Abington Heights finished the football regular season on a high note, winning its final three games, two of them by shutout.
Prior to those wins, the Comets played a couple of one-touchdown games against strong opponents. They ended September falling to Delaware Valley, their top competition for a District 2 Class 5A title and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament berth, and opened October by losing to Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1 champion Scranton Prep.
The streak that followed assured the Comets of their second straight winning season and landed them the top seed for the Class 5A playoffs and the home field for a likely Nov. 8 championship game with Delaware Valley. They finished LFC Division 1 play in fourth place of seven teams at 3-3.
Along the way, junior quarterback Nick Bradley became the school’s all-time leader in career passing yards and surpassed the 4,000 mark in that category.
A recap of their October games:
Abington Heights 27, Hazleton Area 0
Bradley led the offense and Jaydin Anglin led the defense Oct. 25 when the Comets closed the regular season with a non-league, home win under the lights.
Bradley found Shawn Theodore with two touchdown passes and ran 55 yards for another score.
Anglin led the shutout effort with 10 tackles and an assist.
Bradley was 10-for-13 passing for 201 yards. He also rushed for 85 yards on three carries.
Theodore had six of the catches for 110 yards. He caught a 47-yard, second-quarter pass for the only score of the first half and a 22-yard pass for the team’s second touchdown in the third quarter.
Dom Vergnetti scored the other touchdown and was in on 10 tackles.
Abington Heights 42, Scranton 21
Bradley went 17-for-24 for 311 yards and four touchdowns passing to lead Abington Heights, which broke loose offensively after trailing 7-0 at the end of the first quarter of its LFC Division 1 finale at Scranton Memorial Stadium Oct. 18.2
The Comets took a 21-7 halftime lead on two Bradley-to-Shane Brower touchdown passes and a run by Vergnetti.
Gavin Anders caught seven passes for 116 yards, Cayd Sespico caught five for 66 yards and Brower three for 100. Anders and Theodore each had touchdown receptions.
Rocco Sarafinko returned an interception 61 yards for a score.
Abington Heights 41, Wallenpaupack 0
CLARKS SUMMIT — Bradley accounted for the first five touchdowns when Abington Heights celebrated Homecoming with a Thursday night game in which it pounded Wallenpaupack Oct. 10 in an LFC Division 1 game.
Bradley ran for three scores in the second quarter, then passed for two touchdowns in the second half.
The first Abington Heights possession ended in a Logan Downey interception, but the Comets scored on their remaining six drives, picking up 22 first downs along the way.
Abington Heights outgained Wallenpaupack, 192-67 on the ground, 226-76 through the air and 418-143 total.
Bradley led the way by hitting 17 of his 24 passes for 226 yards. He also picked up 29 yards on five carries, scoring on three straight attempts during the second quarter.
Brower caught eight passes for 124 yards while also contributing five tackles and an assist on defense.
Theodore and Anders combined for the other nine catches and each had a touchdown.
Vergnetti was the leading rusher with 17 carries for 74 yards.
Gavin Padula led the defense with six tackles and three assists.
Abington Heights was 11-for-13 on third-down conversions and also picked up a fourth down on its only attempt.
The only quick strike by the Comets came when Tyler Sacks broke a 57-yard run up the middle on the second play of the last possession.
Scranton Prep 27, Abington Heights 21
Abington Heights temporarily fell below the .500 mark with the loss Oct. 4 at Dunmore, Scranton Prep’s home field, in an LFC Division 1 game.
The Comets managed just 46 yards rushing.
Theodore intercepted a pass, along with forcing and recovering a fumble.
Brower caught seven passes in the loss while Bradley threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns.