Football

Tigers taken down by Ramblers

EBENSBURG -- Cathedral Prep is ranked among the top Class 5A football teams in the state, and the Ramblers showcased why Friday night.

With starting junior quarterback Carter Barnes -- who has accounted for 19 passing and 12 rushing touchdowns, as well as 1,136 passing and 440 rushing yards -- sidelined with an injury that required a walking boot, Cathedral Prep never missed a beat offensively in rolling to a 48-7 victory over Hollidaysburg in a PIAA District 6-8-10 subregional matchup at Central Cambria High School Stadium.

Senior scatback Michael Parks accounted for 183 first-half rushing yards on 11 carries, including first-quarter touchdown runs of 84 and 20 yards, while backup sophomore quarterback Luke Costello completed 9-of-15 passes for 194 yards and three second-quarter touchdowns, as Prep raced to a 41-0 halftime lead and set the mercy-rule clock in motion for the entire second half.

Hollidaysburg, which last week won the District 6 Class 5A championship for the second straight year, was unable to cope with the Ramblers' outstanding speed.

"They're a really good team, and they're really fast,'' Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said of Prep. "Speed is the name of the game in football.''

The Golden Tigers finished 6-5. Cathedral Prep (10-1) will advance to the first round of the PIAA playoffs and a game next week against East Stroudsburg South, which defeated Whitehall, 47-41 in overtime Friday.

Play of the game: Parks, a 5-foot-7 speedster, broke through the middle of the field and then cut left to the sideline on his 84-yard touchdown run less than four minutes into the game to set the tone for Cathedral Prep's big first half.

Players of the game: Parks had a monster first half, and Costello did more than just manage the game when called upon to start, excelling while throwing touchdown passes to three junior wideouts -- Damario Crawford, Camariyon Bridges, and Wakeem Page -- in the first half. Crawford caught a 15-yard scoring strike, Bridges caught a 50-yard TD pass, and Page hauled in a TD pass that covered 57 yards.

Unsung heroes: In a losing effort, Hollidaysburg senior wideout Justin Wolfe caught seven passes for 181 yards -- including a 39-yard touchdown pass -- from senior quarterback Jake McGinnis, who completed 9-of-24 passes for 194 yards. Wolfe also made an interception on defense. "Jake had a great night tonight, and threw the ball really well,'' DeLattre said. "Wolfie made some great catches and showed that he can play this game at an extremely high level.''

Most vital statistic: Prep totally dominated the first half, scoring touchdowns on six of its first eight possessions, outrushing Hollidaysburg, 263 yards to 15, and holding the Golden Tigers scoreless.

Cathedral Prep coach Mike Mischler: "We were hitting on all cylinders in the first half offensively, and defensively, we played very well. I thought that we played a complete game in the first half.''

DeLattre: "I'm real proud of our players for what they accomplished this year. They battled through some injuries and adversity, and worked extremely hard all year in practice. The leadership of our seniors this year was incredible.''

Parks on his touchdown runs: "I give all the props to my linemen. I got some really good blocks, and I took it to the house to help us win this game.

Wolfe: "Obviously, things didn't go the way that we wanted tonight. We didn't start off well, and things just snowballed. It is what it is. It's nice to win another district championship, but Coach DeLattre is setting the standard higher for this program and the goal now is to win state playoff games.''

Notable: Sophomore back Suhtaun Lewis ran 47 yards for a second-quarter touchdown for Prep, which compiled 511 yards in total offense, including 314 on the ground ... Bridges also returned an intercepted pass 63 yards for a third-quarter score for Prep ... Carmelo Mclaurin intercepted a pass and Aden Wentz and Timothy Swanson recovered fumbles for Prep, while Chris Miknis recovered a fumble for Hollidaysburg.

Records: Cathedral Prep (10-1); Hollidaysburg (6-5).

Next week: Cathedral Prep advances to the PIAA first round against East Stroudsburg South. Hollidaysburg's season is complete.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Cathedral Prep 14 27 7 0-- 48

Hollidaysburg 0 0 7 0-- 7

First Quarter

CP--Parks 84 run (Constable kick), 8:04.

CP--Parks 20 run (Constable kick), 6:47.

Second Quarter

CP--Crawford 15 pass from Costello (Constable kick), 11:06.

CP--Bridges 50 pass from Costello (run failed), 8:57.

CP--Lewis 47 run (Constable kick), 3:43.

CP--Page 57 pass from Costello (Constable kick), 1:00.

Third Quarter

H--Wolfe 39 pass from McGinnis (Sosnowski kick), 6:41.

CP--Bridges 63 interception return (Constable kick), 2:43.

TEAM STATISTICS CP H

First downs 19 11

Total yards 508 279

Rushes-yards 37-314 25-85

Yards passing 194 194

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 9-15-1 9-26-2

Punts-avg. 3-43 7-30.2

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2

Penalties-yards 5-40 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Cathedral Prep, Parks 15-183, Lewis 7-77, Latouf 5-25, Costello 5-20, Holliingsworth 2-4, Constable 1-4, Kelly 1-1. Hollidaysburg, Bainey 13-64, Ransom 5-30, McGinnis 5-(-5), Rossman 1-(-4).

PASSING: Cathedral Prep, Costello 9-15-1-194. Hollidaysburg, McGinnis 9-24-2-194, Rossman 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING: Cathedral Prep, Page 3-80, Crawford 4-51, Bridges 1-50, Simon 1-13. Hollidaysburg, Wolfe 7-181, Wyland 2-13.