“We talked about it all week,” Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. “We knew that if you lose this one, you go home. We knew it was a difficult game, especially on the offensive line. We had trouble with them on the D-line in the first game of the year (back in Week 2).”

From the opening kickoff, the Golden Tigers were determined to ensure that they took control of the game, and it started by scoring just four plays into the game, thanks to a 32-yard touchdown run by Carter Muth, in a 69-8 District 6-8-9-10 Class 5A semifinal win Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Dragons were pinned right at their own 3-yard line, and that led to a fumble which was covered up by defensive lineman Bravin Matthews in the end zone.

“I saw the ball on the ground, the snap was fumbled, so I just dove on it and got on it,” he said of the scoring chance.

Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Hollidaysburg’s Josh Banks puts a hit on Allderdice’s Jayson Crew on Friday night.

That was the first of three touchdowns scored by the defense — two of which came in the second half.

“I’ve never been part of a game where the defense scored three times,” DeLattre said. “That was awesome to see that.

“Our defense runs to the ball very well. When the ball is on the ground, we’re usually pretty close because of our effort and the mentality the defensive coaches present that you need to get to the ball.”

Sequence of the game: After giving up a pick-6 late in the first quarter, on the next possession Hollidaysburg quarterback Cole DeLattre responded with a 54-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown. After the Golden Tiger defense recovered another fumble on the next drive, Muth turned that into a 16-yard run, which put the game away.

Players of the game: The entirety of the Hollidaysburg defense, which held the Allderdice offense to less than half a yard per carry on the ground while taking the ball away four times which helped account for 28 points.

Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Hollidaysburg’s Bravin Matthews (76) pounces on an Allderdice fumble in the end zone for a touchdown on Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

Man on the run: Muth racked up 137 yards on 14 carries during the first half alone. He finished with 15 carries for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

DeLattre on Muth: “He slides out, so he’s tough to get down. Very rarely does one guy tackle him. That’s a credit to the offensive line being able to mix the run game with the quarterback run. When he’s in space, he’s pretty hard to bring down. He’s pretty explosive.”

Flag on the play: Both teams were penalized a combined 24 times for 204 yards. Hollidaysburg had 12 of them for 96 yards.

DeLattre: “We had a lot of penalties, we have to clean those things up. Some personal foul kind of things, and we got have a little bit more self-control, but I’m proud of the way they responded, especially in the second half.”

Allderdice coach Mark Matson: “I don’t know necessarily that they did anything different, they just (played) a lot better. We were banged up and missing a few key pieces. We were just a little outmatched tonight. They were bigger, stronger, faster, executed better. It is what it is. They handed it to us.”

Notable: The Golden Tigers won the first matchup between the two teams 28-16 when they last met at Tiger Stadium. … Hollidaysburg did not punt for the second week in a row. … It also outgained Allderdice by a 327-107 margin in total offense — 258-15 on the ground. … The Tigers also matched their season-high point total, having reached that same mark against Williamsport.

Records: Allderdice (4-6), Hollidaysburg (11-0)

Next week: Hollidaysburg will host DuBois in the District 6-8-9-10 Class 5A championship. Allderdice’s season is finished.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Allderdice 8 0 0 0 – 8

Hollidaysburg 28 13 14 14 – 69

First Quarter

H–Muth 32 run (Walters kick), 10:54.

H–Matthews 0 fumble return (Walters kick), 10:06.

A–Turner 35 interception return (Turner pass from Scott), 2:07.

H–DeLattre 54 run (Walters kick), 1:22.

H–Muth 16 run (Walters kick), :12.

Second Quarter

H–Coke 18 pass from Albarano (Walters kick), 5:59.

H–Muth 1 run (pass failed), 2:16.

Third Quarter

H–Consiglio 7 run (Peters kick), 8:04.

H–DeStefano 100 interception return (Peters kick), 1:31.

Fourth Quarter

H–Kennedy 19 run (Hileman kick), 4:06.

H–Vent 15 fumble return (Hileman kick), 3:25.

TEAM STATISTICS A H

First downs 7 16

Total yards 107 327

Rushes-yards 31-15 31-258

Yards passing 92 69

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 3-13-1 6-8-1

Punts-avg. 4-37.3 0-0

Fumbles-lost 6-3 2-1

Penalties-yards 12-108 12-96

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Allderdice, Scott 8-(-3), Turner 12-4, Christian 3-(-1), Beachaum 4-18, Thompson 1-(-3), Oden 1-4, TEAM 2-(-4). Hollidaysburg, Muth 15-143, DeLattre 4-59, Consiglio 2-10, Snyder 4-25, Garlick 2-2, Wallace 1-6, Kennedy 1-19, TEAM 2-(-6).

PASSING–Allderdice, Turnere 3-7-1-92, Beachaum 0-3-1-0, Christian 0-3-0-0. Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 5-7-1-51, Albarano 1-1-0-18.

RECEIVING–Allderdice, Crew 3-92. Hollidaysburg, Banks 4-50, Stultz 1-1, Coke 1-18.