DISTRICT 2 CLASS 5A FOOTBALL: Comets win first district title since 2016

CLARKS SUMMIT — Abington Heights is headed to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state football playoffs after winning its first District 2 championship since 2016.

Shawn Theodore shook off a pair of third-quarter interceptions to engineer a 98-yard drive and score the winning 2-yard touchdown Saturday afternoon as the Comets defeated Delaware Valley 20-14 in the Class 5A championship game at Comets Stadium.

Delaware Valley had won eight straight district titles.

Theodore moved from receiver to quarterback, a position he held for much of the 2022 season, when starting quarterback Nick Bradley left the game with a leg injury he suffered late in the first half.

Bradley had led the Comets to a 14-0 lead by hitting his first eight passes and accounting for the two touchdowns on a 1-yard run and a 9-yard pass to Shane Brower. Bradley, who wound up 8-for-9 for 94 yards, did not return to the game.

Delaware Valley had already closed to 14-6 in the final minute of the half before Theodore took his first snap.

Theodore led the Comets with 28 yards rushing and hit five of nine passes, but the Warriors tied the game 14-14 with the help of two interceptions.

A Delaware Valley punt pinned Abington Heights at 2 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.

The Comets responded with the winning drive, covering the 98 yards in 13 plays and taking more than seven minutes.

Theodore opened the drive with a nine-yard quarterback sneak to give the Comets some breathing room.

The Comets converted two third downs, one on a 41-yard Theodore pass to Brower to put the ball at the 6 and the other on his 2-yard touchdown.

Theodore broke away from a potential sack before throwing a high pass that Brower went up over a defender to get.

The touchdown broke a tie, but the Comets missed the extra point.

Brandon Lezinski and Cayd Sespico led the defensive effort that kept Delaware Valley from getting closer than the 23 the rest of the way. Lezinski stopped a fourth-and-six play two yards short at the 23 and Sespico made one solo tackle for a loss before assisting on another on a fourth-down play.

The Comets opened the scoring in the last minute of the first quarter.

Gavin Anders returned a punt 34 yards, Brower ran 10 yards to the 1 and Bradley scored from there.

Abington Heights added another touchdown by going 62 yards in 10 plays on the next possession.

Bradley was 4-for-4 for 36 yards on the drive, including the touchdown to Brower.

Delaware Valley scored on a 25-yard pass from Logan Olsommer to Colin McGarvey 33.4 seconds before halftime. Rocco Sarafinko blocked the extra point, keeping the Comets lead at 14-6.

Joseph Kessler’s 34-yard interception return on the first drive of the second half set up Mike Iuzzolino’s 5-yard touchdown on the next play. Delaware Valley tied the game on a two-point run by Justin Estevez.

Abington Heights finished with statistical advantages of 16-8 in first downs, 127-121 in rushing yards, 153-71 in passing yards and 280-192 in total offense.

Delaware Valley was penalized 16 times for 143 yards compared to seven times for 73 yards against Abington Heights.

The district title is the 10th in school history for Abington Heights. The Comets (8-4) will travel to face District 6 champion Hollidaysburg next week.