Abington Heights won more football games than at any time in the previous six years and, as a result, got to play in more games.
The Comets had their first winning season and won a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 squad won a District 2 Class 5A championship to reach the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state playoffs. The 7-5 season ended with a loss in the district final against eventual state Class 5A champion Delaware Valley.
Abington Heights sat out the 2020 season because of COVID and had endured five straight losing years.
A recap of the district playoffs:
Delaware Valley 55, Abington Heights 16
Ryder Machado scored five touchdowns as Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1 champion Delaware Valley beat visiting Abington Heights for the second time in three weeks for the ninth victory of what became a 10-game winning streak.
Machado carried 14 times for 114 yards and four touchdowns and caught two passes for 68 yards.
Abington Heights closed to within 14-6 late in the first quarter on a 36-yard, Nick Bradley-to-Kevin Schmidt touchdown pass.
Machado scored three times in the last nine minutes of the half to build a 35-6 lead. The last of those scores was on a 68-yard interception return.
The Comets were already playing without leading receiver Mason Fedor, also one of the team’s top defensive players.
They lost Bradley, who threw for 2,072 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season, to injury during the game after he had thrown for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Delaware Valley pushed the game into the Mercy Rule while building a 48-8 lead in the third quarter.
Ethan Opeil took his only carry 73 yards for an Abington Heights touchdown in the fourth quarter and Dylan Jaramillo added the two-point conversion run.
Austin Boersma led the defense with six tackles and three assists. Kevin Schmidt caught six passes for 73 yards.
Abington Heights 14, Scranton 6
Schmidt and Gavin Anders each made a dozen tackles to lead another strong defensive effort by Abington Heights against Scranton.
The Comets avenged a loss to the Knights in the same playoff round a year ago.
This season, Abington Heights gave up only six points in two wins over Scranton, which otherwise averaged more than 22 points per game.
Schmidt made two of his tackles for losses and also assisted on four tackles. Anders had three tackles for losses and was in two assists.
Cayd Sespico also had two tackles for losses and forced a fumble. Austin Boersma had seven tackles, one of them for a loss, and two assists.
The defense did not allow a touchdown in two meetings with Scranton, which got second- and fourth-quarter field goals from Emran Ahmetbeg.
In between, Bradley threw touchdown passes of 7 yards to Shawn Theodore for a 7-3 lead and to Sespico for a 14-3 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Bradley went 14-for-21 for 161 yards.
The Comets managed just 63 yards on the ground, but Theodore had five catches for 58 yards, Anders had four for 39 yards and Boersma had three for 45 yards.
