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JOHNSTOWN -- Penn Cambria didn't flinch in the face of a nightmarish start Friday night at Westmont Hilltop.
The Panthers turned it over on their first three offensive possessions of the game and fell behind by nine points at halftime, but Penn Cambria's powerful rushing attack led by senior running back Corbin Vinglish took over during the final two periods and allowed the Panthers to roar back for a 27-22 victory.
Play of the game: Vinglish's third touchdown run of the game, a 3-yarder with 9:24 left in the fourth quarter, capped off a 12-play, 71-yard drive that gave Penn Cambria its first lead of the game and put the Panthers ahead to stay.
Player of the game: Vinglish ran for a game-high 231 yards on 36 carries and scored all four Penn Cambria touchdowns.
Unsung hero: Penn Cambria sophomore quarterback Jamie Maybush overcame a shaky start through the air, and bounced back from three interceptions by rushing for 82 yards in the second half and converting several key third downs on Panther scoring drives.
Most vital statistic: Penn Cambria grounded out 334 rushing yards, with 218 of those coming in the second half.
Penn Cambria coach Jason Grassi: "We battled some adversity in the first half. We were down nine at halftime, and we went in and challenged our kids. We found our running game, and Corbin put the team on his back."
Westmont Hilltop coach Josh Rearick: "As it usually goes in high school football, who controls the trenches comes out on top. We were able to throw it a little bit on them, but they got the big conversions when they needed it. That's a championship caliber team over there."
Vinglish: "Our coaches challenged us, and that's what we did. We came out and played for each other. We saw what defense they were in and exploited it."
Notable: Westmont Hilltop quarterback Justin Ray completed 22 of 44 for 214 yards and two touchdowns. … Hilltopper linebacker Bryce Goodman got his team on the board with a 52-yard pick-six in the first quarter.
Records: Penn Cambria (4-2), Westmont Hilltop (2-4).
Next week: Penn Cambria visits Chestnut Ridge. Westmont Hilltop visits Bishop McCort.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn Cambria 0 7 7 13 — 27
Westmont Hilltop 6 10 0 6 — 22
First Quarter
WH--Goodman 52 interception return (kick blocked), 7:44.
Second Quarter
WH--Brownlee 31 FG, 8:19.
PC--Vinglish 4 run (Golden kick), 5:36.
WH--Valente 30 pass from Ray (Brownlee kick), 0:02.
Third Quarter
PC--Vinglish 3 run (Golden kick), 8:30.
Fourth Quarter
PC--Vingish 3 run (run failed), 9:24.
PC--Vinglish 2 run (Golden kick), 2:16.
WH--Gartner 5 pass from Ray (run failed), 0:29.
TEAM STATISTICS PC WH
First downs 14 14
Total Net Yards 385 275
Rushes-yards 58-334 18-61
Passing 51 214
Comp-Att-Int 4-13-3 22-44-0
Punts 0-0 3-39.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 4-30 4-37
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Penn Cambria, Vinglish 36-231, Maybush 16-74, Beck 5-22, Coudriet 1-7. Westmont Hilltop, Goodman 7-35, Ray 6-33, Brant 4-minus 6, Torquato 1-minus 1.
PASSING--Penn Cambria, Maybush 4-13-3-51. Westmont Hilltop, Ray 22-44-0-214.
RECEIVING--Penn Cambria, Jones 1-11, Vinglish 1-5, Coudriet 1-27, Shall 1-8. Westmont Hilltop, Valente 8-97, Gartner 8-56, Brant 3-36, Torquato 1-0, Bowles 1-14, Goodman 1-11.