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By KERRY NAYLOR At 5-fot-5, it’s pretty easy for Tyrone senior Derrick Emigh to fly under the radar in a crowded high school hallway. The football field is a different story. Emigh entered last night’s game against Central Mountain second in scoring for the Golden Eagles and ranked No. 2 in Pennsylvania in kick return yardage. There’s little anonymity in numbers like those. Still, Wildcat coach Steve Turchetta said he wasn’t too familiar with Emigh before last night’s game at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field. Chances are good he knows him now. Emigh scored three touchdowns against Central Mountain – twice on pass receptions and once on a punt return – and accounted for 168 all-purpose yards in Tyrone’s 28-0 victory on Homecoming. “He didn’t really show up on the film we had watched,” said Turchetta, whose Wildcats dipped to 2-4 with their second straight loss. “He must have just stepped up tonight and done a really good job. He really came out of nowhere.” Not quite nowhere. Emigh’s 46-yard punt return in the third quarter was his third kick-return touchdown this season and his two touchdown receptions came on the heels of a game-tying touchdown catch last week at Central. So, while Emigh did step up, his performance wasn’t a fluke. “Derrick Emigh is one of our key guys, and he just made plays,” said Tyrone coach John Franco. The win allowed Tyrone to improve to 6-0 on the season heading back into Nittany Division play next week against Bald Eagle Area. But it was a strange victory in several ways. Tyrone could manage just 44 rushing yards against the bigger Wildcats, and ran just 38 offensive plays. What’s more, throughout the first half the Eagles found it as difficult to stop Central Mountain’s running game as it was to find their own. In fact, the ‘Cats were on the verge of scoring a touchdown that could have broken a 0-0 tie late in the first half before a momentum-changing turnover altered the complexion of the game. Central Mountain drove 72 yards on 11 plays on their first series of the second quarter , employing nine rushes and consuming seven minutes of game time. The ‘Cats converted once on fourth down with a three-yard run by Zach Corl and camped on Tyrone’s doorstep, facing third-and-goal at the 2. Central Mountain turned to Corl, its 275-pound fullback, but he was stuffed on a run up the middle and fumbled. JD Dorminy recovered for Tyrone at the 4 with four minutes left in the half. That was where the major difference between the Eagles and Wildcats became most apparent because while a score for Central Mountain meant a long, arduous journey forged by time-consuming running plays, a score for the Eagles was something that could come on any play once their passing game established a rhythm. It did so on a third-and-9 pass from Steve Franco to Nick Patton that covered 26 yards. The play was set back 15 yards after Patton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, but a 9-yard run by Christian Getz and three passes by Franco made it a moot point. Franco hit Emigh on second down for 12 yards to the 37 and Patton for 15 to the Wildcats’ 48. The Eagles then set up a screen for Dorminy, who raced 47 yards to the 1. Franco pushed it in himself from there, and with 35 seconds left in the half –a half dominated by Central Mountain – Tyrone had a 7-0 lead. “That was the biggest drive,” said Turchetta. “I don’t think the turnover (hurt us as much) as that 96-yard drive. That deflated us a bit.” “That was a big key,” said Coach Franco. “They pretty much dominated the first half, and we came out with seven points. They played pretty well, but we didn’t execute in the first half. They took it to us early, but we responded each time.” For the second straight week, Dorminy’s punting allowed Tyrone to dictate field position in the second half. He booted a 42-yarder to the Wildcats’ 15 after Tyrone’s first series of the second half went nowhere, and his second kick, which covered 43 yards, pinned Central Mountain at its own 12. Each time, the Wildcats could manage just three plays before punting. On the second, Emigh took the kick at his own 46, broke containment to the outside down the right sideline, and then sliced back to the middle through the coverage for his second punt-return touchdown of the season. Jared Templeton’s kick made it 14-0 with 4:17 left in the third quarter. “That was definitely a big momentum swing,” Emigh said. “It’s always big when we can score on the special teams.” Down two scores, Central Mountain became its own worst enemy. The Wildcats were flagged on Emigh’s score for a personal foul on a late hit, and on their ensuing possession they were penalized three times for 15 yards. Their punt to end the series was partially blocked by Ben Makdad, setting the Eagles up at the Central Mountain 23. It took just three plays from there for Tyrone to hit pay-dirt again, this time on a 20-yardpass from Franco to Emigh on a middle screen on the first play of the fourth quarter. “Our receivers make me look good because they can catch the ball (on short passes) and give me all these yards,” said Steve Franco, who finished the game 7-for-10 for 221 yards and a pair of scores. “It’s a team effort. The line gives me enough time to get them the ball, and they make plays.” The Eagles’ last score came with their backs to their own goal line as they were trying to work the clock. A holding penalty that negated a 38-yard run by Zach Burke had Tyrone on its own 10 and facing third-and-14, but Franco and Emigh were able to hook up again, this time on a stop-and-go move by Emigh that got him behind the coverage. Emigh caught the pass at the 30 and outran Cameron Blazina to the end zone. “We needed to use our speed to offset their size advantage,” said Franco. “I thought we did that pretty well.” To that point, Tyrone’s three second-half touchdowns came despite running only 18 plays from scrimmage to Central Mountain’s 32. GRID TIDBITS: Markus Wagner turned away a Central Mountain drive
in the fourth quarter that advanced to the Tyrone 11 with an interception
… the ‘Cats were inside Tyrone’s 30 three times
without scoring …. Franco eclipsed the 1,000-yard passing
mark for the season with his third career 200-yard passing game. Second Quarter Receiving |
Tyrone Golden Eagles Football 