Click here to subscribe today or Login.
PECKVILLE — Valley View took nearly seven minutes at the end of the first half to march down the field and try to take the lead over Crestwood, only for the Comets to stand tall on their own goal line.
The Cougars’ response after halftime? An even longer drive that put them in control of the game for good.
Zach Cwalinski’s quarterback sneak touchdown capped off a 17-play drive that ate up nearly the entire third quarter, putting Valley View ahead for good in a 21-14 win over Crestwood in the District 2 Class 4A semifinals.
If the Cougars were rattled after coming up empty to end the first half, they sure didn’t seem like it. The trio of Cwalinski, Nick Kucharski and Preston Reed pounded the ball up the middle, play after play, yard after yard.
In total, the touchdown drive that put Valley View up 14-7 went for 9:27, and sucked the air right out of the Comets.
“We went into halftime not feeling great about things, and the kids came out and put together a nearly 10-minute drive,” said Valley View head coach Scot Wasilchak. “That’s who we are, if we could do that we’re tough to stop.”
The Cougars put together a quick three-and-out on defense, and Cwalinski scored his second touchdown of the night on a nine-yard keeper to make it a 21-7 game in the fourth quarter.
Crestwood, which benefited all night from good starting field position on short kicks and good returns, got a great return from Gio Barna, with a facemask penalty tacked on at the end to give the Comets the ball on Valley View’s 45-yard line.
Barna would end up pulling the Comets to within a touchdown on a jet sweep, finding the right moment to cut upfield and pushing through some tacklers to get to the end zone.
With just under five minutes to play, Crestwood needed a stop to have a chance. Getting Valley View into a third down and medium situation, the Comets were just a play away from getting that stop.
But Cwalinski, who didn’t do much throwing on Friday night both by design and because of some very windy conditions, found the perfect moment to make his best throw of the evening.
The senior stepped up in the pocket just in time to avoid pressure flying in from his back side and let one loose down the field, a perfect strike to Jack Kovack for 45 yards.
“It was a killer,” said Crestwood head coach Ryan Arcangeli. “You could rep that all week in practice, but sometimes guys make plays.”
The Cougars converted one more third down on the drive, Cwalinski doing it himself on a short run to move the sticks, and the clock ran out on Crestwood’s chances of a comeback.
Valley View first took the lead on their first drive of the night, with Kucharski breaking loose for a 45-yard touchdown run up the middle. He would finish with 94 yards rushing, the Comets managing to keep him bottled up for much of the night after that.
Crestwood running back Colin Lazo tied the game 7-7 in the second quarter. Jacob Jeckell was the team’s leading rusher with 46 yards.
Valley View 21, Crestwood 14
Crestwood`0`7`0`7 — 14
Valley View`7`0`7`7 — 21
First Quarter
VV — Nick Kucharski 45 run (Braden Loff kick), 8:20
Second quarter
CRE — Colin Lazo 6 run (Ethan Zabroski kick), 6:45
Third quarter
VV — Zach Cwalinski 1 run (Loff kick), 2:33
Fourth quarter
VV — Cwalinski 9 run (Loff kick), 8:20
CRE — Gio Barna 6 run (Zabroski kick), 4:50
Team statistics`CRE`VV
First downs`10`17
Rushes-yards`29-106`46-220
Passing yards`25`136
Total yards`131`356
Passing`2-7-0`7-13-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-4`0-0
Punts-avg.`3-30`1-33
Fumbles-lost`1-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`3-20`8-54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — CRE, Jacob Jeckell 11-46, Barna 7-18, Lazo 4-16, Lincoln Bibla 3-9, Matthew Bealla 1-0, Jack Rodgers 1-3, Nate Walsh 1-15, Team 1-(minus-1). VV, Kucharski 12-94, Preston Reed 8-59, Cwalinski 24-66, Tim Ulkoski 1-3, Casey Malsberger 1-(minus-2).
PASSING — CRE, Rodgets 2-7-0-25, Barna 0-1-0-0. VV, Cwakinski 7-13-0-136.
RECEIVING — CRE, Carter Kennedy 2-25. VV, Beyon McLean 2-22, Reed 1-6, Jack Kovack 2-52, Gianni Marino 1-23, Nick Kucharski 1-33.
INTERCEPTIONS — none.
MISSED FGs — none.