Heights opens season with solid all-around win
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PATTON -- Just about everything went well for Cambria Heights in its Heritage Conference football season opener on Friday night.
The Highlanders amassed 314 total yards and scored in nearly every way imaginable in their 50-7 romp against United Valley at Highlander Stadium.
"Definitely the run game was on point. The pass game was kind of rough, but the run game was definitely there. Our O-line looked good," Cambria Heights quarterback Nolan Clawson said. "I trust my boys, so I know what to do."
Cambria Heights scored six touchdowns rushing, added one on a blocked punt, and yet another touchdown on a recovered fumble in the end zone.
Play of the game: United Valley senior Shayden Oleksa earned the distinction on account of his 94-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The score gave the Lions a 7-6 lead that held up to the end of the first quarter. Oleksa left the game in the second quarter, however, with an apparent broken wrist.
Player of the game: Clawson scored the Highlanders' first three touchdowns (21, 32, 6 yards). He led the Highlanders with 132 rushing yards.
Unsung hero: Cambria Heights junior Harrison Snyder blocked a punt attempt by Cole McGinnis and returned it 25 yards for a third-quarter score.
Most vital statistics: Cambria Heights rushed for 290 yards on 55 attempts. Nine players, including several underclassmen, carried the ball.
United Valley coach Lou McElwee: "(Oleksa is) a big part of our offense. Honestly, there is not another back like him in the entire conference. And I don't know if there ever will be. When you have back like that who can break it at any time, you have something. And when he went down, it was tough. The boys took it to heart."
Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis on Clawson: "He's an athlete. He's one of our best players. And he showed that tonight."
Lewis on the United Valley touchdown: "That one play down there, I don't know what happened. It seemed as if they snapped the ball, we were all looking around. The Oleksa kid is a good back, and he ran for a touchdown."
Clawson on the win: "It started with a good week of practice. We knew this team wasn't going to be that easy to beat. We knew they would be tough."
Notable: Roman Eckenrode recovered a Lions fumble at the United Valley 42. The second-quarter takeaway preceded a 6-yard scoring run by Brayden DeArmitt that advanced the Highlanders lead to 28-7 at halftime. … Oleksa led all rushers with 150 yards on 9 attempts before the ankle injury prematurely ended his night. ... Senior Connor Riffer recovered a fumble at the United Valley 13 to halt a Highlanders scoring chance. ... Harrison Snyder returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a third-quarter score. ... The Cambria Heights defense tackled Nathan Szymusiak in the end zone for a safety shortly thereafter. ... Carter Orosz ran 15 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown that put the game on running time. ... Owen Thomas recovered a fumble in end zone. United Valley lost two of its three fumbles. ... Cambria Heights missed 3 of 4 point-after kick attempts.
Records: United Valley (0-1), Cambria Heights (1-0).
Next week: United Valley plays host to Homer-Center, and Cambria Heights visits River Valley on Friday night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
United Valley 7 0 0 0 - 7
Cambria Heights 6 22 8 14 - 50
First quarter
CH - Clawson, 8 run (kick wide), 10:16.
U -Oleksa, 94 run (Riffer kick), 4:33.
Second quarter
CH - Clawson, 21 run (Clawson run), 9:50.
CH - Clawson, 32 run (kick blocked), 4:04.
CH - DeArmitt, 6 run (DeArmitt pass from Clawson), 1:48.
Third quarter
CH - Harrison Snyder, 25 return of blocked punt (kick wide), 7:05.
CH - Safety, Nathan Szymusiak tackled in the end zone, 4:25.
Fourth quarter
CH - Orosz, 15 run (Kutruff kick), 11:54.
CH - Thomas, recovered fumble in end zone (Kutruff kick), 11:04.
TEAM STATISTICS UV CH
Team Statistics UV CH
First downs 5 16
Total yards 177 314
Rushes-yards 22-144 55-290
Yards passing 33 24
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 5-14-0 2-7-0
Punts-avg. 5-26.4 2-44.5
Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-1
Penalties-yards 4-40 4-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: United Valley, Oleksa 9-150, Szymusiak 5-10, Hauck 2-0, Team 1-(-3), Cook 1-(-5), James 3-(-8). Cambria Heights, Clawson 13-133, Lewis 9-52, Orosz 3-43, Warner 3-23, Strong 7-23, DeArmitt 7-14, Snyder 3-13, Ranck 3-11, G.Eckenrode 1-(-4), Team 6-(-18).
Passing: United Valley, James 5-14-0-33. Cambria Heights: Clawson 2-7-0-24.
Receiving: United Valley, McGinnis 2-20, Good 1-22, McElwee 1-(-2), Oleksa 1-(-7). Cambria Heights, DeArmitt 1-17, Warner 1-7.