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Pass-happy DuBois stands in Golden Tigers’ way of a 10-0 season

High school football

By Michael Boytim 5 min read

One major obstacle stands in the way of an undefeated regular season for Hollidaysburg -- and it's a familiar one for the Golden Tigers.

DuBois played Hollidaysburg twice last season, falling 49-28 in the regular season finale and then the Beavers nearly ended the Tigers' season in a 28-23 postseason loss.

The star of that DuBois team, quarterback Trey Wingard, is back for his senior year.

"Their passing game over the last number of years has been the top passing game we have faced," Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. "Their quarterback, he's close to 8,000 yards for his career. He's definitely the best quarterback we've faced over the last few years. He's a senior and has another really good set of receivers with him, so that's a great challenge for us from what we can see on the videos."

Wingard is 147-for-243 and has passed for 2,416 yards and 36 touchdowns this season. But he's also thrown 10 interceptions -- something the Hollidaysburg secondary will be hunting for on Friday at Tiger Stadium.

"Led by Kayden McCrystal, who is a very good secondary player and two-year starter for us," DeLattre said. "He's having an all-state type of year in the secondary. Sophomore Vincent Albarano is coming along really well and is a big playmaker with a lot of interceptions and big plays. Bryce Lewis at corner has really progressed and done a good job. Then there's Josh Banks, who is the best player in the area, playing the nickel position really doing a great job."

DuBois can run the ball -- London Duncan has 98 carries for 696 yards -- but Wingard has great chemistry with wideout Jaxson Hanzely, who has caught 62 passes for 1,367 yards and an incredible 20 touchdowns.

"It's a very important game," DeLattre said. "Every game is important, but we also know DuBois could potentially be a playoff opponent. That adds to the stakes -- for them also -- and for this senior class to have the chance to be 10-0 after winning one game in junior high and have the chance to be the winningest class in school history to this point with 29 wins is really awesome. I know we'll play great because of what we have on the line."

For the seniors

Altoona will try to win its first game at Mansion Park this season when the Mountain Lions welcome winless Carlisle on Friday night.

"It's important for our seniors," Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said. "We have a bunch of kids who have played a bunch of downs for us over the last four years. We're definitely going to be playing for those kids on Friday night."

Carlisle has struggled offensively this year. The Thundering Herd have scored just 41 points, but they did hold Chambersburg to six points in a recent loss.

"They are physical and play fast," Nedimyer said. "Their defensive line is good. They have some kids back from last year that have played some meaningful downs for them. We're definitely going to have to play good defense like we have for the past month or so and not turn the ball over on offense to put ourselves in a position to win in the fourth quarter."

Altoona would finish 3-7 with a victory, and a decision on whether to enter the playoffs and take on State College for the District 6 Class 6A championship has not been made yet.

"We have had a bunch of kids make a bunch of plays for us this year," Nedimyer said. "We're going to have to put it all together on Friday night. We're going to be working as hard as we can for those seniors."

Unique matchup

Bellwood-Antis and Forest Hills have built rather large caches of football success over the years but not against each other.

The teams will meet in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference crossover clash in Bellwood on Friday night.

"Forest Hills has some really good athletes on their football team," Bellwood-Antis coach Nick Lovrich said. "They are able to run and pass the ball and are very well rounded. They have some big kids up front. We have to make sure we're ready. We have to play our 'A' game. Every game in the Laurel Highlands is tough, and I'm not sure if we have ever played Forest Hills before, but we are two schools with good football traditions. It should be a good matchup."

The Blue Devils entered the week at No. 7 in the District 6 Class 2A field, but Mount Union ending its season due to a rash of injuries means the Blue Devils could move up to No. 6 -- and possibly avoid McCort-Carroll and Richland -- in the first round with a win.

"We want to have our best game and control the things we can control first," Lovrich said. "That is going out and having a good game against Forest Hills. Making the playoffs was one of our goals, and it looks like we're going to be able to do that. It would be great to improve our seed with a win and see what happens."

Following two straight losses that put their playoff hopes in jeopardy, Bellwood-Antis has responded with wins over Chestnut Ridge and Bellefonte.

"We have improved a little bit every week," Lovrich said. "The last two weeks, we have played pretty good football. We shut out a 4A school (Bellefonte) this week, which was big. Our tackling has improved. We have worked on improving little things and getting better every week."

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