Tough call
Blue Devils drop Backyard Brawl after final drive ends on controversial play
Captains Jarryd Kissell, Duke Brunner, Ryan Moore, and Ethan McGee shake hands after the coin toss to start the Backyard Brawl.
August 27, 2016
If you were expecting the annual Backyard Brawl Friday between Bellwood-Antis and Tyrone to be a little less sharp than normal because it was moved up a week earlier than normal, you were wrong.
Despite the PIAA’s move to six classifications, which threw Pennsylvania’s high school football schedule for a loop by cutting the regular season down to nine games – a shift B-A and Tyrone opted out of to continue the Backyards Brawl, thereby foregoing a second scrimmage – the game had a lot of offensive punch.
Blue Devil senior quarterback Jarrett Taneyhill completed 13 of 27 passes for 240 yards, connecting with seven different receivers, and Tyrone’s Brandon Loose ran for 160 yards – 115 of which came in the second half – on 24 carries.
Kaylob Tatsch goes down after a short gain.
But in a game that surprisingly had a lot of offense if not a lot of scoring, the contest may have boiled down to one singular play, or more specifically a singular call.
And although Bellwood-Antis coach John Hayes wasn’t ready to pin B-A’s 15-12 loss d on that one call, it was nonetheless a big one.
Down by three late in the fourth, B-A was backed to its own 14, facing fourth and 15 after an illegal shift. Taneyhill winged one to classmate Brendan Kowalski, who zipped behind Tyrone’s Alex Weaver on the coverage, and made a diving reception for a 48-yard gain to the Tyrone 38.
Three plays later the Devils were at the Tyrone 27 when Taneyhill was sacked by Steve Colyer and Colby Pannebaker for a 7-yard loss.
Then, on fourth and 17, Taneyhill had Ryan Moore wide open over the middle for first down yardage, and the pass was on the money. Weaver broke the pass up on a play that could have easily gone for pass interference.
Whether he got there early to blow up the reception or whether he knocked the ball away before contact was the issue at hand.
The officials said it was clean, setting off a chorus of boos from the visitor’s stands at Gray-Veterans Memorial Field in Tyrone.
The Golden Eagles took over with 1:45 to play and were able to run out the clock, thanks to four consecutive runs by Loose for 22 yards.
“It was a pretty good pass interference that wasn’t called,” said Hayes. “I thought it was, the official thought it wasn’t. He rules. Bottom line. I thought he got there early, but that’s 50-50.”
However, Hayes said while the no-call was costly it’s difficult to say it made or broke the game for the Devils.
Tyrone coach Jason Wilson said from his vantage point, Weaver was able to make the play without initiating contact early.
“From my point of view, I thought he got the left hand around and knocked the ball down before he hit the receiver,” Wilson said. “That’s how we teach them to defend the ball. One hand goes in front to knock it down, the other hand is ready to wrap them up if you don’t.”
With or without that play, Taneyhill and his receiving corps had a special rhythm going most of the game. He was sharp early, completing a pair of deep passes on BA’s first drive to stake the Blue Devils to a 6-0 lead. Facing third and 18 from his own 18, Taneyhill hooked up with Nick Watters for 35 yards and a first down to the Tyrone 47. Then, on second and six from the 31 he lofted a perfectly place pass to the fingertips of Duke Brunner behind Tyrone’s secondary for a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Kowalski missed the PAT, but BA had the lead at the 4:17 mark.
After the teams exchanged possessions, Tyrone got the ball back in the second quarter and drove 67 yards in 3 minutes to take the lead. Loose played a big role, carrying five straight times for 45 yards, including a 23-yard gain to the BA 22. Sophomore quarterback Denver Light capped the drive when he ran off left tackle for a 5-yard score. Ethan Vipond kicked the PAT to give Tyrone a 7-6 lead with 7:36 until halftime.
But Bellwood-Antis answered quickly. Ethan McGee returned the ensuing kick 30 yards to the 46, and three plays later Taneyhill hit the speedy Nate Friedenberger for 14 yards to the Tyrone 40. A 15-yard pass to Sawyer Kline got the ball to the 25, and on second and 9 Taneyhill hooked up with Moore for 23 yards to the 1.
Watters blasted in on the next play, but the two-point conversion try failed. Still, the Devils had a 12-7 lead at halftime.
“We have some guys who have talent,” said Hayes. “We expect that kind of effort from Jarrett. We need to block a little better for him. But give their guys credit. They rushed and they got to him.”
Tyrone got the lead back on its first series of the second half, after holding the Devils to a three-play possession. It was almost entirely a ground-based attack, with Gary Weaver and Loose doing the damage. A 13-yard pass from Light to Parker Mitchell got Tyrone into B-A territory, and back-to-back runs of 13 and 9 yards by Loose had the ball at the Devils’ 9 before a holding penalty set it back to the 25.
On fourth and 15, Light went deep to Alex Weaver in the back corner of the end zone, and the first-year senior out-leaped the coverage to come away with the go-ahead score with 6:06 left in the third.
Tyrone went for two on the PAT try, and Light found Loose out of the backfield for the conversion to make it 15-12.
B-A penetrated inside of Tyrone’s 30 twice in the fourth quarter, but each time the Blue Devils were turned away on downs. Both stops were keys by sacks, with Michael Lewis derailing one drive with a 7-yard sack before Colyer and Pannebaker combined for theirs on the final drive.
One major key to the game lost in the numbers put up by Taneyhill was B-A’s inability to run the football effectively. Brunner was hampered by the lingering effects of an ankle sprain, carrying just one time. In all-Blue Devils rushers accumulated just 20 yards on 19 carries compared to 257 yards on the ground for Tyrone. Hayes said it was a problem.
Wilson said he expected a strong showing from the Blue Devils, despite the lopsided ending to last year’s Brawl, a 41-6 Tyrone victory in Bellwood.
“Last year it just got away from them,” he said. “Typically, the Backyard Brawl is a close game, and this followed suit with all of the other years.”
For his part, Taneyhill said he was proud of the heart his team showed.
“Props to Tyrone for stopping us when they needed to,” he said. “Obviously we wanted to get a win, but tonight we showed that we are a group of fighters, and I’m proud of everyone for fighting until the end. We’ll bounce back.”
David Veneziale • Aug 27, 2016 at 4:23 pm
Don’t put pressure on the kids,let them develope on there own. They played a he’ll of a game last night.