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Central Mountain's 2021 season ended abruptly Friday night in the District 6 Class 5A championship. Hollidaysburg used a big second half performance to pull away from the Wildcats and earn a 42-21 victory.
"These kids have had a lot of opportunities to quit, and they haven't. I'm really proud of that. I think this a season that could've gone really south, really quick. I'm very thankful they kept pushing and continued to practice. They're selfless and resilient," Wildcats coach Shanon Manning said after Friday's loss in regard to his team.
Central Mountain wasted no time getting to work offensively. The Wildcats used a 10-play drive to get out to a 6-0 lead on the game's first possession. Senior running back Ryan Pentz capped the scoring drive by running in a touchdown from 19 yards out.
After both teams exchanged punts on their next two possessions, the Golden Tigers finally got on the board. Hollidaysburg's Avery Sloan snuck behind the Wildcats' secondary and hauled in a wide open 72-yard passing touchdown from Jake McGinnis. Sloan went untouched the entire way to the end zone.
On the ensuing possession, Central Mountain's drive looked promising as the Wildcats marched into the red zone. Ultimately, Central Mountain's drive that began on its own 20 stalled after Gerlach coughed up an interception in the Hollidaysburg end zone.
The Wildcats finally returned to the promise land later in the second quarter thanks to two outstanding plays from Connor Foltz. The sophomore set up Central Mountain's offense in prime position after he managed to return a punt into Hollidaysburg territory.
After the outstanding return from Foltz, he later hauled in an eight-yard pass from Brett Gerlach in the front corner of the end zone to give his team a, 12-7, lead.
Things got chaotic toward the end of the first half after the Golden Tigers punted it away.
The loose ball bounced off a Wildcat player and Hollidaysburg recovered it in Central Mountain territory. McGinnis and the Golden Tigers took full advantage of the turnover. The senior fired his second touchdown of the game. This time, it was a 30-yard pass to Caden DeLattre to put the Golden Tigers ahead.
After the score, it was time for some trickery from the Wildcats special teams. Central Mountain ran a fake handoff reverse on the return and ran it back to the house for six, although, it was called back due to a block in the back penalty.
Hollidaysburg entered the half with a 14-12 lead.
After a close half with back-and-forth scoring, Hollidaysburg turned the second half into a track meet. The Golden Tigers went on to outscore the Wildcats. 28-9, in the second half to earn the victory.
It was quite the second half for McGinnis who finished the night with five total touchdowns and over 250 yards of offense. The senior play-caller ran for three scores in the second half to help put the game out of reach.
Central Mountain managed to find the end zone just once in the second half as Foltz hauled in a 33-yard from Gerlach midway through the third to bring the Wildcats within 10 points.
Foltz led all Wildcats' receivers with six catches for 80 yards a pair of scores. As for Gerlach, the senior left it all out on the field by throwing for 287 yards and two scores.
The offensive firepower put forth from Hollidaysburg was too much for Central Mountain to match. For the second straight season, the Wildcats had their season end at Mansion Park.