Mirror photo by Michael Boytim Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre addresses his team after Friday's victory on the road over Butler.

BUTLER — Butler came into Friday’s game against Hollidaysburg with a 3-0 record for the first time since 2002, and the Golden Tornado had rushed for 806 yards, averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

Butler’s Mark Klemz ran for just 1 yard on the first play of the game, and it didn’t get much better for the home team.

Hollidaysburg improved to 4-0 and made an impressive statement on the way it can dominate the line of scrimmage in a 33-6 victory at Butler High School Stadium.

“It’s all about controlling the line of scrimmage — the offensive and defensive lines,” Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. “I think tonight, we did that.”

Butler finished with just 34 yards rushing on 24 carries, averaging just 1.4 yards per carry. Perhaps the greatest sign of dominance came after the Golden Tigers’ lone mistake — allowing a 79-yard kickoff return for a score by Deacon Simko. Hollidaysburg was whistled for a flag on the extra point try, which moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and Butler decided to go for two but opted to pass rather than try and gain even 1 yard on the ground.

“Their line is way bigger than our line. We were giving up a lot of size, and we knew that coming in,” Butler coach Eric Christy said. “I’m just glad they didn’t do it all night and worked on some other things with their spread offense. They probably could have shoved us around a lot with that.”

Play of the game: Trailing 7-0, Butler center Stone Spack lost his helmet during a 4-yard run by quarterback Nicholas Baggetta for a first down to the Hollidaysburg 42-yard line. The new center snapped the ball over Baggetta’s head on the next play, throwing off his timing before Kayden McCrystal intercepted his pass to cut Butler’s momentum.

“It was tough,” Christy said. “In hindsight, we probably should have went under center. We had to shift our guard to center and brought a freshman in to play guard, and the snap was high and all of a sudden you have a turnover. Hollidaysburg capitalized and did a nice job.”

Player of the game: Hollidaysburg quarterback Cole DeLattre carried the ball 15 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns and also threw for 88 yards.

Unsung hero: Hollidaysburg sophomore Will Padamonsky came into the game to play defensive line in situations Butler was expected to pass and helped contain the mobile Baggetta from getting outside the pocket and running for first downs. His sack early in the second quarter when he forced Baggetta out of bounds for a 5-yard loss set up the Golden Tigers’ second touchdown.

“Will did a great job,” Coach DeLattre said. “He’s been very good as a depth player for our defensive line this year. We use him in situations, especially against the spread teams, and it gives us a little more athleticism and body control. The sky is the limit for Will. He’s going to be a good football player here in the next couple years for us.”

Most vital statistic: Hollidaysburg outgained Butler 401-178, but as referenced earlier, the biggest stat was the Golden Tornado averaging just 1.4 yards per rush after entering the game at 7.7 yards per rush.

What happened?: With Butler down 13-0 but driving late in the half, Baggetta seemingly completed a pass to Klemz for 9 yards. The down marker moved to make it second-and-1, but the ball was never placed. The referees huddled for nearly a minute before deciding the play was ruled an incomplete pass. Joey Richardson had a sack for Hollidaysburg on the next play as the drive fizzled.

“They said that none of them saw it, so they just said incomplete,” Christy said. “I thought it was ridiculous, because they marched it off, and we were lining up. Refs are trying. I appreciate refs across the state, and I know they are doing everything they can. I’m not blaming those guys. It felt like in the first half a lot wasn’t going our way. I asked if they are throwing a lot (of flags) our way, can they throw some their way? And the second half it got evened up.”

McCrystal, who had two interceptions for the Golden Tigers: “I saw our defensive line doing their job. They got to the quarterback,” McCrystal said. “To be honest, I couldn’t have done it without them. When their quarterback dropped back, they were on him in seconds. He had to make some fast throws, because he was pressured by our line. Our coverage was tight.”

DeLattre on McCrystal: “Kayden is great at breaking on the ball,” DeLattre said. “When we can put him in a position where the quarterback is scrambling, he’s even better. That was a result of our defensive line allowing the secondary to adjust. Kayden does a great job in both man coverage and sitting in a zone and breaking on the ball.”

Notable: Butler tight end Chase Boden didn’t play after breaking his arm in practice this week. … Tyson Pino had an interception for the Golden Tornado. … Tim Snyder started at running back and ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown for Hollidaysburg. … Josh Banks scored the first two Golden Tiger touchdowns on jumbo package runs after taking a direct snap.

“We bring in Bravin Matthews and Logan Wholaver and go to a double tight end set,” DeLattre said. “We have been working on some different things, and it’s tough to stop with our big offensive line. Josh is a strong runner behind it too.”

Records: Hollidaysburg (4-0); Butler (3-1).

Next week: Hollidaysburg hosts Mifflinburg, and Butler visits Westinghouse next Friday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Hollidaysburg 7 12 7 7 — 33

Butler 0 0 6 0 — 6

First Quarter

H–Banks 3 run (D. Walters kick), 5:14.

Second Quarter

H–Banks 1 run (pass failed), 7:25.

H–DeLattre 2 run (kick failed), :37.

Third Quarter

H–DeLattre 11 run (D. Walters kick), 8:01.

B–Simko 79 kickoff return (pass failed), 7:49.

Fourth Quarter

H–Snyder 2 run (D. Walters kick), 10:46.

TEAM STATISTICS H B

First downs 16 8

Total yards 401 178

Rushes-yards 46-313 24-34

Yards passing 88 144

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 5-14-1 10-27-2

Punts-avg. 4-29.8 5-37

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0

Penalties-yards 7-51 9-85

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 15-168, Consiglio 6-70, Snyder 12-34, Banks 6-24, Vent 4-19, Garlick 1-0, Wallace 2-(-2). Butler, Baggetta 12-14, Klemz 7-12, Rihn 3-11, Tack 1-3, Kollinger 1-(-6).

PASSING–Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 5-12-1-88, Wallace 0-2-0-0. Butler, Baggetta 10-27-2-144.

RECEIVING–Hollidaysburg, Coke 2-49, Snyder 1-21, Stultz 1-14, Metzger 1-4. Butler, Vicari 4-79, Simko 3-15, Cuffman 2-41, Lacey 1-9.