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COMMODORE -- The stage is set for what many figure will be the marquee football matchup in the Heritage Conference.
Cambria Heights emerged from Barry T. Madill Memorial Athletic Field on Friday night with a 28-0 victory against pesky Purchase Line.
The Highlanders will face Marion Center, a 20-6 winner against Homer-Center, in a battle of the conference's only remaining unbeaten teams on Sept. 12 at Ameriserv Bank Field at Cambria Heights Stadium.
"It's going to be a tough battle. It always is," Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said. "We'll enjoy this (win), and we'll start looking at them. But I know they'll be well-coached with coach (Adam) Rising."
Play of the game: Dawson Warner picked up a fumble by Nolan Engle on a convenient bounce to start a 29-yard return that pushed the Highlanders lead to 15-0.
Player of the game: Nolan Clawson rushed for a game-best 167 yards. He closed out the scoring with a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Most vital statistics: Cambria Heights forced four turnovers, including three fumble recoveries. The Highlanders held a 332-211 edge in total yards and rolled up 19 first downs.
Unsung heroes: Camden Gray returned an interception 29 yards for a second-quarter score, and Bryce Lewis recovered a fumble late in the second quarter to halt a promising Purchase Line possession.
Coach Lewis: "Offensively, we moved the ball a couple of times (and) had some turnovers. But defensively, I liked that we got after it and made some opportunistic plays."
Lewis: "Right now we still have guys who have made their third start. I liked how we fought back in the second half. I thought we played a cleaner game."
Cambria Heights senior co-captain James Holtz: "It was sloppy football on our part. We had too many mistakes. (But) we cleaned that up."
Warner, on the fumble recovery and touchdown: "It just fell in my arms. And I practice like we play."
Purchase Line coach Matt Falisec: "I thought our kids battled hard. We had lot of guys in new positions. I thought they really battled it out. So I'm really proud of what our kids did. But (losing 28-0) is not the standard. We have to step it up and expect to win football games."
Notable: Warner contributed 56 rushing yards on nine attempts. He also ran for a third-quarter touchdown. ... Kaiden Ivory completed 7 out of 11 passes for 71 yards. He was intercepted once. ... Cambria Heights punted only once and blocked a punt. ... Nito Kutruff made good on two out of three point-after attempts. His second such attempt struck the left upright and landed no good. ... Victor Bartlebaugh led Purchase Line with 58 rushing yards and five pass receptions for 84 yards. ... Conemaugh Township, one of the conference's four unbeaten teams entering Week Three, suffered a 39-21 loss against River Valley.
Records: Cambria Heights (3-0), Purchase Line (0-3).
Next week: Cambria Heights plays host to Marion Center, and Purchase Line travels to West Shamokin on Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 0 15 6 7 - 28
Purchase Line 0 0 0 0 - 0
Second Quarter
CH--Gray 29 interception return (Werner run), 7:46.
CH--Warner 25 fumble return (Kutruff kick), 4:36.
Third Quarter
CH--Warner 3 run (kick failed), 7:43.
Fourth Quarter
CH--Clawson 6 run (Kutruff kick), 7:53.
TEAM STATISTICS CH PL
First downs 19 10
Total yards 332 211
Rushes-yards 40-244 37-98
Yards passing 88 113
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7-12-2 8-17-1
Punts-avg. 1-38.0 3-51.3
Fumbles-lost 5-2 6-3
Penalties-yards 2-15 7-58
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Cambria Heights, Clawson 20-167, Warner 9-56, Strong 4-24, DeArmitt 1-13, Ivory 1-5, Orosz 1-0, Wharton 1-(-2), TEAM 3-(-19). Purchase Line, Bartlebaugh 9-58, Lotson 6-43, Davis 4-17, Johnston 2-10, Adams 1-5, Engle 11-(-10), TEAM 6-(-25).
PASSING--Cambria Heights, Ivory 7-11-1-71, Clawson 1-1-0-17. Purchase Line, Engle 8-17-1-113.
RECEIVING--Cambria Heights, Lewis 3-35, DeArmitt 2-14, Lobick 1-17, Clawson 1-7, Gray 0-9. Purchase Line, Bartlebaugh 5-84, Matko 2-11, Johnston 1-18.