Football

‘Special’ play saves Tigers

MILTON -- Hollidaysburg has leaned on all aspects of its team during a history-making season, but special teams has been the unit coach Homer DeLattre has repeatedly praised throughout the season.

Friday night at Alumni Stadium in a PIAA first round game against District 2 champion Abington Heights, the offense had stalled out in the fourth quarter and the defense had just allowed its second score in the final period.

Once again, the special teams lived up to its name.

Senior Brayden Berkheimer blocked Jack Farrell's extra point that could have tied the game with 3:42 to play, and Hollidaysburg ran out the clock on its final possession to survive in a 24-23 triumph.

"I saw that the kicker was kicking low on the first few kicks," Berkheimer said. "I thought, I'll line this up, put my hands together and block this. It felt like a fairytale they tell you in elementary school."

The win, combined with a forfeit victory that became official this week from a previous game against Fort Hill after the Maryland school was found to have used an ineligible player in its game against the Golden Tigers earlier this year, moved Hollidaysburg to 13-0 for the first time in school history.

"This group has been through a lot the last couple years," DeLattre said. "We got that win over Fort Hill this week and knew we had a chance to get to 13 wins for the first time in school history. The guys were really focused on it. That was a good football team, but I'm so happy for the community and proud of the coaches for putting a good product on the field."

Play of the game: Though the blocked extra point turned out to be the difference in the game, the winner wasn't decided until Hollidaysburg converted a fourth-and-2 from the Abington Heights 30 with just more than a minute to play. DeLattre called a quarterback draw by Maddox Bainey with Mitchell Baronner leading the way for an 8-yard game-sealing run.

"It felt amazing. We always seem to just pull it out at the end in a lot of these games," Bainey said. "I really liked that (Coach DeLattre) showed that he had trust in me. That gives me more confidence on the field."

DeLattre felt confident enough to run a play rather than try and pin Abington Heights deep with a punt.

"I thought we had a play there that we could run," DeLattre said. "Maddox is pretty good at running those things. Mitchell Baronner is a great running back, but he has to be one of the best blocking running backs in the state. He laid two guys out on our first touchdown and then had a huge block on that linebacker on fourth down. That was a great effort by Maddox and Mitchell."

Player of the game: In addition to the run that clinched the game, Bainey carried 12 more times and finished with a game-high 93 yards and a touchdown. He also went 10-for-16 through the air for 175 yards and threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Brady Steiner.

Unsung hero: Baronner's blocking led to many of Bainey's yards, and he finished with 89 well-earned yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

You got Moss'd: Steiner's 23-yard catch over two Abington Heights defenders with 4:04 left in the third quarter helped set up Bainey's touchdown run.

Most vital statistic: The Golden Tigers won their 13th game for the first time in program history.

"It feels amazing. It's something we have never done before, and it's truly amazing," Berkheimer said. "I think everyone here is proud and everyone at home will be proud too."

Lots of laundry: Hollidaysburg was flagged eight times for 90 yards, including a personal foul followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Golden Tiger sideline that set up Shane Brower's 5-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the fourth quarter.

DeLattre: "We were really close on the first two extra points and the field goal. We talked about how close we were, and we made a big play when we needed it at the end."

"Sometimes the kids are more composed than the coaches," DeLattre said. "We teach a lot about character and life to these guys, and they are living proof of that. They are really good football players and really good people as well, and that makes a difference."

Abington Heights coach Joe Repshis on Shawn Theodore Jr., who filled in for injured starting quarterback Nick Bradley and threw for 207 yards and a touchdown and also ran for two touchdowns: "Shawn is a great athlete, and he's had a great impact as a player and a leader in our program. He's a selfless player that does whatever he's asked to do for the team. He came in as someone who had experience at the quarterback position and did a great job leading us tonight."

Bainey: "We had some mistakes, but we stayed together as a unit. We stayed together as a team and we pulled through."

Repshis on whether he considered going for two and the lead after Theodore scored on a 1-yard sneak to bring the Comets within one with 3:42 left: "You're always thinking about situations, but at that point, we still had three timeouts. We had the momentum, and we thought we would go out, get a stop and win the game."

Notable: Bradley, who was injured last week, threw for 2,076 yards, 26 touchdowns and just two interceptions this year. Theodore was one of his top receiving targets. ... Hollidaysburg had several players at less than 100% due to sickness. ... Hollidaysburg senior Paul Wedel made all three of his extra points and a 35-yard field goal. ... The Golden Tigers did not punt.

Records: Abington Heights (8-5); Hollidaysburg (13-0).

Next week: Hollidaysburg will play District 12 champion Roman Catholic, which defeated District 11 champion East Stroudsburg South, 41-13, in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals next weekend.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Abington Heights 0 10 0 13 -- 23

Hollidaysburg 7 10 7 0 -- 24

First Quarter

H--Baronner 6 run (Wedel kick), 2:24.

Second Quarter

H--Steiner 60 pass from Bainey (Wedel kick), 10:49.

AH--Farrell 29 FG, 5:17.

H--Wedel 35 FG, 3:22.

AH--Theodore 14 run (Farrell kick), :08.

Third Quarter

H--Bainey 7 run (Wedel kick), 2:47.

Fourth Quarter

AH--Brower 5 pass from Theodore (Farrell kick), 11:51.

AH--Theodore 1 run (kick blocked), 3:42.

TEAM STATISTICS AH H

First downs 19 18

Total yards 305 346

Rushes-yards 29-88 41-171

Yards passing 217 175

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 20-31-0 10-16-0

Punts-avg. 3-27.7 0-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-1

Penalties-yards 5-35 8-90

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Abington Heights, Theodore 7-23, Anglin 8-21, Vergnetti 6-20, Kayal 5-13, Anders 1-6, Loss 2-5. Hollidaysburg, Bainey 13-93, Baronner 20-89, Muth 3-24, Albarano 1-0, TEAM 4-(-35).

PASSING--Abington Heights, Theodore 19-30-0-207, Kayal 1-1-0-10. Hollidaysburg, Bainey 10-16-0-175.

RECEIVING--Abington Heights, Brower 8-85, Sespico 5-42, Anders 4-75, Keiper 2-15, Anglin 1-0. Hollidaysburg, Steiner 4-118, Albarano 3-17, DeLattre 2-22, Bell 1-18.