DORMONT, Pa. — The Beaver Falls Tigers, coming off of three straight WPIAL Championship appearances, have gone overlooked this season after a massive overturn in their starting roster. One mainstay that contributed in the seasons prior, Da’Talian Beauford, ran with authority en route to a 185-yard, two-touchdown day as the Tigers upset the Golden Eagles, 20-7, in the first round of the Class-2A playoffs.
“We came into the game trying to feed me because last game I showed that I can tote the ball the whole game,” Beauford told PSN after the game. “So, they fed me, and I came out with the mindset that nobody can stop me. Then, I showed them on the field.”
Entering Friday night, most people wrote the Tigers off and counted the first-round game as a Keystone Oaks victory due to the Golden Eagles being seeded higher. By the end of the game, it was the furthest thing from the expectation as the Tigers upset the Golden Eagles on the back of Beauford.
“Of course, we got overlooked,” Beauford said with a smile. “We were the 10th seed and they thought they were going to come in here and just dog us but nah, we still got that dog in us. We are still Beaver Falls, and we are going to come to fight every time.”
While Beauford was a contributor in previous seasons, this is the first year that the senior started at the running back position. Back in the summer, Beauford recognized that he was going to be somebody that the team heavily relied on during the season and had to overcome the conditioning that it took to be in starting shape.
“I basically knew that my team needed me this year,” Beauford said. “At first it was hard; conditioning was hard for me. So, I had to get through that and now I get to show it on the field on Friday nights.”
While the 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back does not currently hold a collegiate offer, he stated that the interest is rolling in from schools such as Edinboro and Fairmont State.
Before Beauford starts to seriously look into his future plans in regard to playing football at the next level, he and the Tigers will look to continue to shock the WPIAL and attempt to make their fourth straight Championship appearance.
To do so, the Tigers will need to pull off another road upset at No. 2 Neshannock next week. The Tigers narrowly fell to Neshannock in September, falling 27-26. According to Beauford, this is a game that not only he wanted but the entire Tigers team wanted another shot at the Lancers.
“Our confidence is high,” Beauford explained. “We wanted this game. We wanted it all season since that loss.”
