FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS: Comets, Lions, Cavaliers roll in openers

Defending champions Abington Heights, Lackawanna Trail and Scranton Prep opened the district and subregional playoffs Halloween Night by pounding their opponents in Mercy Rule games by a combined margin of 145-13.

All three teams are scheduled to play championship games Nov. 7.

Abington Heights (9-2) will try to avenge one of its losses from this season when it hosts Delaware Valley (6-5) in a rematch of last season’s District 2 Class 5A final after beating Wyoming Valley West 53-7. Delaware Valley blocked a field goal and extra point to win at Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 champion Pittston Area 7-6.

Lackawanna Trail (10-1) will host Tri-Valley (7-4) for the District 2-11 Class A Subregional title after eliminating Pottsville Nativity 50-6. Tri-Valley used a 50-yard field goal to defeat Marian Catholic 3-0.

Scranton Prep (6-5) is at Berwick (11-0) pursuing its fifth straight District 2 Class 3A championship following a 42-0 rout of host Wyoming Area. Berwick handled Hanover Area 49-9.

Abington Heights 53, Wyoming Valley West 7

Jayden Anglin and Gavin Anders each scored twice in the first half and the defense added a pair of safeties while holding Wyoming Valley West scoreless until the final eight seconds.

Anders produced the only touchdown of the first quarter when he caught a pass at the chains on third-and-nine, then worked his way through the middle of the field, making three Spartans miss on the way to a 43-yard touchdown reception from Gavin Bradley.

Wyoming Valley West intercepted in the end zone to stop the next threat.

Three straight penalties brought up second-and-26 from the 4. Cayd Sespico led the pass rush, getting an assist from Thomas Reese for the safety.

The Comets then broke the game open when Anglin ran for touchdowns on the next two offensive plays. He took pitches to the short side, got the left sideline and ran 45 and 37 yards for scores.

Abington Heights made it 30-0 at halftime when Bradley scrambled on fourth-and-eight, pulled up just short of the line of scrimmage and lofted a pass into the back of the end zone where Anders went over a defender for a 17-yard touchdown.

Anthony Severs ran 43 yards for a score in the first minute of the second half.

Cooper Manning was closing in on the quarterback after a bad snap on second-and-31, forcing him to cover the ball in the end zone for another safety and a 39-0 lead after three quarters.

Landin Sobolewski ran 60 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Ben Levan ran four yards for the last touchdown.

Wyoming Valley West covered 50 yards on its last two offensive plays to score in the closing seconds.

Lackawanna Trail 50, Pottsville Nativity 6

Isaac Ryon carried 10 times for 212 yards and six touchdowns while setting Lackawanna Trail’s single-season rushing record.

Ryon broke Richard Jackson’s 25-year-old record and moved past 2,300 yards before the night was over.

The Lions took a 36-0 lead after one quarter on the first four Ryon touchdowns and a 55-yard, Tyler Jervis-to-Kaylix Douglas pass. Ryon ran for touchdowns of 52, 46, 27 and 3 yards and added a two-pointer after his first touchdown.

Ryon scored from the 20 for a 43-0 halftime lead and added a 57-yard touchdown in the third.

Scranton Prep 42, Wyoming Area 0

WEST PITTSTON –Will McPartland hit his first five passes and his last five, leading to timely scores that allowed Scranton Prep to break away from second-seeded Wyoming Area, which came in with a 9-1 record.

McPartland missed the first three games of the season, all Scranton Prep losses, while recovering from ACL surgery. Since his return, the four-time defending champion Cavaliers have returned to their typical level of play in recent seasons.

“He’s certainly the catalyst for their team,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “He did a great job tonight. What he came back from and to be able to be in the position he’s in and to elevate his team going forward, I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for him and their whole team.”

Scranton Prep scored twice in 17 seconds in the second quarter, beginning a stretch of 28 points in 11:18 to reach the Mercy Rule early in the third quarter.

Braedon McPartland took one of his brother’s passes 64 yards and another 15 yards. Will McPartland hit three passes for 82 yards in the drive that he capped with an 11-yard run, making him 5-for-5 for 130 yards through the air to that point.

The wind knocked down a high kickoff in front of Wyoming Area’s deep men and Brandon Farmer won the race to the ball jumping on it at the 26 before the Warriors could touch it.

On the second play, Noah Krzywiec turned the corner and went down the left sideline for a 26-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 8:36 left in the half.

The Cavaliers got the ball back with 2:29 left in the second quarter and scored in a little more than half that time. Will McPartland hit five straight passes to cover 64 of the 68 yards on the scoring drive.

A.J. Croom broke tackles on his way in for a 22-yard touchdown and 28-0 halftime lead.

A partially blocked punt set Scranton Prep up at the Wyoming Area 12 to begin the second half and the Cavaliers scored in two plays, both runs by Anthony Prince. The touchdown covered 5 yards and invoked the running clock of the Mercy Rule with 9:35 still remaining in the third quarter.

McPartland had all his carries and pass attempts in the first half while helping Scranton Prep build a 28-0 lead. He hit 11 of 13 passes for 208 yards, ran for two touchdowns and was in on six tackles.

“He’s a special kid,” Scranton Prep coach Terry Gallagher said. “He’s a once-in-a-lifetime kid and I’m very lucky to get to coach Will McPartland.”

McPartland scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter.

Prince added the last touchdown on a 40-yard run late in the third quarter.

Kaleb Pagnotti led the Cavaliers defense with seven tackles, six assists, a batted down pass and a pass rush. Croom’s early interception led to the first Scranton Prep touchdown. He also had six tackles, three assists and a broken-up pass. Andrew Dempsey had five tackles and two assists in the first half.