5 interceptions doom Butler football in loss at Hollidaysburg, snapping win streak
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Hollidaysburg football has constructed its own version of the Steel Curtain defense.
The unbeaten Golden Tigers pitched their third consecutive shutout Friday night, intercepting five passes in a 24-0 victory over Butler at Tiger Stadium.
Hollidaysburg’s Gavin Bell intercepted Butler quarterback Alec Teff three times, helping set up one touchdown in the first half, and Josh Banks returned another pick 22 yards for a score. Kayden McCrystal added an interception in the second half.
Hollidaysburg snuffed out two serious scoring threats by Butler (2-2), holding the Golden Tornado on four downs from the 2-yard line late in the second quarter and again on four plays from the 17 in the third quarter.
“We couldn’t get anything going,” said Butler coach Eric Christy, whose team had its two-game winning streak snapped. “We knew they were big up front, and they did a nice job with their defensive line.
“We just didn’t have an answer for their defense.”
Butler surrendered three touchdowns and a field goal in the first 12:04, then shut Hollidaysburg out the rest of the way.
Mitchell Baronner scored the game’s first touchdown for the Tigers on a 14-yard run less than three minutes into the first quarter. The TD came after Butler was flagged 15 yards for running into Hollidaysburg kicker Paul Wedel on a successful 43-yard field goal try.
“I thought our defense played well, shut them out in the second half,” Christy said. “Our offense put us in bad spots all night and we just couldn’t get out of them.”
Three plays after that, Banks picked off Butler quarterback Alec Teff and returned it for the score that made it 14-0. Hollidaysburg then recovered an onside kick by Wedel that he eventually converted into a 27-yard field goal.
Bell’s first interception came on the last play of the first quarter, and Baronner capped it off with a 4-yard scoring run on the first play of the second.
In addition to throwing five interceptions, Teff attempted 42 passes, completing 18 for 149 yards. Tailback Mark Klemz, who rushed for 174 yards last week against Meadville, was held to just 19 yards on 11 carries.
Hollidaysburg’s defense has not been scored on since the second quarter of the opener against Altoona, a span covering 14 quarters.
“We’ve really been playing some great defense,” said Hollidaysburg coach Homer DeLattre, whose team matched its best start in 17 years at 4-0.
Butler 0 0 0 0 — 0
Hollidaysburg 17 7 0 0 — 24
First Quarter
H – Baronner 14 run (Wedel kick), 9:06.
H – Banks 22 interception return (Wedel kick), 7:40.
H – Wedel 27 FG, 5:05.
Second Quarter
H – Baronner 4 run (Wedel kick), 11:56.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Butler, Kollinger 13-37, Klemz 11-19, Hanley 2-9, Jennings 1-0. Hollidaysburg, Baronner 13-37, Muth 3-9, DeLattre 2-8, Bainey 9-6, Bell 2-(-11).
Passing: Butler, Teff 18-42-5-149. Hollidaysburg, Bainey 8-17-0-9.
Receiving: Butler, Simko 11-87, Klemz 3-26, Hanley 1-16, Vicari 2-12, Baggetta 1-8. Hollidaysburg, Steiner 3-42, Bell 2-22, Albarano 1-21, DeLattre 2-10.
