Mirror file photo Josh Banks stood out on defense and offense for Hollidaysburg this season.

Josh Banks and the Hollidaysburg Area High School football team have been on the same trajectory for his entire varsity career.

The Golden Tigers and Banks both adapted who they were and how they played to develop into one of the most successful teams and players at the Class 5A level in the state.

Banks capped off that tremendous transformation by being named the Altoona Mirror’s Football Player of the Year, and his coach — Homer DeLattre — was selected as the Mirror’s Football Coach of the Year for the first time after leading Hollidaysburg for the last 13 seasons.

“I have never had a player be the (Mirror’s) Player of the Year as long as I have been here,” DeLattre said. “We have had a lot of great players who played at a lot of different levels of college football, but there’s not a more deserving person than him because of his offseason dedication, his leadership and his ability on the field. All the things we ask in our program — to be hard-working, dedicated, have self control, be prepared and don’t be complacent — all those things we talk about consistently, he is that. He is the model of our program.”

Banks said he’s had help from his coach.

“In my opinion, he’s the best coach in the state of Pennsylvania,” Banks said. “Along the way, he’s helped me so much with doing the right thing and taking me step by step to get to where I wanted to be. I talked to him way back in January about going to college and playing football in college. Ultimately, he’s helped me get to where I am with the offers that I have.”

DeLattre, who led Hollidaysburg to a District 6-8-9-10 regional championship and a 13-0 mark until the Golden Tigers lost to eventual Class 5A champion Roman Catholic in the PIAA quarterfinals, finished second in the voting last year.

This season his vote total of 46 was 21 votes ahead of runner-up Justin Wheeler of Bishop Guilfoyle Academy. The Marauders won another District 6 title and advanced to the PIAA Class 1A title game before losing to Clairton. Penn Cambria’s Jason Grassi was third with 24 after leading the Panthers to a District 6 title and a return trip to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals.

“It means a lot,” DeLattre said. “It’s humbling. I have goosebumps right now thinking about it. I don’t expect stuff like this. I’m not a big award guy, but to hear the coaches picked me is awesome. It’s an honor to be selected by the coaches you work with every day.

“You want them to be the best, but you want to be the best as well. It’s humbling. I share this with my coaches, who are tremendous, and the players in our program and our community. This is a Hollidaysburg football award, it’s not a Homer DeLattre award, that’s for sure. It’s a combination. I will never put myself above the program or the team, and I’m blessed to be the football coach at Hollidaysburg.”

Banks led the Golden Tigers in tackles for the second year in a row and had 15 tackles for loss and five interceptions and a blocked punt. Offensively, he ran for two touchdowns, caught 17 passes 254 yards and three touchdowns and helped pave the way for junior Carter Muth’s Hollidaysburg single-season rushing records of 2,071 yards and 32 touchdowns.

“We use the H-back (Banks) a lot in our blocking scheme, whether it’s kicking out that near end or pulling through,” DeLattre said. “Or running to the backside to keep the backside linebacker occupied — we use that H-back a ton, and it’s a huge asset to what we’re doing, especially with the RPOs. You have to have that H-back who pulls through and is part of the blocking scheme like a pulling guard or pulling tackle would be.”

Though it’s complicated to explain Banks’ exact offensive role, DeLattre broke it down in a way many local fans can relate with.

“He does a lot of the things Tyler Warren did for Penn State,” DeLattre said. “It’s comparable to that. It’s very complex.”

In addition to his defensive stats, Banks was the unquestioned leader of the Golden Tigers.

“His preparation for games is unmatched,” DeLattre said. “He, not only through the coaches, but through his personal video watching — he’s a huge extension to the coaching staff. Whether it’s picking out tendencies or identifying formations or splits by the receiver — those kinds of things. You’ll hear him from the sideline calling out the play before it happens because of his preparation. That also provides leadership to the rest of the team and makes them want to be better and learn more.”

Banks, who started his Hollidaysburg career as a wide receiver and defensive back and developed into an H-back and linebacker, has a walk-on offer from Pitt and Maine, Lehigh and Bucknell have made him scholarship offers.

“It means a lot, because I have been working so hard,” Banks said. “We had a great year. It is a testament to how hard I worked through the offseason. Last year, I got my spot moved to outside linebacker. I was a little undersized, so that was my main goal through the offseason was to get bigger and get that linebacker build. With that being said, some colleges gained interest in me after that. It was a great year of hard work and great accomplishments.”

In addition to Banks, there were several other players in the Mirror’s coverage area that stood out.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy’s Jake Kissell was an obvious Player of the Year candidate after stepping in for both an injured Taurean Consiglio at running back and at times at quarterback after injuries at that position while still starring defensively as he did as a junior.

Mason Campagna at Claysburg-Kimmel set career records in both passing and rushing yardage at the school and led the Bulldogs to the District 6 semifinals the last two seasons, and Brady Jones, Corbin Vinglish and Blake Lilly were all outstanding candidates from a Penn Cambria team that matched the school’s longest playoff run.

But it was Banks’ leadership of a team that may have been the best in Hollidaysburg history against one of the toughest schedules the Golden Tigers have ever played — which included beating Maryland state power Fort Hill on the field for the first time — that pushed him ahead.

“I tried to be more vocal,” Banks said. “Last year, (with the previous senior class), I didn’t have to be as vocal. Being more vocal for me was huge, and I also led by example. A lot of the guys look up to senior leaders, and being a captain was a huge part of that.”