Building momentum: Altoona Mountain Lions hope to take another step forward Thursday
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Confidence and momentum are big parts of finding success in high school football, but when a program isn't winning consistently, both are hard to find.
That's why Friday's 41-27 Altoona victory over a Central Dauphin team the Mountain Lions had not beaten since 2009 just two games into the 2026 season could be important.
"It's huge. We had not beaten them since 2009," Altoona coach Vince Nedimyer Jr. said. "It was great. We had a good crowd again, and the kids were up for the challenge. They made plays in all three phases of the game. I'm excited for them and hoping it continues."
Junior quarterback Mekhi Jackson thrilled the Mansion Park crowd with 159 yards and four touchdowns running the ball and 140 more yards through the air and another touchdown.
"We'd love to put up that many every week," Nedimyer said. "I think we have kids that can make plays, and I think that showed on Friday night. We finished drives. Honestly, it comes down to our kids making plays. We're a little bit different than we were last year. It's nothing we call. It's the kids executing what we call, and they did that on Friday."
Altoona's next chance to make plays will come against a team it defeated 14-0 at home last season, Central Dauphin East.
That game will be played in Harrisburg on Thursday at 6 p.m.
"It will be different," Nedimyer said. "The preparation will be a little bit different, nothing crazy, but we were asked if we would mind playing on a Thursday and we said it would be fine."
Altoona is 2-2 against Central Dauphin East over the last four years.
"They always have good speed," Nedimyer said. "They have the ability to make the big play at any moment. We're going to have to do all the fundamental stuff that we talk about every week. We have to take care of the ball, tackle and get lined up. If we do those things, we'll have a chance to win."
The Panthers have not gotten off to a good start. They have allowed 45 points in each of their first two games, both losses, to Cedar Crest and Bishop McDevitt.
"It helps our confidence a lot (already having a win), especially with a lot of young guys on the team," Altoona senior Cody Chathams said. "For the seniors -- it gives us a lot of hope for the rest of the season picking up a win this early. It boosts morale, because people have something to look forward to."
Chathams, who caught a touchdown pass from Jackson against Hollidaysburg in the opener, think this year's team is much deeper.
"We have a whole bunch of guys who can make plays this year," Chathams said. "The past couple years, we just had a couple. But we're pretty deep on offense this year. We have put in a lot of work. We have a lot of leaders this year. We have 24 seniors, and most if not all of them are great leaders."
Central Dauphin East has scored just 12 points this season. Altoona had to play without star linebacker Luke Geishauser last week, but Nedimyer said the senior will return from his current injury at some point this season.
"It's not about changing a whole lot. It's just about how the defense lines up," Nedimyer said. "Defensively, we have to continue to play fast. We try to keep it as simple as possible. We want our kids to play fast. We were able to do that Friday night. I think we still left some plays out on the field that we talked about after the game, but we'll have another opportunity this week."
The Mountain Lions have a chance to build some momentum if they can win Thursday with next week's game at winless Carlisle.
Altoona won't see District 6 rival State College until Week 8.
"We hopefully want to win District 6," Chathams said. "I think we have the talent to do it. We're pretty deep, so I hope we can pull out the D6 (championship)."