Lions, Tigers part of White Out display for Friday night football
H.S. football
Homer DeLattre
Homer DeLattre
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Penn State isn't holding its annual White Out until Oct. 10, but Blair County will have a preview of it at 7 p.m. tonight at Mansion Park.
On what is forecasted to be a nice night, Hollidaysburg will travel to Altoona for the opener of the high school football season and a White Out theme that will include the first 2,000 fans receiving T-shirts sponsored by Courtesy Kia handed out by the Altoona and Hollidaysburg cheerleaders before the game.
Guido D'Elia, the creator of the White Out and a 1965 graduate of Altoona, will serve as the honorary captain, and the Mountain Lions will honor their 2001 team that defeated Cathedral Prep, 29-28, to make the PIAA semifinals.
"It will be pretty electric with it being the first game of the year," Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said. "Every year, whether it's out there or at our place, it is. We will be celebrating the 2001 team that went to the Western Finals, and there are a lot of things going on that night. I expect it to be packed."
Arguably the area's biggest rivalry game has lived up to that in the first half of the last few meetings, but Hollidaysburg -- which has enjoyed the best run of its program's history the last two years -- has pulled away in the second half.
"Obviously it's a big rivalry game," Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said. "There's a lot of excitement that builds up with the first game of the year over the last eight months or so. Altoona won its last game last season, and they return a good, solid core of kids. With the honorary captain and the White Out atmosphere, I think it's going to be really exciting."
The Golden Tigers return 2,000-yard rusher Carter Muth but lost quarterback Cole DeLattre and Altoona Mirror Male Athlete of the Year Josh Banks, among others, to graduation.
However, Hollidaysburg lost a lot from its 13-1 team in 2024 and turned around and finished 13-1 again last year.
"I think the kids have worked extremely hard and bought into the system of development and getting better each day," DeLattre said. "I think the last couple years have been a great example of that. Last year, we did not have to have a starter on both sides of the ball. That was a great benefit, because a lot of guys got repetitions. Along with that, they have practiced against really good players in practice, which has allowed them to develop more. These guys have been waiting for their chance to prove themselves."
Altoona returns quarterback Mekhi Jackson and star linebacker Luke Geishauser.
"Their quarterback is very talented," DeLattre said. "He can not only throw the ball well, but they are running a new offense which allows him to use his athleticism to get people in space. They also have a good set of skill players that are very talented as well. They make you cover the whole field sideline to sideline."
Geishauser will lead a talented group of linebackers, perhaps Altoona's best unit on a defense which could see five linebackers on the field at the same time.
"We have Geishauser coming back, who pretty much led the conference in tackles last year," Nedimyer said. "It's great to have him back. Noah Staines is another senior who brings experience to the position. Logan Coldwell is another kid we think can do some really good things for us this year with Geishauser being the leader of that group with how physical and fast he is. I'm definitely looking forward to what they bring starting tonight."
Despite losing the rivalry game the last three seasons, Altoona remains confident.
"They are 26-2 in the last two seasons," Nedimyer said. "I'm sure they are a confident bunch coming into our game. They have got us the last three years. But I feel like they have been pretty good games up until a certain point. They are good up front, and they are always prepared. After eight years, we have a pretty good handle on what they are going to do. It's just a matter of which team makes the most plays and doesn't turn it over."
For both teams, the rivalry game is much different than the other games they play on their schedules -- mostly against teams the players from Altoona and Hollidaysburg have no personal history with.
"They play sports together," DeLattre said. "They are on AAU and club teams together. They see each other outside sports a lot as friends. They have played together at the YMCA, baseball leagues and youth basketball their entire lives. It's neat to have that community relationship between both schools."
That relationship tends to be more friendly than it was in the past.
"It's just completely different," Nedimyer said. "It's different now than back when I played. We knew their names, but we didn't know them. I'm pretty sure some of our kids now go away on vacation with some of the Hollidaysburg kids. Different parents work together, and social media allows kids to get to know each other even when they aren't at the same school. That has played a role. Knowing each other definitely brings a different dynamic of wanting to have those bragging rights. We have to just take control of ourselves and give ourselves a chance to win at the end."