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By Rick Weaver
For the Mirror
PATTON -- Cambria Heights asserted its dominance on the line and on the scoreboard as it posted a 28-12 victory against River Valley in the Heritage Conference season opener for both schools on Friday night at Ernie Widmar Field at Memorial Stadium.
The Highlanders, coming off winning the District 6 Class 1A championship, rushed for four touchdowns. Fourth-quarter touchdowns by Stephen Nelen (6 and 9 yards) clinched the victory.
Play of the game: Cambria Heights quarterback Isaac Weiland connected with Trey Trybus for a 45-yard pass completion early in the second quarter. Weiland completed 4 of 8 passes for 79 yards. He was intercepted once.
Player of the game: Trybus led all rushers with 77 yards on six attempts. His rushing attempts included gains of 22, 17 and 28 yards. He also snagged two passes for 60 yards.
Unsung hero: Heights punter Garrett Jasper pinned River Valley to its 1-yard line after the Highlanders went three and out on its first possession. The Highlanders forced a three and out, and Marshall Eckenrode completed a 50-yard drive with a 9-yard scoring run.
Most vital statistic: The Highlanders rushed for 259 yards and picked up 338 total yards. They totaled 16 first downs and punted only once.
Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis: "Offensively, honestly, I thought we moved the ball well. We need to punch in a few more (scores), do a little bit better job. Those are typical first-game things. We gave up a couple of big plays on kickoffs.
More from coach Lewis: "Overall I was pleased with the way we played for Week One. As I tell the kids all the time, a team makes its biggest improvement from Week One to Week Two."
River Valley coach Jess Houser: "We need to get it going right off the bat. We can't wait around until the second, third or fourth quarter to get going. We have to play physical and keep going right off the bat."
Nelen: "We knew we have a bunch of guys who can get it done on offense. We have Garrett, Trey, Jaxxon (Kline), Luke (Mulraney). We have all these guys who can run the ball. So, it makes it really nice when I don't have to carry the ball 30 times a game; we can spread it out and still dominate."
Notable: Cambria Heights limited the Panthers to 10 total yards in their first three possessions. ... Kline followed Eckenrode's opening score with a 4-yard scoring run that pushed the Cambria Heights lead to 14-0. ... Sam Yanits led the Panthers with 52 rushing yards and two touchdowns. His 12-yard run in the second quarter drew River Valley within a touchdown. He also hauled in a 19-yard pass reception from Max Persichetti on the game's last play. ... Persichetti completed 9 of 17 passes for 73 yards. ... Friday's game was moved to Memorial Field because work on the new facility on the River Valley High School campus has yet to be completed. Memorial Field served as home of the Blairsville High School football team before Blairsville and Saltsburg merged their high schools in 2022. The heretofore unnamed new stadium is expected to open on Sept. 6 against Portage. ... Neither team lost a fumble. ... River Valley did not commit a turnover.
Records: Cambria Heights (1-0), River Valley (0-1).
Next week: Cambria Heights plays host to Purchase Line, and River Valley visits Conemaugh Township on Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 7 7 0 14 -- 28
River Valley 0 6 0 6 -- 12
First quarter
CH--Eckenrode 9 run (Abrams kick), 5:44.
Second quarter
CH--Klein 4 run (Abrams kick), 4:18.
RV--Yanits 12 run (kick failed), 3:36
Third quarter
No scoring.
Fourth quarter
CH--Nelen 6 run (Abrams kick), 10:24.
CH--Nelen 9 run (Abrams kick), 4:07.
RV--Yanits 19 pass from Persichetti (no PAT), 0:00
Team stats CH RV
First downs 16 10
Total yards 338 158
Rushes-yards 41-259 34-85
Yards passing 79 85
Passes-comp.-int. 4-8-1 9-17-0
Punts-avg. 1-59.0 5-37.2
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 7-49 5-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing--Cambria Heights, Trybus 6-77, Nelen 10-76, Jones 13-55, Jasper 3-19, Eckenrode 3-17, Weiland 4-13, Mulraney 2-2. River Valley, Yanits 15-52, Burktt 12-27, Persichetti 5-9, Wano 1-1, Team 1-(-2).
Passing--Cambria Heights, Weiland 4-8-1-79. River Valley, Persichetti 9-17-0-73.
Receiving--Cambria Heights, Trybus 2-60, Eckenbode 1-16, Nelen 1-3. River Valley, Vreslovic 2-14, Ewing 1-13, Smith 1-13, Yanits 1-19, Rummel 1-8.