Football

Unbeaten Marauders outlast feisty Golden Eagles

TYRONE -- In a Laurel Highlands Athletic conference blockbuster in which both Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and Tyrone Area played their hearts out and left everything on the field, the two teams turned in one big play after another Friday night at Gray Veterans Memorial Field.

In the end, the unbeaten Marauders just managed to make a few more key plays than the feisty Golden Eagles, as BG weathered a spirited fourth-quarter Tyrone comeback and held for a 50-37 victory.

Heroes were abundant on both sides of the ball in a game in which both teams rolled up over 400 yards in total offense.

BG senior quarterback Chase Kissell completed 13 of 21 passes for 281 yards and touchdown throws of 59 and 36 yards to Hamilton Gates, and 64 yards to Tyson Lestochi. Gates scored four times, also hitting paydirt on runs of 1 yard and 8 yards in the first quarter, while running back Taurean Consiglio had another monster game, rushing for 163 yards on 18 carries, including a pivotal 48-yard touchdown jaunt up the middle of the field to give BG a 43-29 lead with 6:26 left in the game after Tyrone had moved to within one score and narrowed what had been a 36-13 deficit to 36-29.

Senior linebacker Nick McCloskey added the clincher for BG, returning an intercepted pass 62 yards for the final touchdown in a game which lacked for nothing in the realm of excitement.

Tyrone senior quarterback Ashton Walk had a stellar performance of his own, completing 22 of 35 passes for 303 yards, including two touchdown passes to wideout Eli Woomer, who made eight catches for 92 yards, and another to BG transfer Trent Adams, who made five catches totaling 111 yards. Walk also ran 14 yards for another touchdown.

"I love our offense,'' BG coach Justin Wheeler said. "We had a couple breakdowns defensively, but Tyrone has some great athletes who made some great plays.

"They took over the momentum in the fourth quarter, and we needed to answer. This was a great atmosphere and we were playing in a hostile environment, so we wanted to make plays.''

Tyrone coach John Franco, whose team is 2-4 overall and in the conference, saluted both teams.

"What a game, and what a fantastic fourth quarter,'' Franco said. "BG deserves all the credit in the world. They have fantastic skill kids, and great linemen.

"But we showed a lot of guts and I'm so proud of our effort. Our kids don't quit, and they keep coming at you.''

Play of the game: None was bigger than Consiglio's 48-yard touchdown burst midway through the fourth quarter with the game on the line

Players of the game: Brutal call with so many standouts. Walk and Kissell both deserved to take a bow, as did Gates, Consiglio, Woomer and Adams.

Most vital statistic: Both quarterbacks filled the air with footballs, accounting for 584 total passing yards.

Gates: "We knew that it was going to be a tough game. They've got a lot of athletes, and we just had to keep playing.''

McCloskey on his interception: "We prepped for that play all week in practice. We had our coverages right, and I just happened to be the one to get the interception.''

Franco on Walk: "He did a fantastic job. He just keeps coming and coming. He will find an opening in coverage and he will get the ball there.''

Notable: Lestochi made an interception on defense for BG and Woomer recovered a fumble for Tyrone, which got a 4-yard TD run from Seth Hoover ... It was Tyrone's homecoming, and Lexi Hess was crowned the school's homecoming queen.

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (6-0); Tyrone (2-4).

Next week: Tyrone visits Huntingdon Friday night, Bishop Guilfoyle hosts Bellwood-Antis Saturday night.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 14 7 13 16--50

Tyrone 0 7 6 24--37

First Quarter

BG--Gates 1 run (Carter Boland kick), 6:56.

BG--Gates 8 run (Cacciotti kick), 1:16.

Second Quarter

T--Walk 14 run (Novak kick), 2:06.

BG--Gates 36 pass from C. Kissell (Boland kick), :29.

Third Quarter

BG--Gates 59 pass from C. Kissell (pass failed), 7:19.

T--Woomer 8 pass from Walk (kick failed), 3:24.

BG--Lestochi 64 pass from C. Kissell (Boland kick), 2:19.

Fourth Quarter

BG--Safety, 11:55.

T--Adams 54 pass from Walk (Adams pass from Walk), 10:15.

T--Woomer 8 pass from Walk (Adams pass from Walk), 8:03.

BG--Consiglio 48 run (Cacciotti kick), 6:26.

BG--McCloskey 62 interception return (Boland kick), 5:02.

T--Hoover 4 run (Woomer pass from Walk), 3:57.

TEAM STATISTICS BG T

First downs 17 23

Total yards 442 405

Rushes-yards 30-161 28-102

Yards passing 281 303

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 13-21-1 22-35-2

Punts/avg. 4-32.2 3-37.7

Fumbles-lost 5-1 2-0

Penalties-yards 4-35 4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Consiglio 18-163, Gates 6-21, C. Kissell 6-(-23). Tyrone, Hoover 17-59, Walk 10-34, Woomer 1-9.

PASSING--Bishop Guilfoyle, C. Kissell 13-21-0-281. Tyrone, Walk 22-35-2-303.

RECEIVING--Bishop Guilfoyle, Gates 6-139, Consiglio 2-26, Reilly 2-19, Lestochi 1-64, J. Kissell 1-25, McCloskey 1-8. Tyrone, Woomer 8-92, Adams 5-111, Moore 3-26, Miller 2-51, Hoover 2-22, Weston 1-2, M. Emigh 1-(-1).