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Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers cap perfect regular season

H.S. football extra

By Michael Boytim 5 min read

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The game was never in question, but the shutout was on the line -- twice -- for Hollidaysburg in its regular season finale against DuBois Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

And in both instances, the Golden Tigers simply refused to lose, just like they haven't all season.

The Beavers ran seven plays from inside the Hollidaysburg 5-yard line and got down to the 1 on both drives, but they were turned away each time in a 49-0 Golden Tigers win that put an exclamation point on a 10-0 season.

Hollidaysburg is now on a 21-game regular season winning streak that began with a 44-23 win over DuBois on Oct. 27, 2023.

"I told these guys before we went out, we have done this once since 1965," Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. "In 60 years, it's happened one time. For those guys to be able to do it, it puts them in the history books as far as this program goes. I told them I'm very proud of them and proud to be their coach."

Though the Golden Tigers have now outscored their opponents, 431-113, this season, Friday's game marked their first shutout.

"Two stops at our 1-yard line," Hollidaysburg senior Ethan Rhodes said. "That just really shows that we're a legitimate defense and a legitimate team. We're not 10-0 because we play bad teams. We're 10-0 because we're the best around here, and that's all it is."

Play of the game: On third-and-15 from his own 29-yard line, DuBois quarterback Trey Wingard threw a foot too far for a streaking Jaxson Hanzely, who had gotten behind the Hollidaysburg defense and would have scored a touchdown on the Beavers' first possession. The incomplete pass forced a punt, and Hollidaysburg scored a touchdown on its first four possessions.

Player of the game: Cole DeLattre carried the ball 13 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns, but more importantly he completed nine passes for 164 yards and connected with Vincent Albarano on a 56-yard pass and Ethan Coke on a 46-yarder -- something that has been missing from the Golden Tigers' offense despite a dominant season.

"It was great. We made some good throws," Coach DeLattre said. "We have been working on our passing game. We haven't really needed it because of the way we have been winning, but we were able to mix the pass in this week and show we can pass pretty well too."

Unsung hero: Rhodes had two sacks and was forcing Wingard out of the pocket and into quick throws all night.

"Our defense is one of the greatest around here," Rhodes said. "We have done really great throughout the whole season holding teams to minimal yards. They are a great offense. They have a great receiver and a great quarterback. They are a great program, but our defense is just better. We put a lot of pressure on them. We have a great defensive line, and we got to him. That stopped him, because he had to deal with defensive pressure where he had to get the ball out quick. We got there and got it done."

Most vital statistic: Hollidaysburg outgained DuBois, 474-215, and the Beavers had just 21 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Somber ending: With nine seconds to play, DuBois sophomore Chance Anyadike hit the turf hard on a tackle and did not get up. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. The referees ran the final seconds off the clock as the teams prayed together at midfield. DuBois had already lost starting running back London Duncan to injury earlier in the game. He needed crutches to leave the field.

"That's not something you want to see happen to anybody," DuBois coach T.J. Wingard said. "It's just part of the game -- unfortunately."

Coach DeLattre on Hollidaysburg's defense: "They have been great all year long. Our coaches do a great job preparing those guys. You could see them rise up at the goal line. It's a pride thing and a great challenge for them. We talk about it during the week. That was awesome to see them get two stops against a really high-powered offense."

Coach Wingard: "Hollidaysburg executed better than us. They made plays and didn't turn the ball over. There's always adjustments you can make in the game of football. You just hope you make the right ones and that the kids play hard and execute the way they are supposed to."

Notable: Albarano got a handoff from DeLattre and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Kasen Metzger. Albarano picked off a pass. ... Carter Muth ran for three touchdowns for the Golden Tigers. ... It was senior night for Hollidaysburg, and senior Tim Snyder capped the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown run.

Records: DuBois (6-4); Hollidaysburg (10-0).

Next week: Tentatively, Hollidaysburg will host Allderdice (if it enters the postseason) and DuBois will host Mifflin County in the District 6-8-9-10 Class 5A subregional semifinals.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

DuBois 0 0 0 0 -- 0

Hollidaysburg 14 14 14 7 -- 49

First Quarter

H--DeLattre 5 run (Walters kick), 4:44.

H--DeLattre 43 run (Walters kick), :12.

Second Quarter

H--Muth 12 run (Walters kick), 7:23.

H--Metzger 44 pass from Albarano (Walters kick), 5:53.

Third Quarter

H--Muth 3 run (Peters kick), 10:13.

H--Muth 6 run (Peters kick), :04.

Fourth Quarter

H--Snyder 30 run (Peters kick), 1:09.

TEAM STATISTICS D H

First downs 10 20

Total yards 215 474

Rushes-yards 19-21 34-254

Yards passing 194 220

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 15-24-1 11-14-0

Punts-avg. 2-35.5 0-0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 1-5 6-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--DuBois, Duncan 5-19, Reasinger 5-6, Yohe 1-3, Thomas 1-1, Anyadike 1-(-2), T. Wingard 6-(-6). Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 13-108, Snyder 5-76, Muth 14-67, Rhodes 1-7, Wallace 2-(-4).

PASSING--DuBois, T. Wingard 15-15-24-1-194. Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 9-12-0-164, Albarano 2-2-0-56.

RECEIVING--DuBois, T. Hanzely 10-93, J. Hanzely 3-104, Reasinger 2-(-3). Hollidaysburg, Coke 4-63, Albarano 2-83, Metzger 2-48, K. McCrystal 1-12, Muth 1-11, Rodgers 1-3.

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