Crashing the Party

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LOCK HAVEN - John Barton got what he wanted.

After rolling through two consecutive weeks - games that Hollidaysburg won by huge margins - Barton's Golden Tigers were tied 7-all with a gutsy and gritty Central Mountain squad.

Justin Gildea changed all of that in the final 24 minutes.

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior back broke the tie with a 29-yard run between the tackles, and gave Hollidaysburg a two-score cushion with a 15-yard touchdown with 10:44 remaining.

In the end, the Golden Tigers left Lock Haven University's Hubert Jack Stadium with a 28-7 win over the Wildcats in Seven Mountains Division play of the MAFC.

It was Hollidaysburg's fourth consecutive win since a shutout loss to State College, opening the season. For the Wildcats, it's their third loss in the last four games.

Using a balanced attack, the Triple-A school rushed for 228 yards and senior quarterback Brandyn Ott threw for 102 yards on 8-of-11 passing and one touchdown - a 48-yard pass to Jason Boland in the first quarter.

"Facing Central Mountain, we knew this was going to be a tough game because they are a Quad-A school," Ott said. "We knew this was going to be the toughest defense we were facing since State College in Week 1. They were going to come out strong, blitzing all over the place. The line did a great job blocking up front, opening up some holes for big runs in the second half. I think our line was wearing them down, and driving them back. Gildea was hitting the holes really good. When he saw them, he was able to get through them pretty quick."

After exchanging punts to start the second half, Hollidaysburg put together a nine-play drive, all on the ground. The key play - a second-down, 16-yard Ott quarterback keeper put the Golden Tigers near the Wildcat red zone. Two plays later, Gildea broke through the middle and sprinted down the left sideline, breaking the 7-all tie.

"I don't know if we wore them down or not. Maybe we did because we didn't have the success running the football in the first half as we did in the second half," Barton said. "Credit Central Mountain because they were tough kids and this was going to be a tough game. We said to the line that they needed to get it done in the second half and shoulder the weight."

The Wildcats (3-3) were thin up front defensively, missing normal starters Matt Bower and Jacob Shade, plus reserve Jimmy Bechdel. In addition, athlete Scott Zuback left in the second half because of an injury he sustained.

While the new line held up in the first half, the Golden Tigers' front continued to pound the ball.

In fact, Hollidaysburg (5-1) rarely threw in the second half and relied on the ground game of Gildea, Ott and bruising back Luke Rhoades - who combined for 195 of the team's 220 yards on the ground.

"We just keep getting hammered with injuries, and we were forced to move some people around to new positions," CM head coach Steve Turchetta said. "The defense did a good job, and held them down. We just didn't make some plays when we needed to.

"That's a tough offense to stop. It's like when a team runs the option. You can't simulate the quarterback. You can kind of put them in places, but the speed and the athleticism is tough. Our scout team did a great job this week, but you can't simulate Ott. He's a great athlete. We knew they were going to be athletic, but I thought our kids fought hard. That's almost a 7-7 ballgame through three quarters. We had some opportunities, but it didn't happen."

Down 14-7, Central Mountain fumbled the football around midfield, and once again, the opportunistic Golden Tigers responded.

This time, it was an 11-play, 56-yard drive - capped off by Gildea's second touchdown, a 15-yard counter where he circled the left side and outran two Wildcats to the pylon.

"Justin is a special player," Barton said. "He's a big-time kid. He can make plays, and basically, he willed that second-to-last score that got us to 21.

"This game was a battle, and we needed that. We had to find something out about ourselves and our team. That's the biggest thing that I am proud of our kids for."

Out of Central Mountain's 227 yards, senior back Matt Overdorf accounted for 101 of those.

He scored the team's lone touchdown on a 42-yard sweep, knotting the game at 7 with 10:23 left in the first half.

Overdorf has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games, finishing with 101 Friday night.

Returning back from an injury sustained against DuBois, junior quarterback Cody Dolan was 9-of-17 for 58 yards and two interceptions, while linebacker Logan Houtz led the team in tackles with 12.

"I was proud of the kids," Turchetta said. "If we could take that next step now, and continue on our road, we are going to be in good shape come the end of the season. We just have to get some people healthy."

Mountain Athletic

Football Conference

HOLLIDAYSBURG 28, CENTRAL MOUNTAIN 7

H7-0-7-14 - 28

CM0-7-0-0 - 7

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

H: Jason Boland 48 pass from Brandyn Ott (Boland kick), 1:15

Second Quarter

CM: Matt Overdorf 42 run (Nathan Conway kick), 10:23

Third Quarter

H: Justin Gildea 29 run (Boland kick), 3:43

Fourth Quarter

H: Gildea 15 run (Boland kick), 10:44

H: Ott 1 run (Boland kick), 1:47

Team Statistics

HCM

First Downs1710

Rushes-Yards 49-228 33-169

Yards Passing10258

Passing8-11-0 9-18-3

Total Yards330227

Fumbles-Lost4-23-3

Penalties-Yards4-305-43

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: H, Luke Rhoades 18-76, Justin Gildea 12-76, 2 TD; Brandyn Ott 11-43, TD; Scott Hammon 8-33. CM, Matt Overdorf 16-101, TD; Cody Dolan 11-47; Scott Zuback 6-21.

PASSING: H, Brandyn Ott 8-11-0, 102 yards, TD. CM, Cody Dolan 9-17-2, 58 yards. Matt Overdorf 0-1-1, 0 yards.

RECEIVING: H, Jason Boland, 2-60, TD; Justin Gildea 4-38, Scott Hammon 2-4. CM, Hunter Phillips 1-17, Tony Corl 1-12, Zack Boone 3-12, Scott Zuback 2-12, Logan Houtz 1-11, Matt Overdorf 1-(-6).

INTERCEPTIONS: H, Justin Gildea, Nick Shrift, Jason Boland.