BY MIKE MASTOVICH
SIDMAN — Forest Hills’ success in 2009 might actually have roots in the disappointment of 2007.
At least that’s part of the reason for the 12-0 Rangers’ success, according to veteran coach Don Bailey, whose team will play perennial power Tyrone in tonight’s District 6 Class AA championship game at Mansion Park.
“It never gets old,” said Bailey, who earned his 300th win during Week 10. “These kids that we have now, this will be their first championship game. When they were sophomores we had a losing season at 4-6. They vowed then
that it would never happen again. They’ve certainly come around. As juniors they were 10-2. This year they’ve been 12-0. They’re going to give it their best.”
Top-seeded Forest Hills certainly will face a big challenge against 10-2 Tyrone, a program quite accustomed to advancing deep into the postseason.
Coach John Franco’s Golden Eagles are 5-2 all-time against the Rangers in the district playoffs and 3-0 in 6-AA title games.
“They have an advantage over us. They’ve beaten us five times, and we’ve beaten them twice,” Bailey said. “We’ve had some very good football games between us. A matter of fact, the year they won the state championship in 1999 was one of the best games we’ve had against them. It went down to the wire, and they won it. I think John would tell you we might have been the toughest team they played that year.”
Both the Rangers and Golden Eagles have big-play threats on offense, but their respective defenses have made the teams special.
Forest Hills has piled up
366 points while holding the opposition to 69 points in
12 games. No team has scored in double digits against the Rangers.
Tyrone has outscored the opposition by a combined
263-111 and also has a stout defense.
“Two mirror programs that play good defense, like to run the ball but can throw the ball,” Bailey said. “At times both of us throw the ball a lot.”
The Golden Eagles have displayed balance on offense.
Sophomore quarterback Steve Franco has completed 87 of 157 pass for 1,430 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“He’s going to be a good one,” Bailey said of the young Franco, who is the coach’s son. “He’s going to be a real good quarterback before he leaves Tyrone. Whatever records they have, I think he’ll have them one day.”
His top targets are senior Eric Desch, who has 47 catches for 743 yards and six touchdowns, and sophomore Nick Patton, who has 17 receptions for 523 yards and five scores.
On the ground, the Eagles are led by senior Levi Reihart’s 1,147 yards and 14 touchdowns on 209 carries. Last season, Reihart was Tyrone’s quarterback, and he threw for 1,480 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2008.
“Reihart has good speed and good vision. He makes a lot of moves and makes big plays for them,” Bailey said.
Defensively Tyrone has allowed 9.3 points a game. Desch has five interceptions, and Steve Franco and junior Ian Murray each have three picks. Junior Jared Templeton has six sacks.
The Rangers also play stingy defense, allowing a paltry 5.75 points a game.
Senior Adam Wingard has 76 tackles, including 11 sacks and one interception. Senior Bob Oshaben has 55 stops with 11 sacks. Senior Chris Moss has six interceptions, and four other players have two picks each.
“We know in order to beat a team like Tyrone we have to be at our very best on defense and on offense,” Bailey said. “We’re asking our defense to play as well as they have been all year, and we’re asking our offense to play a lot better.”
Forest Hills has rushed for 2,810 yards, which translates into 234.2 a game and 5.92 per carry.
Junior Nick Dudukovich has 1,486 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on 179 carries. Sophomore Anthony Unger (77-640, 10 touchdowns) and junior Jeff Meier (106-506, one) also are threats.
Experienced quarterback Zack Glessner has thrown for 1,065 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. The senior has completed 72 of 118 passes.
Moss caught 27 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns. Dudukovich had 327 receiving yards and four scores on 16 catches. Senior Chris Lazration (14-157, two touchdowns) and junior Jared McCombie (9-176, two) also are targets for Glessner.
“The thing that I like the most is that they’re all underclassmen,” Bailey said of his top three running backs. “Jeff Meier has been an outstanding fullback. Nick Dudukovich has had an outstanding season. Anthony Unger has made some big plays for us all year long. He’d probably have close to 1,000 yards, but he’s had four or five plays called back after long runs.”
The Rangers and Eagles met in the 6-AA title game in 2003 (Tyrone won 31-7), 1999 (Tyrone 22-8) and 1996 (Tyrone 32-14). The teams also met in the district playoffs in 2006 (Tyrone
22-16), 2002 (Forest Hills 21-13), 2001 (Forest Hills 30-29) and 1997 (Tyrone 29-0).
Forest Hills has won seven District 6 titles, with six in Class AA (2005, 2002, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991) and one in Class AAA (1985).
Tyrone has won district gold eight times, with seven in 6-AA (2004, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, 1995) and one in Class AAA (1987).
While both programs are accustomed to big-game pressure, Bailey said it’s best to approach the title game in the same manner the team did during the previous 12 weeks.
“You almost have to try to prepare the same way you do for any regular season game except that the stakes are a lot higher,” Bailey said. “Hopefully you don’t commit any turnovers. Hopefully you don’t have any costly penalties. Hopefully your kicking game is in order.”
