Cathedral Prep football starts shaky, but takes down Hollidaysburg in first round
ALTOONA ― Mansion Park Stadium was the last stop on Cathedral Prep’s journey to Hershey in 2018.
This year, the Ramblers hope it’s just their first step.
Mike Krahe was defensive coordinator for the Prep team which throttled Bishop McDevitt on this field before winning a PIAA championship the following week. Now its head coach, Krahe’s Ramblers were triumphant in their return to Altoona.
Things started shaky for Prep, which fumbled on its two opening possessions against District 6 champion Hollidaysburg. After that, however, the Ramblers scored on nine consecutive drives to build a 63-35 victory Saturday in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs.
“Our schedule prepares us for moments like this where we’ve been down in a game,” Krahe said. “We’ve dealt with coming back; we’ve dealt with turning the ball over. It’s not what I want to do, but we’ve done a great job of fighting back and evening the scoreboard.”
Rollin’ Ramblers
Suhtaun Lewis scored five touchdowns for Prep (7-3), which punched in all six of its first-half TDs on the ground. Dajoure Hollingsworth added two rushing scores and Luke Costello threw two, including one to Corey Allen and one to RJ Roberts.
“I just want to thank my linemen so much,” said Lewis, a senior. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have done what I did. We wouldn’t have all those points on the board.”
Lewis’ fifth touchdown came with 8:56 remaining in the third quarter and extended Prep’s lead to 35 points, starting a running clock which shortened the second half. Prep carried a 20-point advantage into halftime before interceptions by Dan Oblich and David Adams-Prince helped the Ramblers pull away.
“We wanted to dictate the game from the very first snap,” senior left tackle LaMonte Fuller said. “We obviously fumbled the first two drives, but we got our feet under us and dictated the game after that.”
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Early adversity
Prep’s turnovers allowed Hollidaysburg (5-6) to take a 14-7 lead, albeit short-lived. Maddox Bainey threw four total touchdowns for the Tigers, which capitalized on quality field position and used their aerial attack to move the ball.
Unfortunately for Hburg, however, the Tigers had no answers for Prep’s offense. After a Hollingsworth TD put the Ramblers up 21-14, a successful onside kick recovery and a score from Lewis gave them their first separation of the evening.
“We had to deal with some adversity, but at the same time, it was self-inflicted,” Krahe said. “We need to take care of the football; do our part. We felt we had a good game plan and I think it showed out, we just need to play fundamental football.”
Used to this
Prep is now 8-3 in the playoffs against District 6 opponents, including 4-0 since the PIAA expanded to six football classifications in 2017, and 4-0 all-time against Hollidaysburg. The Ramblers have now reached the state quarterfinals in eight consecutive seasons but have reached the PIAA final just once since completing their three-year state championship run in 2018.
Like it did before its trip to Altoona, Prep will wait two weeks to play again. Most PIAA first-round games will be played next week, but Prep vs. Hollidaysburg was held a week early, giving the Ramblers another bye before the quarterfinals.
They’ll await the District 7 champion in the 5A quarters the weekend of Nov. 23-24.
“We’re going to face a team that goes through the gauntlet of the WPIAL,” Krahe said. “We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We need to show up ready to play, take care of the ball and play sound fundamental football.”
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Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter,@realjuveino.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Cathedral Prep football opens PIAA playoffs with victory over Hollidaysburg
