Ben Estep hoists the District 6 Class 5A Trophy as the Golden Tigers celebrate.
Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers

By Jim Lane

For the Mirror

The Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers reign as the District 6 Class 5A champions again.

Coach Homer DeLattre’s Golden Tigers, sparked by the play of quarterback Jake McGinnis, scored 28 second-half points and defeated Central Mountain, 42-21, in the D6-5A title game Friday night at Mansion Park.

Hollidaysburg defeated Central Mountain, 35-12, in last year’s championship game.

McGinnis, a senior, ran for three touchdowns, passed for three others and accumulated 268 yards of offense to spark the Tigers.

Play of the game: Many, but McGinnis’ 53-yard TD scamper early in the third quarter was a big shot in the arm for the Tigers.

Player of the game: McGinnis — rushing touchdowns of 53, 25 and 13 yards and TD passes of 72 and 23 to Avery Sloan and 30 to Caden DeLattre.

Unsung heroes: The Golden Tigers’ lines — offensive starters included Mark McCoy, Sebastian Ross, Jacob Ott, Vincent Franco and Charlie Smith. On defense, it was Ross, Franco, Ott, Avery Sloan and Carter Schultz.

Additional unsung hero: Tiger kicker Ben Sosnowski. Week in and week out, he’s solid as a placekicker and punter, sending kicks out of the end zone and forcing teams to start with the ball at their 20-yard line on a consistent basis.

Winning coach Homer DeLattre: “Central Mountain was well prepared, so it’s great to get the win. I’m real proud of our kids.

“We made some field position moves that were key. Sosnowski’s punt in the fourth quarter flipped the field and was a big key.”

DeLattre on McGinnis: “He’s extremely poised and that’s the sign of a great leader. He did a great job of running the offense.”

McGinnis on the Tigers’ win: “It feels amazing. We worked on a lot of things all week, and the offensive line played well.”

Hollidaysburg senior lineman Vincent Franco: “I’m overwhelmed with joy. It was a little rough in places, but it was great to win. Our main focus in the second half was to get McGinnis time to complete some things.”

Notable: Central Mountain cut the lead to 28-21 at one point in the fourth quarter before the Tigers reeled off 14 points to pull away for good. … Hollidaysburg is now 6-4 and plays Erie Cathedral Prep (District 10) next Friday at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg. … The Hollidaysburg defense picked off three passes, and it could have been four, but a penalty nulified one by Tiger linebacker Ben Estep, which was returned for a touchdown … Central Mountain finished 6-5 under first-year coach Shanon Manning. … Central Mountain, down 14-12, had a touchdown called back off a kickoff return because of a penalty that would have given the Wildcats the lead at the break.

Records: Central Mountain (6-5); Hollidaysburg (6-4).

Next week: Central Mountain’s season is finished; Hollidaysburg plays Cathedral Prep at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Hollidaysburg 7 7 14 14 — 42

Central Mountain 6 6 6 3 –21

First Quarter

CM–Pentz 19 run (kick failed, 8:58.

H–Sloan 72 pass from McGinnis (Sosnowski kick), 1:32.

Second Quarter

CM–Fritz 8 pass from Gerlach (kick failed), 4:15.

H–DeLattre 30 pass from McGinnis (Sosnowski kick), :19.

Third Quarter

H–McGinnis 53 run (Sosnowski kick), 10:55.

H–McGinnis 25 run (Sosnowski kick), 6:06.

CM– Fritz 33 pass from Gerlach (pass failed), 3:46.

Fourth Quarter

CM–Weaver 32 FG, 7:50.

H–McGinnis 13 run (Sosnowski kick), 3:31.

H–Sloan 23 pass from McGinnis (Sosnowski kick), 1:53.

TEAM STATISTICS HB CM

First downs 12 17

Total yards 330 282

Rushes-yards 27-139 35-11

Yards passing 191 271

Passing (cpl.-att.-int.) 9-16-1 22-32-3

Punts-avg. 4-38 3-36

Fumbles-lost 0 1-1

Penalties-yards 10-112 4-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Hollidaysburg, McGinnis 10-77, Fox 7-32, Bainey 7-31, TEAM 1-(-1). Central Mountain, Pentz 17-47, Fritz 1-7, Serafini 3-(-2), TEAM 1-(-1).

PASSING–Hollidaysburg, McGinnis 8-16-1-191. Central Mountain, Gerlach 22-32-3-271.

RECEIVING–Hollidaysburg, DeLattre 5-79, Sloan 2-95, Wolfe 1-16, Shuey 1-1. Central Mountain, Fritz 8-122, Weaver 7-50, Pentz 3-46, Walizer 1-22, Connor Foltz 1-9, Grenninger 1-4.