The Hollidaysburg High football team seems to have found a home in the WPIAL's Keystone Conference.

Hollidaysburg, located in Blair County, competed in District 6 for years. But with so few Class AAA teams to play, the Golden Tigers joined the WPIAL this season.

"We had only three other Class AAA teams in our district (Bellefonte, Indian Valley and Johnstown) and we traveled all over the state looking for teams to play," said Hollidaysburg coach John Barton, who is in his 12th season with the team. "We moved to the WPIAL for stability. It's a respected league."

The Tigers (6-3) finished in fourth place in their conference and earned a playoff spot.

Mars, fresh off a Greater Allegheny Conference title after defeating Knoch last week, will try to make the Tigers' first trip to the WPIAL playoffs a short one.

The Planets (8-1) will play host in a first-round game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mars Athletic Complex.

Hollidaysburg enters the postseason on a two-game winning streak, which includes a 40-13 win over Derry Area last Friday.

But the Tigers' six victories have come against teams with a combined record of 7-47.

While the Tigers have scored at least 20 points in every game, they are giving up 22.1 points per contest.

"We're pleased we qualified for the playoffs, but there are still some things we need to get better at," said Barton.

The Tigers' spread offense has broken a pair of school records this season.

Senior quarterback Chad Barton set the new standard for passing yards in a season (1,931) and has added 20 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.

Senior wide receiver T.J. Keefer now has the top mark for receiving yards in a single campaign (1,105).

"(Chad) has done a really good job of understanding the offense and taking what defenses give him," Coach Barton said of his son, a first-year starter. "And T.J. is a good route runner."

"(Highlands) also runs a spread offense," said Mars coach Scott Heinauer, whose team defeated Highlands 21-0 last month. "But Hollidaysburg has the WPIAL's second-leading passer. We will have to pressure him from different directions."

While the Tigers' passing game gets most of the headlines, the team's ground attack also is formidable.

Running backs Luke Rhodes, Kris Stern and Nick Shrift have combined for 1,588 yards and 18 touchdowns.

The Tigers are plus-7 in the turnover department, with senior linebacker Joel Redfoot (6-feet-4, 200 pounds) intercepting three passes and causing two fumbles.

Rhodes (6-3, 220), another linebacker, leads the team with eight tackles per game.

Mars will be without senior Dylan Bear after the team captain suffered an undisclosed injury against Knoch.

Shane Cress will take Dylan's spot at right guard and Zack Zwigart will fill in at defensive end.

Zwigart had a 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown last week.