Pictured above: Connor Hilling
After running for three touchdowns, Valley View needed something more from Connor Hilling.
He provided it with three yards.
Hilling’s gritty third-down conversion with 1:34 remaining Friday night finally put an end to a fourth-quarter Abington Heights comeback and allowed the Cougars to escape with a 21-14 victory in a key Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1 game.
At stake for the winner was a share of first place with Scranton as the only two teams to make it through two division games at 2-0.
Valley View got there just in time to make the next Friday night a big game for both teams. The Cougars (5-1 overall) will play at Scranton (6-0) for sole possession of the division lead.
Abington Heights missed out of a chance to enter right into the division race after a rough start in non-league play. The Comets fell to 1-1 and 1-5.
After Abington Heights scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to cut a 21-point deficit to a single touchdown, the Comets used their final timeout while the Cougars had possession.
Valley View handed the ball to Hilling off right tackle on third-and-two. The speedy Cougars tailback was stopped more than a yard short of the first down, but kept driving his legs, pushing forward until he had a three-yard gain and a Valley View first down.
The first down allowed the Cougars to end the game with two straight kneel-downs.
Hilling had given Valley View the 21-0 lead with touchdown runs of 5 yards in the first quarter, 18 in the second and 2 in the third. He finished with 186 yards on 30 carries.
Valley View built statistical advantages of 17-8 in first downs, 257-32 in rushing yards and 343-178 in total offense on the way to its fifth straight victory.
The defense kept the Comets down for three quarters.
Christopher Savkov picked off two passes while Nick Kucharski and Dominic Memo had one interception each. Dylan Walsh had seven tackles, three assists and a pass rush.
Abington Heights rallied, getting its passing game going in the fourth quarter.
Shawn Theodore hit Roman Cutrufello with touchdown passes of 2 and 56 yards 1:16 apart to make it 21-14 with 2:32 remaining.
Theodore finished 9-for-21 for 146 yards. Cutrufello had 4 catches for 85 yards.
Nico Bossi, who had four assists, and Nate Grimaldi, who had two assists, each made nine tackles, including one for a loss.
Adam Howanitz finished 10-for-14 for 86 yards for Valley View in the win.
