Abington Heights scored 13 straight fourth-quarter points Friday night, but Hollidaysburg used a blocked extra point with 3:42 remaining to hold on for a 24-23 victory in a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 5A state football playoff game at Milton.
The Comets scored on the first play of the quarter, which opened with them facing a 14-point deficit for the third time in the game.
Shawn Theodore, who had also run for the team’s first touchdown, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Shane Brower to open the quarter, then scored on a run from the 1 to pull Abington Heights within a point.
The loss ended the season on the District 2 champion Comets at 8-5.
Despite playing without injured starting quarterback Nick Bradley, the Comets put up a fight against the unbeaten Golden Tigers.
Theodore, who spent the regular season sharing top receiver duties with Brower, returned to the position he held for a large part of his sophomore season. He finished 19-for-30 passing for 206 yards and led the Comets in rushing with 23 yards on seven carries.
Bradley left just before halftime of the district final a week earlier, ending his season with 2,076 yards and 26 touchdowns passing and just two interceptions.
Hollidaysburg (13-0) will face Philadelphia Roman Catholic, a 41-13 winner over East Stroudsburg South, in the state quarterfinals.
The Golden Tigers got there by having just enough left to fight off the Comets after a fast start.
An offense that struggled in the fourth quarter, until running the final 3:42 off the clock, was sharp early.
Mitchell Barroner ran 6 yards for a first-quarter touchdown and Hollidaysburg opened a 14-0 lead in less than 15 minutes when Maddox Bainey threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Brady Steiner.
Abington Heights scored for the first time on a 30-yard Jack Farrell field goal with 5:17 left in the half.
Hollidaysburg used its own field goal to go back up by 14, but the Comets closed within 17-10 just before halftime.
Theodore ran 14 yards for the team’s first touchdown.
Bainey ran 7 yards for a score to allow Hollidaysburg to take a 24-10 lead into the fourth quarter.
Penalties on the Golden Tigers assisted Abington Heights in the drive for its last score.
Theodore capped the drive, but Brayden Berkheimer blocked the kick and the Comets never touched the ball again.
Bainey and Barroner, who finished with 93 and 89 yards rushing, helped kill the remaining time. Bainey threw for 175 yards on 10-for-16 passing with Steiner catching four of the passes for 118 yards.
Brower led Abington Heights receivers with eight catches for 84 yards. Cayd Sespico had five for 42 yards and Gavin Anders four for 75 yards.
Anders led the defense with five tackles and four assists. Rocco Sarafinko and Anthony Chillari also made five tackles. Sespico made four tackles, two of them for losses, and assisted on two others.
