Trending
TYRONE -- As far as the District 6 Class 3A playoffs go, Tyrone is fighting just to stay in the hunt. The Golden Eagles had fallen in their last three games, including a controversial one at Huntingdon last week.
The Golden Eagle faithful are feeling at least a little better after Friday as Tyrone kept its postseason hopes alive with a 17-14 win over Penn Cambria at Gray Veterans Memorial Field.
With not much happening on the offensive end through three quarters, Tyrone got a pair of touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter.
Golden Eagle running back Reid Starr bulldozed his way for two long gains of 38 and 23 yards on the first two plays of the fourth quarter, and quarterback Ben Walk followed with a QB sneak for a touchdown to put Tyrone up 10-6.
The ensuing Penn Cambria drive ended on an interception by Tyrone's Jon Stroup, and Starr and Co. went back to work for an eight-play drive that ended on a 35-yard TD pass from Walk to Mason Emigh with 3:15 remaining.
"They say, 'You have to find other options other than Mason Emigh.' He hasn't been stopped yet," Tyrone coach Jason Jones said. "We're just going to ride that for the rest of the season."
"He had 10 seconds to throw the football," Penn Cambria coach Jason Grassi said. "We didn't get any pressure on the quarterback. He was the backside receiver. He dragged the whole way across the field. We have to get to the quarterback, and we didn't."
The Panthers got a 64-yard run from QB Evan Latterner down to the Tyrone 6-yard line before Latterner hit Nate Mack for a 6-yard TD pass on third down. Bruising Penn Cambria running back Corbin Vinglish, who had 116 rushing yards, pounded in the two-point conversion.
"You have to put so much emphasis on stopping (Vinglish)," Jones said. "There are so many good runners in this conference. He is the best. He is the toughest runner. How many times tonight did we try to tackle him and he'd bounce off? I thought we played really well defensively. Defense kept us in it tonight."
Play of the game: With Tyrone up 10-6, Walk had to buy time to find an open receiver and threw a perfect strike to Emigh for a 35-yard TD pass to put the Golden Eagles up two possessions at 17-6 with 3:15 left in the game.
Player of the game: Starr did not find the end zone, but he set up both touchdowns in the fourth quarter with his punishing runs. He finished the night with 21 carries for 124 yards.
Unsung heroes: The Golden Eagle defense gave up yards but had a true 'bend but don't break' mentality for the night that gave their team a chance in the end.
Most vital statistic: Penn Cambria had the ball four times in Tyrone territory, including twice in the red zone, and came away with no points.
"We've been pretty good at punching it in, especially lately," Grassi said. "Give credit to Tyrone. We had four opportunities to score touchdowns and we didn't get anything out of it. It's frustrating."
Jones: "The thing about us is we're not a 4-4 team. We should be much better than that record-wise and I feel for our seniors. But hats off to them for being able to say, 'We're 3-4, senior night here, a win gets us back (in the playoff hunt).' We need a little bit of help, but you never know what's going to happen."
Grassi: "Every game is a playoff game moving forward. We said that the last couple weeks. Everyone is clawing for that last spot. We just have to win the next one, and that's all our focus is."
Starr: "It's a good momentum shift. We still have a chance at playoffs now. I never thought we were going to lose the game"
Notable: Penn Cambria is still in fourth place in the District 6 Class 3A standings, while Tyrone is right behind in fifth place. The top four move on to the postseason. ... The Panthers fumbled the ball three times in the game, but recovered each of them. ... While Vinglish had 116 yards on the ground, Latterner beat him by 1 yard with 117 for the night.
Records: Penn Cambria (5-3); Tyrone (4-4)
Next week: Penn Cambria hosts Johnstown, while Tyrone visits Philipsburg-Osceola.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn Cambria 0 6 0 8 -- 14
Tyrone 3 0 0 14 -- 17
First Quarter
T--Novak 28 field goal, :51.8
Second Quarter
PC--Latterner 15 run, (kick blocked), 1:13
Fourth Quarter
T--Walk 1 run, (Novak kick), 10:45
T--Emigh 35 pass from Walk, (Novak kick), 3:15
PC--Mack 6 pass from Latterner, (Vinglish run), 2:06
TEAM STATISTICS PC T
First downs 17 14
Total yards 338 249
Rushes-yards 44-254 31-151
Yards passing 79 98
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-18-1 10-20-0
Punts-avg. 2-31.5 4-40
Fumbles-lost 3-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-50 3-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Penn Cambria, Latterner 21-117, Vinglish 18-116, Beck 5-21. Tyrone, Starr 21-124, Walk 4-23, Emigh 1-12, Robinson 1-2, Team 3-(-3), Stroup 1-(-7).
PASSING--Penn Cambria, Latterner 8-18-1-79. Tyrone, Walk 10-20-0-98.
RECEIVING--Penn Cambria, Coudriet 3-24, Vinglish 2-21, Beck 1-20, Jones 1-8, Mack 1-6. Tyrone, Emigh 3-48, Parks 2-22, Stroup 4-20, Starr 1-8.