Tigers romp to third straight win
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By Ron Musselman
For The Mirror
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Hollidaysburg fared much better Friday night in its home opener than Allegany, Md., did in its season opener.
Senior quarterback Maddox Bainey threw four touchdown passes and backup Cole DeLattre ran for another score as the Golden Tigers blanked the Campers, 35-0, at Tiger Stadium.
Coach Homer DeLattre's team improved to 3-0, the program's best start in 17 years. The 2007 team, coached by John Barton, won its first four games.
"That's what we talked about this week," DeLattre said, referring to the 3-0 start. "We put it on the board early in the week. The kids had great focus and a good week of practice."
Hollidaysburg also snapped a two-game losing streak against the Campers, beating them for the first time in 29 years. The Tigers' last victory was a 34-26 decision in 1995.
"The last two years we lost to them and we really wanted to beat them this time," Bainey said.
Allegany coach Bryan Hansel's team sputtered throughout and managed just 153 yards of offense, all of which came on the ground.
The Campers' best scoring chance came late in the first half, when they trailed 14-0, but quarterback Sebastian Stewart's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Kayden McCrystal with 16 seconds remaining.
"We had that good drive there at the end of the first half and we didn't score and that made it tough for us," Hansel said.
Bainey, who led four scoring drives on six series before giving way to Cole DeLattre in the fourth quarter, has thrown 11 touchdown passes in the three wins while passing for more than 500 yards in Hollidaysburg's quick-strike offense.
"We got short fields for our offense because of special teams and our defense," DeLattre said. "We didn't run a lot of plays. We probably only ran 30 plays. The 11 TD passes, those are some really good numbers for Maddox. The running game opens up the run-pass option for him and he has some great receivers."
Play of the game: Hollidaysburg took the opening kickoff and marched 64 yards on five plays, capped by Bainey's 25-yard scoring strike to Jay Albarano. That turned out to be the only score the Tigers needed.
Player of the game: Bainey. His four scoring drives required just 26 plays. He also threw a 1-yard TD pass to Albarano in the second quarter, and connected on scoring strikes of 13 yards to Gavin Bell in the third quarter and 29 yards to Brady Steiner in the fourth before departing.
Bell and Steiner each have four TD catches this season.
"I had a lot of faith in our team this year," said Bainey, who completed 8 of 16 passes for 125 yards, with one interception. "We looked really good over the summer and our receivers have really worked hard to get open and we are all working well together so far.
"We've been trying to be explosive when we get the ball."
Unsung hero: Hollidaysburg senior kicker/punter Paul Wedel booted five extra points and delivered a 66-yard punt in the third quarter, his only one of the game.
Most vital statistic: Hollidaysburg's defense has held the opposition scoreless through 10 consecutive quarters over three games.
More Hansel: "They're a good team and they have some good receivers who have some good size. When they catch the ball, even if it's on a short pattern, they have very good speed and can get down the field."
Notable: Hollidaysburg star lineman Hunter Abright was injured in last week's game against Allderdice and did not dress Friday night. He had a boot on his right foot and was on crutches. "He should be back (at some point), but it's going be a couple of more weeks," DeLattre said. ... Cole DeLattre, the coach's son, led a six-play, 64-yard scoring drive capped by his 1-yard run to close out the scoring in the fourth quarter. ... Hollidaysburg honored its 1978 team before the game. The Tigers finished 8-2-1 that year in Harold Price's first season as coach and five players were named to the Central Counties all-star team. ... Senior Jackson Resh led Allegany with 81 yards on 20 carries. ... Stewart, a junior making his first start at quarterback for the Campers, had 1no yards passing, going 0-for-5 with an interception. ... Senior Kain Sweitzer had an interception for the Campers.
Records: Hollidaysburg (3-0); Allegany (0-1).
Next week: Hollidaysburg hosts Butler; Allegany hosts Oakdale, Md.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Allegany, Md. 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Hollidaysburg 7 7 7 14 -- 35
First Quarter
H-Albarano 25 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 10:48.
Second Quarter
H-Albarano 1 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 6:27.
Third Quarter
H-Bell 13 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 9:50.
Fourth Quarter
H-Steiner 29 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 10:42.
H--DeLattre 1 run (Wedel kick), 4:17.
TEAM STATISTICS A H
First downs 9 15
Total yards 153 245
Rushes-yards 52-153 22-120
Yards passing 0 125
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 0-5-1 8-16-1
Punts-avg. 5-22.0 1-66.0
Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-0
Penalties-yards 6-40 3-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Allegany, Resh 20-81, Bible 11-36, Stewart 5-13, McKenzie 9-10, Spriggs 3-9, Rile 2-7, Harper 1-(-2), Cox 1-(-1). Hollidaysburg, Muth 3-45, DeLattre 2-25, Baronner 9-31, Bainey 5-13, Morningstar 3-6.
PASSING-Allegany, Stewart 0-5-1-0. Hollidaysburg, Hollidaysburg, Bainey 8-16-1-125.
RECEIVING--Hollidaysburg, Bell 3-55, Albarano 3-30, Steiner 1-29, DeLattre 1-11.