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CUMBERLAND, Md. -- Early in the fourth quarter Friday, it almost felt like history would repeat itself for Hollidaysburg.
A year removed from a come-from-behind 35-30 win over Fort Hill, the comeback effort fell just short as the Sentinels escaped Greenway Avenue Stadium with a 35-21 victory.
Play of the game: With Hollidaysburg back within seven, 28-21, thanks to an Isaac Vent touchdown at 8:36 in the fourth, Fort Hill's Channing Logsdon returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the Fort Hill 42. The Sentinels reached the end zone three plays later to put the score at its final.
Player of the game: Fort Hill quarterback Brady O'Neal was 6 of 8 through the air for 128 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a 4-yard rushing score.
Unsung hero: Fort Hill's Levi House only caught two passes but both proved vital. His first was a 7-yard score and the other a 22-yard catch-and-run on a middle screen that moved the chains on third-and-8 two plays before O'Neal's rushing score.
Most vital statistic: Hollidaysburg only committed five penalties for 40 yards, but a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following a point-after try was enforced on the kickoff and allowed Fort Hill to pressure the Golden Tigers into a turnover on the return. The Sentinels made it 14-0 two plays later.
Fort Hill coach Zack Alkire: "Things aren't perfect. They never are in big games. When you're playing a team as good as Hollidaysburg, there's going to be ebbs and flows. Not everything's going to look great all the time, but their consistency of coming out again and again and again, even if things maybe weren't going well, with their backs to the wall a bit more and come up with a big play. It happened all night long."
Hollidaysburg coach Homer Delattre: "I think Fort Hill did some good things up front -- some kind of plays, formations that we didn't necessarily see on film. We've seen a couple games and they're killing everyone. We're seeing stuff that they didn't run all year. That's a testament to them and how much they can do in the long run. It's a great job on their part.''
Notable: Vent had 20 carries for 99 yards. ... After a 2 of 8 start through the air, Hollidaysburg quarterback Vincent Albarano hit Tyler McGough for a 37-yard score and went 7 of 16 for 123 yards the rest of the way. ... Fort Hill fullback Carson Bender led all ball carriers with 26 carries for 153 yards. ... Fort Hill needed just 3 minutes and 15 seconds in the first quarter to open up a 21-0 lead.
Records: Hollidaysburg (3-2); Fort Hill (4-0).
Next week: Hollidaysburg hosts Butler on Friday. Fort Hill hosts West Virginia powerhouse Bridgeport.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Hollidaysburg 0 7 7 7 -- 21
Fort Hill 21 7 0 7 -- 35
First Quarter
FH--Bender 2 run (Brauer kick), 3:57
FH--House 7 pass from O'Neal (Brauer kick), 3:09
FH--Powell-Morris 46 pass from O'Neal (Brauer kick), :42
Second Quarter
H--McGough 37 pass from Albarano (Walters kick), 9:27
FH--O'Neal 4 run (Brauer kick), 4:36
Third Quarter
H--Albarano 4 run (Walters kick), 1:20
Fourth Quarter
H--Vent 1 run (Walters kick), 8:36
FH--Taylor 5 run (Brauer kick), 7:17
TEAM STATISTICS H FH
First downs 18 15
Total yards 291 345
Rushes-yards 36-154 45-217
Yards passing 137 128
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 9-26-0 6-8-0
Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-40 10-70
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Hollidaysburg, Vent 20-99, Albarano 13-43, Snyder 2-13, Stultz 1-(minus 1). Fort Hill, Bender 26-153, Taylor 10-66, Logsdon 2-6, Welsh 1-6, TEAM 2-(-2), O'Neal 4-(-12).
PASSING--Hollidaysburg, Albarano 9-26-0-137. Fort Hill, O'Neal 6-8-0-128.
RECEIVING--Hollidaysburg, Stultz 3-42, Padamonsky 3-25, McGough 2-43, Wallace 1-27. Fort Hill, Taylor 2-46, House 2-29, Powell-Morris 1-46, Bender 1-7.