Hollidaysburg comes back to stun Fort Hill, 35-30

Sep. 27, 2025
by Alex Rychwalski

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — Fort Hill had Hollidaysburg on the ropes, but the Golden Tigers refused to go down.

The Sentinels took a 24-14 lead after a 67-yard touchdown pass from Noah House to Braelyn Younger with 3:19 left in the third quarter, and they forced a three-and-out, taking over at midfield with a chance to take control.

Fort Hill fumbled the snap on the first play, and Hollidaysburg’s Joseph Keefer recovered, beginning a string of three consecutive Golden Tiger touchdown drives to come back and stun the top-ranked Sentinels, 35-30, Friday before an announced 7,132 spectators at Tiger Stadium.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Fort Hill head coach Zack Alkire said. “Two great programs. Just sucks that we’re on the bad end of it tonight. ... We had multiple chances to put the game away and we didn’t take advantage of them and they came back and bit us in the butt.”

Fort Hill had won eight straight in the series on the field before Friday. The Sentinels fell to 2-2. Hollidaysburg stayed perfect at 6-0.

Fort Hill led by nine with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter after a 28-yard touchdown run by Younger during which the senior lowered his shoulder and bulldozed a Hollidaysburg defensive back to make it 30-21 Sentinels.

Carter Muth answered with a personal two-play, 76-yard touchdown drive for the Golden Tigers, finding pay dirt on a 46-yard scamper to cut their deficit to 30-28 with 8:21 remaining.

Fort Hill went three-and-out and shanked the punt — its starting punter Jacob Bone was injured on a roughing the kicker earlier in the second half — setting up a short field at the Fort Hill 26.

On 3rd-and-12, Hollidaysburg’s Cole Delattre found Josh Banks in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Golden Tigers their first lead, up 35-30 with 4:02 left.

Fort Hill turned it over on downs on its next series, and Hollidaysburg iced the game with a pair of first downs.

“This is the first time I ever put a team on the field that felt confident against Fort Hill,” Hollidaysburg head coach Homer Delattre said. “It’s just extra special for our program and a credit to them. I mean, that’s one of the best football programs in eastern United States historically for the last 12 years.

“And to beat them, I’m grateful. I’m grateful and I appreciate the game. The games we’ve had in this series, and it’s not over. There’s a lot of great games to come in the series.”

It was a reversal of roles from a typical Fort Hill-Hollidaysburg game.

The traditionally power-running Sentinels turned to the pass, unable to run the football consistently, and the Golden Tigers used H-backs and heavy personnel to gash Fort Hill on the ground in the second half.

Muth finished with 171 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and Cole Delattre added 116 yards and one score on 24 totes.

House completed 12 of 17 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, spanning 57 and 43 yards to Jameson Powell-Morris and the long score to Younger.

Younger rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and he caught three passes for 83 yards and a score. Carson Bender had six receptions for 72 yards.

Fort Hill led 17-14 at the half, but Hollidaysburg used an electric special teams play to enter the break with all the momentum.

The Sentinels brought Bobby Brauer out to attempt a 56-yard field goal that came up short. However, a running into the kicker penalty gave Brauer another shot, but an unblocked Tyler Rogers came through the line and blocked the kick.

Rogers picked up the ball on the run at his own 45, and Fort Hill appeared to wrap up the ball carrier. Rogers pitched it to Bryce Lewis, who picked up the skipping ball and ran the final 40 yards for a touchdown with no time on the clock.

Fort Hill owned the prior 28 minutes of the half, using the arm of Noah House to build a 17-7 lead.

House connected with Powell-Morris for touchdowns of 57 and 43 yards, and Brauer drilled a 33-yard field goal.

The first score came on a 3rd-and-2 and was Fort Hill’s first pass play of the night to make it 7-0 with 4:53 left in the first quarter.

Hollidaysburg went big with an H-back on the ensuing series and drove 80 yards on eight plays. Cole Delattre tied the series with an eight-yard keeper with 1:30 left in the first.

Brauer’s kick upped Fort Hill’s lead to 10-7 with 6:09 left in the second quarter.

Fort Hill forced a three-and-out and took over on the Hollidaysburg 47 with 3:27 left in the half after a solid return by Channing Logsdon.

The Sentinels called a timeout on a 3rd-and-6 and drew up a flea flicker, and House hit Powell-Morris in stride for a 43-yard score with 2:12 left in the half.

Fort Hill now turns to a matchup with West Virginia power Bridgeport (5-0) next week looking to avoid its first 2-3 start since 2001.

“We need to regroup,” Alkire said. “We need to understand that it’s a long season and that even though losses hurt, we need to move forward and rebuild. And your goal’s still going to play for a championship, and that’s what we’re going to attempt to do.”