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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
A high ankle sprain cost Cathedral Prep senior running back Suhtaun Lewis plenty of playing time this football season.
But the fleet 5-foot-8, 170-pound standout looked none the worse for wear Saturday night at Mansion Park.
Lewis rushed for 221 yards on 16 carries and five touchdowns as the Ramblers lived up to their nickname by rolling past Hollidaysburg, 63-35, via the mercy rule in a PIAA District 6-8-10 subregional playoff game.
Lewis scored on runs of 43 yards and 1 yard in the first quarter, 44 and 28 yards in the second quarter, and 39 yards in the third quarter for Cathedral Prep (7-3), which rolled up an eye-opening 546 yards in total offense.
"I just want to thank my linemen and my coaches,'' said Lewis, whose team will advance in the PIAA Class 5A playoffs to play the WPIAL champion - either Pine-Richland or Peters Township - in two weeks. "We've got to just keep grinding now.''
Cathedral Prep coach Mike Krahe is happy to have Lewis back at full strength.
"For part of this year, he wasn't 100 percent healthy, but getting him back is great for us,'' Krahe said. "He's just so dynamic with the ball in his hands. He gets into the open field and not a whole lot of (defenders) can catch him.''
Senior quarterback Luke Costello completed 16 of 21 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, including a 13-yard third-quarter scoring throw of 13 yards to junior wideout Corey Allen, who caught nine passes for 164 yards.
Another of Prep's speedy senior running backs, Dajoure Hollingsworth, ran for two touchdowns from 19 and 17 yards out in the first quarter, and Costello also connected with senior R.J. Roberts on a 23-yard scoring route in the third quarter, as Prep shook off two first-quarter fumbles and a 14-7 deficit with a 27-point second-quarter outburst.
The balance in Prep's offensive attack was something that pleased Krahe.
"That's something that we've been working on - at times this season, we haven't had balance in our offense,'' Krahe said. "Our quarterback and receivers have started to dial in and play more consistently, and we really took advantage of a few things tonight.''
District 6 champion Hollidaysburg wrapped up a 5-6 campaign that featured several games against top-notch competition.
"We got a couple turnovers and a couple of short fields to score some points, but eventually, their speed caught up to us,'' Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. "Like I told our players, this Prep team is going to be a team that will be in the state playoffs year in and year out, and our players know what it will take to compete with them.
"Our players who return next year will be working hard in the weight room to get bigger and stronger,'' DeLattre added. "Our players on this year's team battled every week as hard as they could, and that's what makes us most proud.''
After a fumble recovery by junior linebacker Brayden Berkheimer on Prep's first possession, junior quarterback Maddox Bainey hit junior wideout Brady Steiner with a 17-yard touchdown pass to give Hollidaysburg a 7-0 lead.
Prep tied the game on a long scoring run by Lewis, but Hollidaysburg went back ahead, 14-7 when Josh Banks returned a kickoff 52 yards to set up Bainey's 2-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Jay Albarano.
Prep reeled off the next three touchdowns to take a 27-14 second-quarter lead before Bainey hit senior back Jack Steiner with a 17-yard second-quarter touchdown pass to pull the Tigers to within 27-21. Steiner also scored on a 16-yard fourth-quarter run.
Bainey completed 15 of 26 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns in the game, including a pair of scoring tosses to Albarano.
Prep had too much firepower, however, as the Ramblers punched across two more late second-quarter touchdowns on runs by Hollingsworth from 17 yards out and Lewis from 28 yards out to go ahead, 41-21, at intermission.
Prep kicked the mercy-rule clock into effect midway through the third quarter after building a 56-21 lead.
Play(s) of the game: Tough to signal out just one with this much offense in the game, but Prep answering with the two touchdown runs by Hollingsworth and Lewis late in the second quarter after the Tigers had pulled to within 27-21 was a huge turning point.
Player of the game: Lewis was the leader of the Prep offense.
Most vital statistic(s): Prep had a 546-247 advantage in total offense, and compiled 402 total yards in the first half alone.
Unsung heroes: Costello kept the Golden Tigers off-balance by orchestrating Prep's solid passing game, and Allen proved to be a difficult matchup problem for Hollidaysburg.
DeLattre on Bainey: "He's a good quarterback who did a nice job tonight. He passed the ball well, and did a good job of directing our offense.''
Kudos to the seniors: DeLattre praised Hollidaysburg's 13 outgoing seniors, who he said will leave big shoes to fill.
Hollidaysburg senior wideout Caden DeLattre, who caught five second-half passes for 56 yards: "I think that we did a great job against the schedule that we played this year. We fought every single week, and this has been a lot of fun. I love every single one of these guys on this team.''
Notable: Banks recovered a fumble for Hollidaysburg in the first quarter, while Prep's Daniel Oblich and David Adams-Prince made second-half interceptions.
Records: Cathedral Prep (7-3); Hollidaysburg (5-6).
Next week: Hollidaysburg's season is complete. Prep advances in the PIAA playoffs in two weeks.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cathedral Prep 14 27 22 0--63
Hollidaysburg 14 7 0 14--35
First quarter
H--B. Steiner 17 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 10:39.
CP--Lewis 43 run (Christman kick), 7:12.
H--Albarano 9 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 5:44.
CP--Lewis 1 run (Christman kick), 2:04.
Second quarter
CP--Hollingsworth 19 run (Christman kick), 10:18.
CP--Lewis 44 run (kick failed), 9:36.
CP--Hollingsworth 17 run (Christman kick), 4:14.
CP--Lewis 28 run (Christman kick), 1:11.
Third quarter
CP--Allen 13 passs from Costello (Christman kick), 10:33.
CP--Lewis 39 run (Roberts run) 8:26.
CP--Roberts 23 pass from Costello (Christman kick), 2:37.
Fourth quarter
H--J. Steiner 16 run (Wedel kick), 9:56.
H--Albarano 2 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 3:18.
TEAM STATISTICS CP H
First downs 21 18
Total yards 546 247
Rushes-yards 36-284 33-49
Yards passing 262 198
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 16-21-0 15-26-2
Punts/avg. 1-36 3-41.3
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 9-53 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Cathedral Prep: Lewis 16-221, D. Hollingsworth 5-42, Costello 5-17, Latouf 3-15, Koshan 2-4, Williams 4-(-8). TEAM 1-(-17). Hollidaysburg: J. Steiner 14-51, Bainey 16-12, B. Steiner 1-0, Snyder 1-0. TEAM 1-(-14).
PASSING: Cathedral Prep: Costello 16-21-0-262. Hollidaysburg: Bainey 15-26-2-198.
RECEIVING: Cathedral Prep: Allen 9-164, Roberts 3-54, Himes 2-25, D. Hollingsworth 2-19. Hollidaysburg: Caden DeLattre 5-56, Bell 4-74, Albarano 3-30, J. Steiner 1-17, B. Steiner 1-17, Cole DeLattre 1-4.