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By Ron Musselman
For the Mirror
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Hollidaysburg's quick-strike offense paid big dividends on senior night at Tiger Stadium.
Senior quarterback Maddox Bainey passed for a career-high 353 yards and threw four touchdown passes, including the winning strike, a 13-yarder to senior receiver Brady Steiner, with 51 seconds left.
It lifted the Golden Tigers (8-1) to a 30-26 victory over Williamsport and capped a 5-0 record at home.
The winning pass was a slot fade and came on a third-and-goal from the 13-yard line.
"We all trust each other," Steiner said. "I trust Maddox to make that throw and he trusts me to catch the ball. He threw it up there, and I went and got it.
"We just kept fighting hard and never gave up. This team has the capability to come back from anything and that's what we did tonight."
Senior receiver Jay Albarano had six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior Cole DeLattre finished with seven catches for 141 yards and scored on a 78-yard scoring strike from Bainey with 6:06 remaining. The score came just 26 seconds after Williamsport (4-5) had taken a 26-16 lead on Giovanni White's 69-yard punt return.
"We had opportunities throughout the game and didn't capitalize on them," Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. "The defense did a great job of getting us the ball to make some plays.
"Maddox made a great throw to Brady there at the end. It was a really good play by Brady to rip that ball away. We figured it was either going to be a touchdown or (we'd kick a tying) field goal."
Play of the game: Trailing 26-23 in the fourth quarter, Hollidaysburg's defense stopped Williamsport quarterback Elijah Way on a fourth-and-1 play at the Millionaires' 44-yard line after he bobbled the snap.
"We were going for the win," Williamsport coach Mike Pearson said.
Player of the game: Bainey. He completed 23 of 38 passes for 353 yards and hit three different receivers with touchdown passes. He threw scoring strikes of 16 and 18 yards to Albarano in the second quarter as the Tigers rallied from a 12-0 deficit to take a 13-12 lead.
Unsung heroes: DeLattre and Albarano combined for 13 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns.
Most vital statistic: Hollidaysburg forced four turnovers and converted them into three touchdowns and a 42-yard field goal by Paul Wedel.
Notables: Hollidaysburg is 10th in the latest Class 5A state rankings compiled by PennLive. ... Josh Banks and Gavin Bell had interceptions for the Tigers. ... The two teams combined 237 yards on 22 penalties. Williamsport was flagged 13 times for 145 yards. ... The Millionaires were forced to play three different quarterbacks to to injury. ... Samir Williams had five catches for 124 yards and a touchdown for Williamsport, which has dropped five in a row. ... Homer DeLattre is one of eight assistant coaches who will be on the staff for Team PA in the Big 33 Classic. The team will be coached by Coatesville's Matt Ortega and pits Team PA against Maryland on May 25, 2025 at Cumberland Valley High School's Chapman Field.
Next week: Hollidaysburg at DuBois; Williamsport hosts Wilkes-Barre.
Records: Williamsport (4-5), Hollidaysburg (8-1).
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Williamsport 12 0 7 7 -- 26
Hollidaysburg 0 16 0 14 -- 30
First Quarter
W--S. Williams 65 pass from T. Williams (Run failed), 9:42.
W--Bailey 14 pass from Hughes (Pass failed), 3:42.
Second Quarter
H--Albarano 18 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 9:45.
H--Albarano 16 pass from Bainey (Run failed), 4:55.
H--Wedel 42 FG, :34.
Third Quarter
W--Bailey 1 run (Johnson kick), 1:20.
Fourth Quarter
W--White 69 punt return (Johnson kick), 6:52
H--DeLattre 78 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 6:46.
H--Steiner 13 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), :51.
TEAM STATISTICS W H
First downs 13 18
Total yards 348 404
Rushes-yards 38-141 29-50
Yards passing 207 353
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 15-24-2 23-38-0
Punts-avg. 5-38.4 5-34.6
Fumbles-lost 5-2 3-2
Penalties-yards 13-145 9-92
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Williamsport, Bailey 16-80, Naughton 6-30, S. Williams 4-25, T. WIlliams 1-6, Bradshaw 1-2, Hughes 3-1, Way 5-(-5), Damschroder 2-(-4). Hollidaysburg, Bainey 15-25, Muth 6-19, Baronner 8-6.
PASSING--Williamsport, T. Williams 2-4-1-68, Hughes 7-10-1-74, Way 6-10-0-65. Hollidaysburg, Bainey 21-39-0-353.
RECEIVING--Williamsport, S. Williams 5-124, Damschroder 5-48, Bradshaw 3-27, Everett 1-7, White 1-1. Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 7-141, Albarano 6-108, Bell 6-72, Baronner 1-14, Steiner 3-18.