Mirror file photograph
Josh Banks stood out on protection and offense for Hollidaysburg this season.
Josh Banks and the Hollidaysburg Area High School soccer crew have been on the identical trajectory for his complete varsity profession.
The Golden Tigers and Banks each tailored who they have been and the way they performed to grow to be one of the crucial profitable groups and gamers on the Class 5A stage within the state.
Banks capped off that large transformation by being named the Altoona Mirror’s Football Player of the Year, and his coach — Homer DeLattre — was chosen because the Mirror’s Football Coach of the Year for the primary time after main Hollidaysburg for the final 13 seasons.
“I have never had a player be the (Mirror’s) Player of the Year as long as I have been here,” DeLattre mentioned. “We have had a lot of great players who played at a lot of different levels of college football, but there’s not a more deserving person than him because of his offseason dedication, his leadership and his ability on the field. All the things we ask in our program — to be hard-working, dedicated, have self control, be prepared and don’t be complacent — all those things we talk about consistently, he is that. He is the model of our program.”
Banks mentioned he’s had assist from his coach.
“In my opinion, he’s the best coach in the state of Pennsylvania,” Banks mentioned. “Along the way, he’s helped me so much with doing the right thing and taking me step by step to get to where I wanted to be. I talked to him way back in January about going to college and playing football in college. Ultimately, he’s helped me get to where I am with the offers that I have.”
DeLattre, who led Hollidaysburg to a District 6-8-9-10 regional championship and a 13-0 mark till the Golden Tigers misplaced to eventual Class 5A champion Roman Catholic within the PIAA quarterfinals, completed second within the voting final yr.
This season his vote whole of 46 was 21 votes forward of runner-up Justin Wheeler of Bishop Guilfoyle Academy. The Marauders received one other District 6 title and superior to the PIAA Class 1A title sport earlier than shedding to Clairton. Penn Cambria’s Jason Grassi was third with 24 after main the Panthers to a District 6 title and a return journey to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals.
“It means a lot,” DeLattre mentioned. “It’s humbling. I’ve goosebumps proper now eager about it. I don’t count on stuff like this. I’m not an enormous award man, however to listen to the coaches picked me is superior. It’s an honor to be chosen by the coaches you’re employed with every single day.
“You want them to be the best, but you want to be the best as well. It’s humbling. I share this with my coaches, who are tremendous, and the players in our program and our community. This is a Hollidaysburg football award, it’s not a Homer DeLattre award, that’s for sure. It’s a combination. I will never put myself above the program or the team, and I’m blessed to be the football coach at Hollidaysburg.”
Banks led the Golden Tigers in tackles for the second yr in a row and had 15 tackles for loss and 5 interceptions and a blocked punt. Offensively, he ran for 2 touchdowns, caught 17 passes 254 yards and three touchdowns and helped pave the way in which for junior Carter Muth’s Hollidaysburg single-season dashing information of two,071 yards and 32 touchdowns.
“We use the H-back (Banks) a lot in our blocking scheme, whether it’s kicking out that near end or pulling through,” DeLattre mentioned. “Or running to the backside to keep the backside linebacker occupied — we use that H-back a ton, and it’s a huge asset to what we’re doing, especially with the RPOs. You have to have that H-back who pulls through and is part of the blocking scheme like a pulling guard or pulling tackle would be.”
Though it’s sophisticated to clarify Banks’ actual offensive function, DeLattre broke it down in a approach many native followers can relate with.
“He does a lot of the things Tyler Warren did for Penn State,” DeLattre mentioned. “It’s comparable to that. It’s very complex.”
In addition to his defensive stats, Banks was the unquestioned chief of the Golden Tigers.
“His preparation for games is unmatched,” DeLattre mentioned. “He, not only through the coaches, but through his personal video watching — he’s a huge extension to the coaching staff. Whether it’s picking out tendencies or identifying formations or splits by the receiver — those kinds of things. You’ll hear him from the sideline calling out the play before it happens because of his preparation. That also provides leadership to the rest of the team and makes them want to be better and learn more.”
Banks, who began his Hollidaysburg profession as a large receiver and defensive again and developed into an H-back and linebacker, has a walk-on provide from Pitt and Maine, Lehigh and Bucknell have made him scholarship provides.
“It means a lot, because I have been working so hard,” Banks mentioned. “We had a great year. It is a testament to how hard I worked through the offseason. Last year, I got my spot moved to outside linebacker. I was a little undersized, so that was my main goal through the offseason was to get bigger and get that linebacker build. With that being said, some colleges gained interest in me after that. It was a great year of hard work and great accomplishments.”
In addition to Banks, there have been a number of different gamers within the Mirror’s protection space that stood out.
Bishop Guilfoyle Academy’s Jake Kissell was an apparent Player of the Year candidate after stepping in for each an injured Taurean Consiglio at operating again and at occasions at quarterback after accidents at that place whereas nonetheless starring defensively as he did as a junior.
Mason Campagna at Claysburg-Kimmel set profession information in each passing and dashing yardage on the faculty and led the Bulldogs to the District 6 semifinals the final two seasons, and Brady Jones, Corbin Vinglish and Blake Lilly have been all excellent candidates from a Penn Cambria crew that matched the varsity’s longest playoff run.
But it was Banks’ management of a crew that will have been the very best in Hollidaysburg historical past in opposition to one of many hardest schedules the Golden Tigers have ever performed — which included beating Maryland state energy Fort Hill on the sector for the primary time — that pushed him forward.
“I tried to be more vocal,” Banks mentioned. “Last year, (with the previous senior class), I didn’t have to be as vocal. Being more vocal for me was huge, and I also led by example. A lot of the guys look up to senior leaders, and being a captain was a huge part of that.”