H.S. FOOTBALL: Abington Heights boots Valley View
PECKVILLE, Oct 06, 2012 (Menafn - The Times-Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --His defense came up with a big play in the final minute of the first half, so Abington Heights coach Joe Repshis wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
Rather than run out the clock and go into the locker room tied with Valley View at halftime, the Comets offense quickly moved into position to try a field goal.
Ryan Patrick responded by nailing a 42-yarder as time expired, and Abington Heights rode that momentum into the second half to pull away to a 34-14 victory Friday night in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I game at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Quinn Karam ran for two touchdowns and quarterback Dante Pasqualichio threw a pair of scoring tosses to J.C. Show for the Comets (2-1 league, 5-1 overall), ranked No. 5 in the Times-Tribune Top 10 poll.
But Patrick's kick at the end of the first half clearly was the turning point.
"Our approach is to play every second until the last one is off the clock," Repshis said. "That was an opportunity for us to put points on the board before halftime and go in with some momentum. Our players stepped up and made some plays."
It was the defense that set up Abington Heights for its late score.
With the game tied at 14, No. 6 Valley View (1-2, 4-2) was marching toward the possible go-ahead score.
But on first-and-10 from the Comets 29, Jerry Langan sacked quarterback Liam Callejas, forcing a fumble. Joe Dietz recovered for Abington Heights at the 47 with 34.1 seconds left.
"We blitzed and I came off the edge," Langan said. "I went in and their fullback just ignored me and I went inside. Callejas didn't see me as I came from behind and I swatted the ball out."
Pasqualichio scrambled for 13 yards. Then after a delay penalty on Abington Heights, he found Conor Dickinson for 20 yards to the Valley View 25.
After two incompletions, Patrick trotted out for his 42-yard attempt with 4.4 seconds left. The Cougars called two timeouts to try to ice Patrick, but to no avail.
"I was getting a little tight when they called the timeouts, so I just tried to stretch out," said Patrick, who also plays on the Abington Heights soccer team. "It was just my time to shine. J.C. had a great hold and I knew it was good the moment I hit it. It was a good feeling."
That feeling carried over into the third quarter as the Comets seized control. They ran 20 plays for 124 yards in the quarter to Valley View's six plays for 9 yards.
"They did a nice job in the second half. We didn't have the ball," Valley View coach George Howanitz said. "They did a nice job defensively and moved the ball on us very well offensively."
A 5-yard touchdown pass from Pasqualichio to Show made it 24-14 with 5:30 left in the third. Karam scored on a 6-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Fittingly, Patrick capped the scoring with a 22-yard field goal with 7:14 left.
Contact the writer: swalsh@timesshamrock.com
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