Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers bests Altoona Mt. Lions 35-21

Tagged under: District 6, Gameday Hub, News

PFN Staff | August 26, 2019

Photo by Kayla Long, WesternPAFootball.net Photography Intern.

Hollidaysburg Area High School and Altoona Area High School are only separated by seven miles within Blair County. A strong fanbase for both teams filled the bleachers and made for standing room only around the field. This opening night rivalry match-up serves as a prime example of the popularity and prestige of high school football in Central Pennsylvania.

A stiff breeze from the north swirled within Tiger Stadium almost until kickoff. As the wind ceased, both the Altoona Mountain Lions and Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers were ready to bring a storm of their own, and it was the Tigers who brought the rain with a 35-21 victory.

Each school invited their 150+ member marching bands on to the field for the National Anthem. A clash of blue, gold, maroon and white uniforms gave way to a harmonious Star-Spangled Banner. These colors clashed continuously on every snap for the rest of the evening.

Altoona began the game on its own 20 yard line. On the second play of the game the Mountain Lions drove quickly into Hollidaysburg territory on a 58 yard run by junior RB Edwin Franklin. Later in the drive, they gave up possession after a fumbled handoff.

Hollidaysburg wasted no time getting to work. Junior QB Bryce Martellacci ran for the 61 yard touchdown and gave the Golden Tigers the early lead at 9:47 of the first quarter. Martellacci found the endzone later in the quarter on a 30 yard pass play to senior RB Trenton Paddock. Hollidaysburg padded its lead 21-0 at 9:36 in the second quarter with a 3 yard run by Martellacci.

Altoona scored on a drive midway through the quarter on 13 yard run from sophomore RB Ethan Stroup. The Golden Tigers answered back twice in the last 3 minutes of the first half on 10 and 20 yard runs by Paddock to hold a 35-7 lead at the break.

In the second half, both teams conceded 3 punts on uneventful drives. Altoona began to pick up steam late in the third quarter and closed the gap to 35-14 late in the 3rd quarter on a 5 yard run from junior QB Marcus Day. The Mountain Lions inched closer to the lead at 9:23 in the 4th on an 8 yard run from Day. Hollidaysburg made big stops on defense late in the game as Altoona fought to the 16 yard line and came up sort on a 4th and 11 run.

The real story of this game came from the first half dominance of the Golden Tigers. They forced a few fumbles and capitalized on other ball handling and route running mistakes by Altoona. Hollidaysburg made a few errors of its own in allowing Altoona to gain ground and close the difference.

Hollidaysburg senior RB Trenton Paddock has a busy night with 12 carries for 103 yards. He also caught 3 passes for 48 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. Altoona’s woes came by the way of losing 3 of 5 fumbles and 9 penalties for over 90 yards.

Altoona travels to Williamsport next week to face the Millionaires and Hollidaysburg stays at Tiger Stadium to host the Mifflin County Huskies.

Kayla and I will be traveling to Portage to watch a West Pac Conference game between the Portage Mustangs and North Star Cougars.

Follow me on Twitter: @_GRANTLONG_  for full high school football coverage on @WPAFootball in Blair, Bedford and Cambria County

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