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Mountain Lions improving each week

Altoona is returning to Mansion Park Friday when it hosts Central Dauphin the same way it left it three weeks ago, a .500 team.

But things have changed.

The Mountain Lions were coming off a 20-point loss to Chambersburg when they hit the road after Week 4. They return in Week 7 with a Mid-Penn League victory and no doubt that they can compete week in and week out in the league.

“The big thing about (beating Carlisle last Friday) was that we played a complete game and we were able to finish,” Altoona coach Nick Felus said. “We put ourselves in position to compete, and we did that. We still have corrections to make, but the kids made adjustments at the end, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Altoona played well enough to win the week before in its overtime loss to Central Dauphin East, and Felus said the Lions have decided to work on themselves rather than concentrate too much on their opponents.

“Central Dauphin is well-coached, solid and do a lot of things well,” Felus said. “It will be a challenge, but we want to take care of us and narrow our focus on things we need to improve and get better at them.”

Felus saw plenty of improvement against Carlisle.

“Last week we wanted to take care of the football,” Felus said. “We just had one turnover, and they had four. If you can win the turnover battle, you’re usually going to be good. This week we want to be better on third down and defensively we have to tackle better.”

Having Mitchell Lawhead, who is a weapon both in the running game and passing game, should certainly help. He’s scored 14 touchdowns in just six games this season.

“He’s an outstanding individual from athletics to academics,” Felus said. “We’re extremely proud of him. Even the way he practices. He goes hard on every rep, and when you practice like that, you’re able to make plays. His touchdown runs to win us that game is a testament to his strength training and endurance.”

The Lions did suffer another health scare Friday as Adam Sinisi collapsed before a kickoff and was taken to the hospital, where he remained through the weekend.

“Adam is doing much better and we’re expecting him to come back (Tuesday),” Felus said earlier this week. “He’s doing much, much better and in good spirits. He told me he just wants to make sure the team is ready to play and wants us to go out and get a win.”

Ready for stretch run

Hollidaysburg dropped to 2-4 after a tough, 21-17, loss to McDowell last Friday, but with a trip to Mill Hall and a game against Central Mountain scheduled this week, Golden Tigers coach Homer DeLattre is feeling optimistic.

“We were able to be competitive with some great teams,” DeLattre said. “That’s what we strive to do, and that’s why we play a challenging schedule. The teams we’ve lost to were 18-4 going into last week. We’re battle-tested and ready for these last four games and a run in the playoffs.”

DeLattre said his team simply needs to put all the puzzle pieces together at the same time, something he also sees in his opponent this week.

“Central Mountain is winless, but play hard,” DeLattre said. “They have potential and good size up front with a good quarterback who runs and passes well. They have yet to put a full game together, but they’ve been good on both sides in spots, just not at the same time. We have to prepare as if we’re going to get their best effort of the year.”

Hollidaysburg has been dealing with a major injury the past two weeks, missing lineman Josh Howells. Howells will not play Friday, but he’s expected to return before the regular season ends.

“We have been missing one of our best offensive lineman in Josh,” DeLattre said. “He hasn’t played the last two weeks, and he’s a guy who has started 24 games. Guys have been doing a good job filling in, but it’s tough to replace a guy like that who is 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds.”

ICC battle

Claysburg-Kimmel and Juniata Valley both won high-scoring shootouts last week and will meet in Claysburg Friday.

The Bulldogs trailed for most of their game against Mount Union while the Green Hornets held off a furious rally from previously unbeaten Tussey Mountain.

“We’re a lot better coming off a win than we would be a loss,” Bilchak said. “We’re feeling good, haven’t had a lot of injures and when we have we’ve had guys step in and fill those roles.”

The teams met in Alexandria last year, with Claysburg-Kimmel coming out on top, 29-25. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Bulldogs in their series with the Green Hornets.

“Juniata Valley is a pretty good football team that’s a couple plays away from being 5-1 or 6-0,” Bilchak said. “We’re going in not taking them for granted. We played them tough at their field last year, and I’m sure they’d like to get revenge on us this year.”

Juniata Valley handed Southern Huntingdon and Tussey Mountain their first losses in back-to-back weeks while improving to 4-2 and inching up on Claysburg in the District 6 Class 1A playoff field. Claysburg currently holds the No. 3 spot while Juniata Valley is fourth.

“We are really happy with how we’re playing,” Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. “We’re coming into our own as a team and a unit while showing consistency.”

Musser knows Friday will be another tough challenge for his team.

“They are an athletic team with a solid line up front,” Musser said. “They maybe aren’t that big, but they are quick and play hard and play to the whistle. We are going to have to match their athletes across the board when we are on defense.”

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