Golden Tigers whitewash Wildcats, 37-0
ALTOONA, PA – On paper it looked like the Central Mountain vs. Hollidaysburg Friday night football game could be a close one, the Wildcats entering the District 6 5A title clash with a 3-7 record, the Golden Tigers checking in at 4-5. But close it was not, Hollidaysburg taking the crown with a 37-0 mercy rule win over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats stayed close for a while, trailing 7-0 after one period. But CM could never get its offense untracked and the game turned over a five-minute sequence in the second period. Hollidaysburg got off a 78-yard scoring drive, followed by a blocked Wildcat punt which turned into a safety, followed by a 67-yard Tiger td drive. The 16 points pushed the score to 23-0, all but deciding the outcome by midway through period two.
Two more Tiger scores in period three set the final at 37-0, the fifth mercy rule loss for Central Mountain this season.
Hollidaysburg had surrendered more than 400 yards of offense in its regular season-ending win last week over DuBois. But on Friday night an aggressive Tiger defense held CM to 55 yards, 14 rushing and 41 passing. The Wildcats’ Rocco Serafini, a thousand-yard rusher during the regular season, was held to 13 yards on 17 carries. Fellow senior Thomas Sprague was under pressure from the Tiger pass rush, held to an 8-for-19 passing mark for 41 yards, throwing one interception. Senior Connor Foltz, the school’s all-time receiver in both yardage and receptions, was held to three catches for 11 yards. Foltz did have a 63-yard kickoff return to the Hollidaysburg 32-yardline in the second period, but the Wildcats could advance the ball no further. Foltz also picked up an interception.
Central Mountain was hampered by three turnovers and committed 10 penalties for 81 yards.
Tiger senior running back Jack Steiner paced the winners on the ground with a season-high 134 yards on 19 rushes. Junior quarterback Maddox Bainey completed 12-of-20 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns,
A senior dominated Wildcat team ended the season with a 3-8 mark after a 2-1 start to the year.
CM 0 0 0 0 = 0
H 7 16 14 0 = 37
