ABINGTON HEIGHTS FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS: Comets win first district title since 2016

Abington Heights won a District 2 football championship and headed to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament for the first time since 2016.

The district title was the 10th in school history.

Abington Heights 20, Delaware Valley 14

CLARKS SUMMIT – Shawn Theodore shook off a pair of third-quarter interceptions to engineer a 98-yard drive and score the winning 2-yard touchdown Nov. 9 as Abington Heights defeated Delaware Valley 20-14 in the District 2 Class 5A championship game at Comets Stadium.

The loss ended a streak of eight straight district championships by the Warriors.

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 and missed the state playoff game that followed.

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 hit Shane Brower with a 41-yard pass to set up his 2-yard touchdown run.

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 two tackles for losses, including one 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 873 yards against Abington Heights.

Bradley’s season ended with 2,076 yards and 26 touchdowns passing while being intercepted just two times.

Hollidaysburg 24, Abington Heights 23

Abington Heights scored 13 straight fourth-quarter points Nov. 15, but Hollidaysburg used a blocked extra point with 3:42 remaining to hold on for a victory in a PIAA Class 5A state football playoff game at Milton.

The Comets scored on the first play of the quarter, which opened with them facing a 14-point deficit for the third time in the game.

Theodore, who had also run for the team’s first touchdown, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Shane Brower to open the quarter, then scored on a run from the 1 to pull Abington Heights within a point.

The loss ended the season on the District 2 champion Comets at 8-5.

Theodore, who spent the regular season sharing top receiver duties with Brower, handled his first start of the season and kept the Comets in striking distance. He finished 19-for-30 passing for 206 yards and led the Comets in rushing with 23 yards on seven carries.

Mitchell Barroner ran 6 yards for a first-quarter touchdown and Hollidaysburg opened a 14-0 lead in less than 15 minutes when Maddox Bainey threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Brady Steiner.

Abington Heights scored for the first time on a 30-yard Jack Farrell field goal with 5:17 left in the half.

Hollidaysburg used its own field goal to go back up by 14, but the Comets closed within 17-10 just before halftime.

Theodore ran 14 yards for the team’s first touchdown.

Bainey ran 7 yards for a score to allow Hollidaysburg to take a 24-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Abington Heights defense stiffened and the Comets took advantage of fourth-quarter penalties on the Golden Tigers.

Theodore capped the late drive, but Brayden Berkheimer blocked the kick and the Comets never touched the ball again.

Bainey and Barroner, who finished with 93 and 89 yards rushing, helped kill the remaining time. Bainey threw for 175 yards on 10-for-16 passing with Steiner catching four of the passes for 118 yards.

Brower led Abington Heights receivers with eight catches for 84 yards. Sespico had five for 42 yards and Anders four for 75 yards.

Anders led the defense with five tackles and four assists.