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PATTON -- Brayden DeArmitt was not going down. Not that time. Not if he could help it.
The Cambria Heights senior broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage and sprinted 65 yards along the left sideline to lift the Highlanders to a come-from-behind 29-23 victory against River Valley on a balmy Friday evening at Panther Stadium.
"Both teams are really good. It was a really good game. But all that matters is the team at the end that wins," DeArmitt said.
Play of the game: DeArmitt, who had scored the Highlanders' first touchdown on an 83-yard jet sweep in the first quarter, shed two tacklers near the line of scrimmage and completed a 65-yard scoring run with 1:38 to play in the fourth quarter.
"I came around the (left) corner, stiff-armed the first guy, and then put my shoulder down, spun off the second guy and down the sideline I went," said DeArmitt, who led all rushers with 145 yards on four attempts.
"He's a tough kid; he never stops. I give him credit. That took some determination and some willpower," Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said.
Player of the game: River Valley quarterback Max Persichetti nearly did it all for River Valley. He completed 15 of 18 passes for 209 yards, found Johnathan McDivitt for a 33-yard touchdown play, kicked a 38-yard field goal, and returned an interception 40 yards to the River Valley 43. He also connected with Jake Woodring for a 44-yard touchdown pass that broke a 10-all halftime deadlock.
"Max was flawless. He was running the veer, he did a great job," River Valley coach Ed Dalton said.
Unsung hero: Harrison Snyder's fumble recovery at the River Valley 24 came with 5:36 left in the final period. Nolan Clawson scored his second touchdown of the night to pull the Highlanders into a 23-23 tie.
"Once we got the ball back we knew it was over. We knew we could go down and score," DeArmitt said.
Most vital statistics: Cambria Heights rushed for a total of 322 yards and attained a 397-362 edge in total yardage. The Highlanders committed only one turnover.
Coach Lewis: "When this team got down in the fourth (quarter) I didn't see any of the negative energy. I'm proud of them for that. I saw a team that battled."
Coach Lewis on the Highlanders' comeback: "We made some mistakes (that) I'm not too happy about. But all in all, when you win a game like this, credit those guys. I wise man once told me, 'Good teams find a way to win,' and we found a way to win tonight. So I'll assume, at least for this week, we're a good football team."
Coach Dalton on the pivotal lost fumble: "We dropped the snap. It's one thing if they knock the ball loose. We just dropped the snap; we made a mistake."
DeArmitt on the fumble recovery: "Once we got the ball back we knew it was over. We knew we could go down and score."
Notable: Clawson completed 9 of 13 passes for 75 yards. He threw one interception. He also scored two touchdowns (5 and 21 yards). ... DeArmitt also led the Highlanders with four pass receptions for 34 yards.
Records: Cambria Heights (2-0), River Valley (1-1).
Next week: Cambria Heights plays host to Purchase Line and River Valley travels to Conemaugh Township on Friday night. ... Patrick Hilaire led the Panthers with 65 rushing yards and seven pass receptions for 71 yards. His fourth-quarter touchdown put River Valley ahead, 23-17, with 7:41 left in the final period. ... Persichetti fired a 33-yard completion to Johnathan McDivitt for a touchdown that put River Valley ahead, 10-7, just before the end of the first quarter. Persichetti also found Jake Woodring for a 44-yard pass that put the Panthers in front, 17-10 in the third quarter. ... Cambria Heights senior Nito Kutruff kicked a 35-yard field goal as the first half ran out to tie the score at 10. He made good on only 2 of 4 point-after kicks, however.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 7 3 0 16 -- 29
River Valley 10 0 6 7 -- 23
First quarter
RV--FG Persichetti 38, 5:20.
CH--DeArmitt, 83 run (Kutruff kick), 4:08.
RV--McDivitt, 33 pass from Persichettti (Persichetti kick), 2:12.
Second quarter
CH--FG Kutruff 35, 0:00.
Third quarter
RV--Woodring, 44 pass from Persichetti (kick failed), 2:31.
Fourth quarter
CH--Clawson, 5 run (kick blocked), 11:19.
RV--Hilaire, 9 run (Persichetti kick), 7:41.
CH--Clawson, 21 run (Kutruff kick), 4:49.
CH--DeArmitt, 35 run (kick failed), 1:38.
TEAM STATISTICS CH RV
First downs 15 17
Total yards 397 362
Rushes-yards 36-322 32-153
Yards passing 75 209
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 9-13-1 15-19-0
Punts-avg. 3-41.3 2-26.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 9-80 5-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing--Cambria Heights, DeArmitt 4-145, Clawson 18-90, Strong 9-72, Lewis 2-21, Team 3-(-6). River Valley, Hilaire 10-65, Persichetti 8-30, Koffman 4-27, McDivitt 5-21, Woodring 5-10.
Passing--Cambria Heights, Clawson 9-13-1-75. River Valley, Persichetti 15-18-0-209, Woodring 0-1-0-0.
Receiving--Cambria Heights, DeArmitt 4-24, Lewis 3-39, Gray 2-13. River Valley, Hilaire 7-71, Woodring 3-77, Brezinski 3-27, McDivitt 2-34.