or less and had four stops for negative yardage.
“The real key for us has been that our defense is getting better. Guys are stepping up and filling their roles,’ said Franco. “We watched them last week and they were tough. They really ran the ball well against a tough Indian Valley team.”
Tyrone got on the board on its first possession, following a fumble recovery by sophomore Terry Tate at the BEA-31. Brice Mertiff broke lose for 11 yards on second down to the 10 and two plays later Ben Gummo scored the first of three touchdowns on a two-yard run. His extra-point made it 7-0.
Bald Eagle stormed back on its next possession, going 63 yards on six plays in just over three minutes to tie it. On third-and-12 from the T-42, quarterback Mark Fisher put a perfectly placed ball just over the outstretched fingertips of Tyler Mertiff into the hands of Eli Halterman, who went into the endzone to knot the game at 7-7.
The Golden Eagles went ahead for good on the ensuing possession, a demoralizing three-play, 24-second drive that covered 64 yards.
On first down, Tyler Mertiff and Jeffries hooked up for 14 yards to midfield. After Gummo lost a yard on second down, Mertiff and Jeffries connected again, this time on an out-and-up pattern that went 51 yards for a score. Jeffries had a step on the BEA corner, but the safety was on time with his help forcing Jeffries to go up between two defenders to haul the ball in.
BEA turned the ball over again on its next possession, this time a fumble at its own 32 that was gobbled up by sophomore Brandon Maceno. Tyrone needed four plays to punch it in, with the key play coming on first down from the 23 when Tyler Mertiff hit Brice Mertiff on a 22-yard pass just outside of the pylon. Gummo blasted in from the one on the next play to make it 21-7.
The Golden Eagles’ next scoring drive went six plays and 55 yards, lasting from the 47-second mark of the first quarter until the 10:00 mark of the second. On second-and-nine, Mertiff found Crowl over the middle for a 41-yard pass to the BEA-3. It took four rushing plays to get it in, but on fourth-and-one from the BEA-1, Gummo scored his third touchdown of the half to jack the lead up to 28-7.
Bald Eagle’s next series ended much like most of its first-quarter possessions-with a turnover. Tyler Mertiff picked off Fisher at the T-22 and seven plays later hit Jeffries on a slant that went 35 yards for another touchdown and a 35-7 advantage.
BEA countered with its potent running game and went 77 yards in four plays to make it 35-14. On third-and-five from the BEA-28, Josh Garner broke lose on a sweep to the left for 49 yards to the T-23. On the next play, Dave Morgan broke a sweep to the right for 23 yards and a touchdown to make it 35-14.
Tyrone answered with a nine-play, 64-yard drive to add one more score before the half. The key exchange came on fourth-and-1 from the BEA 45 when Brice Mertiff was stopped for no gain but was brought down by his facemask. After the officials made the call, they tacked on another 15 for unsportsmanlike conduct against BEA, setting the Golden Eagles up at the 25. Tyler Mertiff found Jeffries down the sideline for a 23-yard gain to the 2, and two plays later he called his own number and went on from the one, making it 42-14 at halftime.
The Mercy Rule went into effect following Tyrone’s opening series of the second half, a 74-yard, 10-play drive that consumed nearly half of the third quarter. Brice Mertiff scored from one yard out to cap it, putting Tyrone ahead 49-14.
Bill Schreckengost snuck in from the one for Tyrone’s final score, which came at the 8:29 mark of the fourth quarter.
“Our defense hasn’t stepped up all year,” said Heverly. “I don’t have any answers. I thought we were going to show up for this game.”
GRID TIDBITS: Troy Tiemy scored BEA’s last touchdown on a 36-yard pass from Camdin Crouse. Eagle Josh Good had two tackles for losses, including one quarterback sack. Tyrone has now run the ball for run the ball for 783 yards and passed for 770. Gummo’s seven extra-points were one shy of the school record of eight set by his brother Scott in 1999 … the Golden Eagles will play another Saturday game this week against Pius X. Pius is currently 2-3 after falling 16-13 to Shamokin Saturday.
Tyrone 55, Bald Eagle Area 20
Score by quarter
Tyrone – 21 21 7 6 -55
Bald Eagle Area – 7 7 0 6 -20
Scoring summary
first quarter
T- Gummo 2 run (Gummo kick) 9:05
BEA- Halterman 41 pass from M. Fisher (Jones kick) 5:59
T- Jeffries 50 pass from T. Mertiff (Gummo kick) 5:27
T- Gummo 1 run (Gummo kick) 2:56
second quarter
T- Gummo 1 run (Gummo kick) 10:00
T- Jeffries 37 pass from T. Mertiff (Gummo kick) 5:22
BEA- Morgan 23 run (Jones kick) 3:58
T- T. Mertiff 1 run ( Gummo kick) 2:48
third quarter
T- B. Mertiff 1 run (Gummo kick) 6:11
fourth quarter
T- Schreckengost 1 run (PAT failed) 8:29
BEA- Tiemy 36 pass from Cruise (Rush failed) 2:09
Team Statistics
T BEA
First Downs 21 8
Rushes 46 29
Rush yards 184 148
Pass Att. 13 6
Pass Comp. 10 2
Pass Yards 219 77
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles lost 0 1
Penalty yards 5-31 7-66
Punts/Avg. 0-0 1-32
Total Offense 403 225
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Tyrone: B. Mertiff 13-87 (1TD), Gummo 16-55 (2TD), Shane Christine 8-29, T. Mertiff 4-19 (1TD), Schreckengost 2-4 (1TD), Maceno 1-(-4), Gillman 2-(-6).
Bald Eagle Area: Garner 4-52, Morgan 7-48 (1TD), Tiemy 2-21, Irvin 5-10, Surovec 4-9, Rishell 2-7, M. Fisher 5-1.
Passing
Tyrone: T. Mertiff 10-13, 219, 2 TD, 0 Int.
Bald Eagle Area: M. Fisher 1-5, 41, 1TD, 1 Int, Crouse 1-1-36, 1, 0.
Receiving
Tyrone: Jeffries 6-141 (2TD), Crowl 3-56, B. Mertiff 1-22.
Bald Eagle Area: Halterman 1-41 (1TD), Tiemy 1-36 (1TD).
