tool name
closeAn ordinary Thursday earlier this month wedged between the annual Luther Trophy Dinner and Philipsburg- Osceola’s 28-0 victory at Bellefonte marked the five-year anniversary of a momentous occasion in recent Centre County football lore.
CDT photo/Michelle Bixby
Moving returning quarterback Levi Reihart from to running back has helped Tyrone start the season 5-1. The Golden Eagles take on Philipsburg-Osceola tonight.
On Oct. 1, 2004, P-O defeated Tyrone 7-6.
One-point wins in low-scoring games during early-October rarely produce enduring memories.
But finding flat land between Philipsburg and Tyrone could be easier than unearthing victories by Centre County schools against coach John Franco’s Golden Eagles.
Franco, after all, has a 51-3 record against Centre County teams since coaching his first game at Tyrone in 1994. Two of those losses came during that first season, which leaves P-O’s narrow victory in 2004 as the only triumph by a county program over Tyrone team this decade.
The current Golden Eagles are 1-0 against county teams, yielding an early touchdown before breezing past Bald Eagle Area 35-6 two weeks ago. The Mounties (3-3) receive the next crack at the Golden Eagles (5-1) tonight at Memorial Stadium. Tyrone plays host to Penns Valley in two weeks.
If P-O coach Jeff Vroman wants a template of how to defeat Tyrone, he can crawl into P-O’s film archive.
“We were at the point where we needed a win like that,” Vroman said. “We have had some pretty big playoff wins in eight years, but that has to rank right up there. It was a fantastic night and the electricity. ...You can’t explain it to anybody who wasn’t there.”
Explaining Tyrone’s success against county teams also can be tricky. The Golden Eagles have outscored P-O, BEA, Penns Valley and Bellefonte by a 1,141-247 margin this decade. Class AAA Bellefonte and Class AA Tyrone haven’t met since 2006.
Vroman said tradition plays a factor in Tyrone’s success. The Golden Eagles have collected seven District 6 Class AA titles and a PIAA championship since 1994.
“Once you get that tradition rolling, it’s big,” Vroman said. “We have had some good football teams, but they have that tradition year in and year out and kids feed off that.”
Franco, a recent inductee into the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, shrugs off his program’s success against Centre County opponents.
“I have no idea,” he said when asked about it earlier this week. “I think they have great athletes up there. We enjoy competing against them. I can’t really answer that question. We play hard against Centre County teams.”
Athletically, Tyrone, which went 9-40 from 1989-93, isn’t much different than many of its opponents, especially this season, Franco said. Vroman contests Tyrone always boasts uncharacteristic speed for a Class AA school. But in other sports, particularly wrestling and baseball, Centre County teams often handle the Golden Eagles.
“I don’t think we are anymore talented than anyone else,” said Franco, who is 159-32 at Tyrone.
“I think this year we are less talented than several teams. I think our kids have bought into our system for years. They believe in hard work and have some great role models. There’s a lot to say about tradition and consistency.”
Reasons for Tyrone’s extended success can be gleaned from analyzing this year’s team.
The Golden Eagles entered the season searching for starters at 18 offensive and defense positions. Franco looked everywhere to plug gaps, even moving two-year starting quarterback Levi Reihart to running back after a Week 1 loss to Bellwood- Antis. Tyrone made a similar move before 2008, moving starting guard Larry Glace to running back.
Franco also displayed no hesitation inserting sophomores into key spots this season, including quarterback where his son, Steve, now starts. John Franco said more than 10 different sophomores have worked their way into offensive, defensive or special teams rotations.
The group responded from its 31-16 loss to Bellwood-Antis by winning tight games against Huntingdon, Central Mountain and Clearfield. The Golden Eagles enter tonight 4-0 in Mountain Athletic Football Conference Nittany Division games. They also sit second behind undefeated Central in the District 6 Class AA playoff standings.
BEA coach Jack Tobias said the accountability Eric Desch, one of Tyrone’s best players, demonstrated after fumbling early in last month’s game against the Eagles provided a glimpse into the program’s psyche. Desch told Franco he would redeem himself, something he accomplished later in the first half by returning an interception for a touchdown.
“Their kids believe in what they are doing,” Tobias said. “He could have made excuses, but he didn’t and he made up for it. They have that kind of winning attitude and it carries through to all their kids.”
BEA’s lone win against a Franco-coached team came in 1994. P-O and Penns Valley have nearly edged Tyrone in recent years. The Golden Eagles defeated the Mounties 14-13 and Rams 10-3 in 2007. Penns Valley also fell to Tyrone 21-14 in 2006.
The Mounties outrushed the Golden Eagles 194-90 and committed one turnover in 2007. But Tyrone scored touchdowns during the final minute of both halves. Penns Valley outgained Tyrone 217-195 during the same season, yet experienced an identical fate.
“Their kids have confidence,” Penns Valley coach Martin Tobias said. “They have won at everything they have done. That possess a problem for any opponent when you’re facing a group with that confidence, history and tradition. They are very good at taking advantage of the mental aspect.”
Vroman is pleased with his team’s current mental state. P-O enters tonight playing its best 2009 football, rushing for a total of 613 yards in convincing victories over Bellefonte and Penns Valley. The Mounties committed one turnover the past two weeks.
Franco expects a similar game from P-O, the next in a steady line of challengers hoping to rise against Tyrone, which has lost just 12 regular- season games this decade. Of all the Golden Eagles’ endearing qualities, none might be more impressive than their focus.
“Football isn’t like basketball or wrestling where you have so many contests,” Franco said. “It would be foolish to not get up for every game. We try to treat every game as a special entity. It’s like college football. Every game is a playoff game, every game is important. We have to get that message to our kids.”
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