AH Football: Anglin, defense excel, but Comets fall

With Jayden Anglin leading the way, Abington Heights put together two impressive threats in the second half, but they produced just a field goal and the Comets fell short Aug. 28 when they dropped the non-league football opener to visiting Allentown Central Catholic 10-3.

Anglin produced nearly all of the offense for the Comets and also led a strong team defensive effort.

The Vikings scored their 10 points in the second quarter, then fought off the Comets, who made it into the Red Zone on two of three second-half possessions, but chewed up clock while doing so.

Anglin carried 32 times for 190 yards, but the rest of the Comets offense managed just eight yards combined.

Abington Heights lost starting quarterback Noah Kayal to an injury late in the first half and completed just one of nine pass attempts in the game.

Anglin, a senior running back/linebacker, also led the Abington Heights defense in tackles with eight. One of the tackles was for a loss and he also assisted on two tackles.

The defense held the Vikings scoreless in the second half to give the offense a shot at the comeback.

Cooper Manning had a sack and another tackle for a loss among his four total tackles. Max Gordon had five tackles and three assists while Michael Arcure made six tackles and assisted on another.

The Comets held the Vikings to one first down on three first-quarter possessions.

They were able to shake off a fumble by Anglin at the end of a 17-yard run on their first offensive play when the pass rush produced a throw that did not clear the line of scrimmage and Adrian Azar was able to make a diving interception.

Allentown Central Catholic moved in front and produced what were ultimately the winning points with the game’s longest drive in the second quarter.

The Vikings went 94 yards in 15 plays to score on a 2-yard run by Trey Torres-Johnson. Allentown Central Catholic hit all five of its passes in the drive for 49 yards.

Abington Heights was hurt by penalties throughout the game.

Two of the penalties helped the Vikings score again after breaking the scoreless deadlock with just 1:56 left in the half.

The Comets faced long yardage after a holding penalty, then Kayal was sacked on the play that caused him to miss the rest of the game.

Abington Heights punted and was penalized again for 15 yards, setting the Vikings up at the Comets 38 and giving them enough time add a Bryson Baker 32-yard field goal as time expired for the first half.

The Comets had the ball for much of the second half.

Anglin carried 10 times for 74 yards in a 13-play drive with the second-half kickoff. They overcame one penalty to begin the drive, but were hurt by another on first-and-goal from the 8. When they were stopped at the 2, they settled for a 19-yard Jack Hartshorn field goal to cut the deficit to 10-3.

Allentown Central Catholic escaped trouble and came up with one of the biggest plays of the game on the special teams.

The Comets had momentum and forced a punt from the 25 after just three plays.

The punt snap went over Baker’s head to the 1 where he tracked it down and punted it all the way to the Abington Heights 33 for a net of 42 yards from the line of scrimmage.

Abington Heights punted the ball back and lost the potential field position edge, then had just one more offensive possession.

With the offensively line creating a consistent surge, Anglin carried seven more times for 72 yards to finish with 149 in the second half. He left the game after his last carry covered 38 yards to the Vikings 14 and the Comets stalled there.

Facing fourth-and-eight from the 12, they lined up for another field goal, but never got the kick away after a bad snap.

Allentown Central Catholic converted a third-and-two with a run up the middle, allowing it to kneel on the ball to run out the remaining time.

Up next

The Comets were scheduled to head to Florida Sept. 1 for a Sept. 2 game against Trinity Prep in Winter Park.

Trinity Prep is 1-1 after going 5-6 last season.

When the Comets return from their Florida trip, they will play the remainder of their schedule in District 2. First, they will face Dallas in a meeting of Big School district finalists from a year ago, then they will play their final seven games in Division 1 of the Lackawanna Football Conference.

“We are very excited for the 2026 season,” coach Joe Repshis said prior to the opener. “We have a solid nucleus of experienced and athletic players returning. A talented group of underclassmen and newcomers will compete for playing time and add depth in all three phases of the game.”