PHILIPSBURG - Starting out the season with two losses seems to have done wonders for the Tyrone Area High School football team.
It hasn't done much for the Golden Eagles' opponents, though.
The Eagles evened their record at 2-2 and brought the mercy rule into effect for the second game in a row, getting 184 yard rushing from James Oliver and a pair of early Corey Snyder touchdown runs in a 60-7 Mountain League rout of host Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday night at Memorial Field.
Article Photos
Photo for the Mirror by Manning Photography
Tyrone quarterback Eric Wagner looks for running room against P-O.
"Everyone has stepped up the past two weeks," Snyder said. "We knew what we had to do, and we came out and we've done it."
Tyrone was coming off a 71-6 demolition of Huntingdon after opening the campaign with back-to-back losses against Bellwood-Antis and Central. The Eagles scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and five in the second to take a 54-0 lead into the half, bringing the running clock into play with the beginning of the third period.
The Eagles had a 345-49 yardage advantage through 24 minutes. Tyrone had 150 yards rushing in the first quarter alone.
"Despite us talking about things, I think our guys still had the feeling that we're Tyrone and people were going to roll over for us, and that's not the case, especially because, for a lot of teams, beating Tyrone can make your season," said Tyrone coach Steve Guthoff, whose first head coaching job was at P-O in the mid-1990s. "Some of the better Tyrone teams I've been around have lost early. It created that sense of urgency."
The area's leading rusher through three weeks, Oliver, a junior, had another huge game, getting within 16 yards of his third 200-yard performance despite only carrying the ball 11 times, none in the second half. Getting some great blocking and flashing really quick feet, he scored on runs of 43, 22, 5 and 65 yards.
"It's a great feeling. I'm so glad we had so many [linemen returning]," Oliver said. "It was hard starting off because I had a fever, but I pulled it together, and the line opened holes for me."
Philipsburg-Osceola (0-3 Mountain League, 0-4 overall) started off with two first downs, then turned the ball over five times in its first seven possessions. Two high punt snaps resulted in interceptions deep in Mountie territory, one of which Josh Fetters ran back for a touchdown.
"You can't turn the ball over, and you give up big plays. That's all it was. What do you say?" P-O coach Jeff Vroman said. "We have to learn from this. We have to get better. We've gotten caught with so many injuries that we've never had a solid lineup, and we're young."
Snyder might have had his first career 100-yard rushing game had the Eagles not gotten such a big lead so quickly. He had 80 yards on just four carries, busting up the middle from the 15 for Tyrone's first score and then bolting 54 yards to the end zone of cap the Eagles' second drive.
Snyder actually finished as his team's third-leading rusher: Aleic Hunter piled up 108 yards on three second-half carries, including a 59-yard TD dash.
"All we did was do our assignments. They found the hole and broke it free," senior guard Maverick Mills said. "We needed to bunker down, we needed to go harder at practice with more focus. We needed to do the little things we hadn't been doing. We all stepped up."
Game notes: Tyrone improved to 2-1 in league play. ... Nick Gray ran for 93 yards and scored P-O's only touchdown. ... The Mounties travel to Chestnut Ridge next Friday, while Tyrone entertains Bellefonte.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone20 34 6 0 - 60
Philipsburg-Osceola0 0 0 7 - 7
First quarter
T-Snyder 15 run (kick failed), 9:43.
T-Snyder 54 run (Umholtz kick), 5:13.
T-Oliver 43 run (Umholtz kick), 1:26
Second quarter
T-Oliver 22 run (Umholtz kick), 11:05.
T-Oliver 5 run (Woomer pass from Wagner), 8:33.
T-Zook 18 pass from Wagner (kick failed) 6:06.
T-Oliver 65 run (kick failed), 3:24.
T-Fetters 27 interception return (Umholtz kick), 0:48.2.
Third quarter
T-A. Hunter 59 run (kick failed), 5:05.
Fourth quarter
PO-Gray 3 run (Boumerhi kick), 6:16.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Tyrone-Oliver 11-184, Snyder 4-80, A. Hunter 3-108, Wagner 1-8, G. Hunter 1-0, Muir 1-(-1), TEAM 4-(-5). Philipsburg-Osceola-Gray 22-93, Smith 6-45, Matsko 6-8, D. Shuey 7-5, Mann 1-4, Pepperday 1-(-2).
PASSING: Tyrone-Wagner 5-6-0-73. Philipsburg-Osceola-Pepperday 1-5-1-6, Boumerhi 0-2-2-0.
RECEIVING: Tyrone-Snyder 2-31, Woomer 1-22, Zook 1-18, Oliver 1-2. Philipsburg-Osceola-Matsko 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Tyrone-Wilson-Adams, Woomer, Fetters. Philipsburg-Osceola-none.
TEAM STATISTICSTPO
First downs149
Rushes-yards25-37443-153
Passing (comp.-att.-int.)5-6-01-7-3
Yards passing736
Total yards447159
Fumbles-lost0-05-3
Penalties-yards5-405-43
Punts-avg.0-02-39.5
