Trojans hoping they can write a different ending

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November 19, 2009

BY MIKE MASTOVICH The Tribune-Democrat Thu Nov 19, 2009, 11:57 PM EST

JOHNSTOWN — The finalists will be the same as last year when tonight’s District 6 Class AAA championship game kicks off at Mansion Park in Altoona.

But Johnstown coach Kevin Marabito hopes the storyline changes, at least in the second half of the top-seeded Trojans’ 7 p.m. game against second-seeded Hollidaysburg.

A year ago, the heavily favored Golden Tigers found themselves in a 14-all tie at intermission of the 6-AAA title contest. Johnstown actually held leads of 6-0 and 14-7 before the Tigers tied the game late in the opening half and reeled off 25 unanswered points in the second half of a 39-14 victory.

“I think the kids understand the situation,” said Marabito, who had a large group of underclassmen on the field watching Hollidaysburg accept the 6-AAA championship plaque in 2008. “It’s hard to put a finger on last year’s game. Were we just happy to get there? Was it nerves? Was it the different type of atmosphere? Now, the kids know there is a lot at stake. I’ve said all along, the kids have got to want this. It’s got to be a different mind-set.”

Johnstown (7-3) has won three straight games and five of the past six. Prior to last week’s bye, the Trojans had allowed a combined 11 points in wins over Central Cambria (41-3), Penn Cambria (36-8) and Bishop Guilfoyle (42-0).

“We tell the kids defense is going to win you championships,” Marabito said. “I feel our defense has played well all year. That’s our true strength. We’re putting points up on offense but the true strength is our defense. We’ve got to continue to play that way. I think we’re so quick on defense. A lot of teams underestimate how quick we are. I like that we’re playing physical defense. They swarm to the ball and play with intensity all the time.”

Hollidaysburg (4-6) has a deceiving sub-.500 record. The Golden Tigers have played seven Quad-A opponents and six road games, with four of those trips more than a 90-minute drive.

Coach John Barton’s squad is 3-0 against Class AAA opponents.

“It’s hard to gauge. The competition they played shows that they are a lot better than that 4-6 record,” Marabito said. “They’re a pretty solid football team.”

Hollidaysburg has had a streaky season. The Tigers lost their final three games to DuBois (24-14), Williamsport (39-6) and Cedar Cliff (35-27).

Prior to that, they won four straight over Cardozo of Washington, D.C. (45-14), Central Mountain (20-17), Indian Valley (42-7) and Bellefonte (49-21).

Hollidaysburg opened with three straight losses to

State College (57-6), South Western in Hanover (34-14) and Henderson of West Chester (28-7).

The Golden Tigers running game centers on James Muir, who has 127 carries for

1,017 yards and 13 touchdowns, and Luke Rhodes, who has

109 attempts for 576 yards and 11 scores.

“We’ve got to stop the run,” Marabito said. “We’ve got to be able to prove that we can

stop them from running the football. Last year they really took it to us with the run. Their quarterback is their leading ground gainer. I assume he’s pretty much like our quarterback. He’s going to take off.”

Johnstown quarterback John Siciliano has netted 630 rushing yards and scored 12 touchdowns on the ground. The senior has thrown for 605 yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Trojans also get production from a stable of backs such as Laquinn Stephens-Howling (37 carries, 307 yards, four touchdowns), Jordan Jefferson (52-268, three), Kashmir Pretlor (48-198, four), Gervon Simon (8-166, two) and Quatrell Rose (34-145, one).

Johnstown has rushed for 1,942 yards on 343 carries, or 194.2 a game.

Receiver Richard Agurs has 19 catches for 344 yards and six touchdowns.

“We spread the ball around pretty well,” Marabito said. “As far as rushing carries, we’re pretty well-balanced across. Every kid has the capabilities of breaking the long run. We’ve

got quality receivers. If you

look back on us, every week it seems like a different person stood out. It wasn’t the same player every week who was the top guy.

“That’s what makes it nice. It’s a team offense. We’ve got the philosophy of who’s hot that day is who we’re going to go with.”

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