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HARRISBURG -- Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre said after Friday's game that if his team and Susquehanna Township played 10 times, the two teams would probably come out of it even. There is no possibility of a rematch in state playoffs as the Indians compete at the 4A level while the Tigers are in 5A, but the numbers back up DeLattre's sentiment.
In the end, it was a Susquehanna Township pick-6 and a goal-line stand that will keep Hollidaysburg awake at night.
Indian defensive end Tiberious Johnson took a batted screen pass for an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first half, and the Susquehanna Township defense kept the Tigers out of the end zone from first-and-goal at the 2 in the second quarter. Those two big sequences loomed large as the Indians downed Hollidaysburg, 23-7, on Friday evening at Susquehanna Township's Roscoe Warner Field.
"Every big game that you play like this usually comes down to four or five plays," DeLattre said. "The goal line play, they made a nice play on the screen. You add those up real quick and we have a couple dropped passes, a couple penalties -- we're right there. We just have to execute those big plays at the right time."
The loss was Hollidaysburg's first regular season setback since Oct. 20, 2023 when the Tigers lost to Danville, 28-21.
While a 16-point game suggests it wasn't all that close, some of the stats say otherwise. Hollidaysburg had more first downs, winning the battle, 16-13. Susquehanna Township only beat the Tigers in total yards, 224-206.
Hollidaysburg's first drive of the game also stalled on a fumble in Indian territory.
Susquehanna Township (1-2) picked up win No. 1 after falling in two close games to excellent opponents in West York (19-9) and Twin Valley (17-13) in the first two weeks of the season.
"There are growing pains for us. We played two very good teams before this," Susquehanna Township coach Joe Headen said. "The toughest thing is to get the young kids to understand there's a process. There's still a process.
"We still have a lot to go. (Hollidaysburg) is a really good team in 5A. We have to understand we've got a good thing going."
Play of the game: Shortly after the Indians' second touchdown of the game, Johnson picked off Hollidaysburg QB Vincent Albarano for an interception return of 18 yards off a batted ball on a screen pass to put Susquehanna Township up 21-0 with 5:29 to play in the first half.
"That kid made a nice play," DeLattre said. "They had a bigger guy in there, and they put him in on a whim and he tips the ball up. If it's their starter, we probably have a big screen play. It's football."
Player of the game: Susquehanna Township quarterback Cael Feidt was a perfect 9 for 9 for 130 yards in the first half, and finished the game going 13 for 17 for 164 yards and a touchdown.
"For a first-time varsity player, he still has some growing pains to get through," Headen said. "But he manages the game and he does well. He's very coachable. I think his best football is yet to come."
Unsung hero(es): While a lot of attention will go to Johnson's pick-6, Susquehanna's defense as a whole had a very good night. They gave up yards, but stopped Hollidaysburg when it mattered the most.
Most deceiving statistic(s): Susquehanna Township only had 18 more total yards for the night.
Notable: Both teams will want to clean up penalties. Susquehanna Township was flagged 15 times for 136 yards, while Hollidaysburg was dinged 10 times for 77 yards. ... Former Penn State offensive lineman Paris Palmer is an assistant coach for Susquehanna Township. .. Hollidaysburg's lone touchdown came in the third quarter when Albarano found Will Padamonsky for a 22-yard score on fourth down.
Headen: "I think we played aggressively. We played well, but we had too many penalties. If we want to be a great team, we can't have that happen. But our defense played stout. We didn't turn the ball over on offense, and I think that helped us out in the second half."
DeLattre on moving forward after the rare regular season loss: "I have no doubts. We have high character. They're going to come to work. About five of them came up to me and said, 'We'll have a better week of practice and get back on track.'"
Albarano: "We got that touchdown to Will and it was a great catch, but we just couldn't get any momentum going. We got ourselves in too big of a hole in the first half. We just have to be better."
Records: Hollidaysburg (2-1); Susquehanna Township (1-2)
Next week: Hollidaysburg hosts Baldwin, while Susquehanna Township visits Greencastle-Antrim.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Hollidaysburg 0 0 7 0 — 7
Susquehanna Township 7 14 0 2 — 23
First Quarter
ST– R. Brown 10 run, (McGeorge kick), 6:55
Second Quarter
ST–J. Brown 27 pass from Feidt, (McGeorge kick), 5:44
ST–Johnson 18 interception return, (McGeorge kick), 5:29
Third Quarter
H–Padamonsky 22 pass from Albarano, (Walters kick), 2:23
Fourth Quarter
ST–Safety, Albarano tackled in end zone, 1:17
TEAM STATISTICS H ST
First downs 16 13
Total yards 206 224
Rushes-yards 44-123 31-60
Yards passing 83 164
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7-22-1 13-17-0
Punts-avg. 2-36 5-38.2
Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 10-77 15-136
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Hollidaysburg, Albarano 15-56, Vent 24-43, Consiglio 5-24. Susquehanna Township, Littlejohn 23-57, R. Brown 2-11, T. Brown 1-1, Team 1-(-1), Feidt 4-(-8).
PASSING--Hollidaysburg, Albarano 7-22-83-1-1. Susquehanna Township, Feidt 13-17-164-1-0.
RECEIVING--Hollidaysburg, Padamonsky 2-40, Vent 1-18, Coke 1-15, Stultz 3-10. Susquehanna Township, J. Brown 3-70, Sweatt 6-62, Muniz-Ramsay 1-14, Kent-Yather 2-10, Littlejohn 1-8.