Abington Heights Football Outlasts Valley View in Back-and-Forth Battle

Abington Heights found a way to escape with a 24-21 win over Valley View on Friday night, with Jack Hartshorn's 27-yard field goal as time expired providing the final margin in a back-and-forth game between two Lackawanna Football Conference Division I rivals.

Abington Heights entered the night 3-4 overall (2-2 in LFC Division I, 5th in the division), while Valley View came in at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in league play, sitting third in the division. Valley View also brought one of the district's most efficient offenses into the matchup, ranking first in District 2 in team PAT accuracy and fifth in points allowed, according to SportzWire's District 2 rankings. Abington Heights, facing a tougher schedule per the district's strength of schedule measure, came in second in the district in field goals made, a stat that would matter plenty by the end of the night.

Valley View struck first on the ground, with Jeffrey Wasilchak punching in a 1-yard touchdown run to cap the opening drive and Braden Loff's extra point making it 7-0. Abington Heights answered before the quarter ended when Jayden Anglin broke free for an 8-yard score, part of a night in which he finished with 31 carries for 162 yards and a touchdown. Anglin entered the game second in District 2 in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage, and he carried that workload all night for the Comets.

The second quarter turned into a shootout. Colin Dempsey found Cash Roe for a 3-yard touchdown pass to put Valley View back in front, 14-7. Dempsey, who came in ranked third in the district in passing yards per attempt and fourth in approximate passer rating, finished 12 of 15 for 136 yards and two touchdowns, though he also threw his only interception of the season. Roe, who entered the night seventh in District 2 in receiving yards, hauled in 12 catches for 96 yards on the night.

Abington Heights answered right back. Noah Kayal connected with Rodman Azar on a 54-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 14, then Kayal punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Comets up 21-14 heading into the second half. Kayal finished 6 of 9 passing for 127 yards and a touchdown to go with his rushing score.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Valley View tied it again in the fourth when Dempsey hit Ben Evans for a 6-yard touchdown, knotting the score at 21-21 behind Loff's third extra point of the night. That set up the finish, as Hartshorn's 27-yard field goal as time expired gave Abington Heights the 24-21 win.

The game ended with Abington Heights Football player rushing to the Valley View Sidelines which resulted in an altercation that required intervention from school faculty, staff and police. What, if any, accountability follows from the incident remains to be seen.