Eli Woomer, Ben Walk key for Tyrone Golden Eagles’ win vs. Chestnut Ridge
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TYRONE -- Tyrone senior Eli Woomer is a gamer, and he's played a lot of varsity football. A starter since his sophomore season who came into the 2025 season with 1,000 receiving yards under his belt, he's also become one of the area's top quarterbacks.
There are lots of teams who would love to have a signal caller with his playmaking ability.
After the last two weeks, it's become apparent that the Eagles have two of them.
After Woomer came out with an injury in the second quarter Friday night against Chestnut Ridge with the game tied 7-7, junior Ben Walk came on to throw a pair of touchdown passes in the final three minutes of the first half, lifting the Golden Eagles to a 28-13 over the Lions at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field in a LHAC crossover game.
Woomer returned to take a second-half interception back for a touchdown and rush for 36 yards. As a passer, he went 7-for-14 for 83 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 38 yards.
His do-everything attitude, combined with the spark provided by Walk, were just what the Eagles needed against a Chestnut Ridge defense that wasn't giving an inch against Tyrone's running game. The Lions limited the Eagles to 81 yards on 31 attempts, but they couldn't match Tyrone's big-play abilities or overcome some of their own costly miscues.
Ridge turned the ball over three times and was penalized 7 times for 75 yards, and while only one turnover led to a score, all of those mistakes were drive killers.
Play of the game: With the game tied 7-7, Tyrone faced third-and-24 from the Ridge 47. Walk stepped up into the pocket under pressure and found Brayden Parsons open near the sideline, and the two connected for a 47-yard touchdown that put Tyrone ahead 14-7 with three minutes left in the first half. Just four plays before that, Woomer went to Parsons to convert another long first down, this one a 35-yard completion on third-and-21.
Soon after Tyrone held Ridge on downs at their own 35 and went on to cover 65 yards on 8 plays in the final 1:17 of the half to go up two scores. The deciding play was a 9-yard pass from Walk to Mason Emigh with just 5.9 second to go.
Player of the game: Woomer did it all, including overcoming an injury that took him from the game in the second quarter when he was sacked during Tyrone's second scoring drive. In all he contributed 129 yards of total offense and got the Eagles on the board first with a 23-yard strike on a slant to Emigh with 5:05 left in the first quarter. His numbers put him over 1,300 passing yards this season.
Unsung hero(es): Parsons had three receptions for 72 yards and broke up two passes on defense. Junior Dylan Robinson, meanwhile, caught 3 passes for 16 yards and had a sack.
Most vital statistic(s): The Lions were averaging just over 174 rushing yards per game, but the Eagles held Ridge to 105 yards on 26 carries, just a little more than 4 yards per try. It was a strong effort for Tyrone, which had been giving up more than 180 yards each game on the ground.
Tyrone Coach John Franco: "Eli ... what a player. He was banged up pretty good, but he refused to come out. He makes play after play after play. People don't even realize it. What a play that interception was. It's such a hard play to make when you get an interception when going in the opposite direction, and he did it like there was nothing to it. He was not going to let us lose this game."
Chestnut Ridge coach Max Shoemaker: "We didn't cash in several (opportunities) and we throw ourselves off schedule with senseless penalties and mistakes, and it came back to bite us in the end. But our kids played tough. There wasn't any quit, and we can build off that heading into the playoffs."
Eli Woomer: "I was putting everything into this game. There's nothing like winning your last home game, in front of your home crowd, and possibly moving up in the playoffs."
Notable: Woomer now has five interceptions in the last three games. For Tyrone, his pick was its 20th interception of the season, and it marked the second straight game the Eagles returned an interception for a score.
Records: Tyrone 6-4, Chestnut Ridge 4-6.
Next week: Tyrone will play at Huntingdon in the District 6 playoffs while Chestnut Ridge will compete in the District 5 playoffs.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Chestnut Ridge 0 7 6 0 – 13
Tyrone 7 14 7 0 - 28
First Quarter
T--Emigh 23 pass from Woomer (Novak kick) 5:05
Second Quarter
C - Imler 28 run (Howsare kick) 7:14
T--Parsons 47 pass from Walk (Novak kick) 3:00
T - M. Emigh 6 pass from Walk (Novak kick) :05.9
Third Quarter
T--Woomer 24 interception return (Novak kick) 8:25
C - Pincin 4 run (PAT kick blocked) 1:49
TEAM STATISTICS C T
First downs 10 13
Total yards 216 247
Rushes-yards 26-105 31-81
Yards passing 111 166
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 9-25-1 12-25-3
Punts-avg. 3-34.6 4-28
Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 7-75 5-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Chestnut Ridge Imler 12-75, Pincin 10-35, Barefoot 1-3, Hillegass 1-3, Team 2-(-9). Tyrone Whitby 8-16, Woomer 11-36, A. Emigh 12-29.
PASSING--Chestnut Ridge Pincin 9-25-111, 0 TD, 1 Int. Tyrone Woomer 7-14-83, 1 TD, 2 Ints.; Walk 5-11-83, 2 TDs, 1 Int.
RECEIVING--Chestnut Ridge Imler 1-7, Weyandt 1-7, Barefoot 2-38, Weaver 1-14, Emerick 3-21, Hillegass 1-26. Tyrone Woomer 2-38, Parsons 3-72, M. Emigh 3-44, Whitby 1-(-2), Robinson 3-16, Martin 1-24.