SCRANTON — One yard. That’s how many yards Cash Roe missed in returning a punt for a touchdown Friday night.
One measly yard.
“You always have to believe that the next one is your opportunity,” Roe said. “To be honest, it’s like the third or fourth time that it’s happened to me this year. But I know my boys are going to punch it in and get points on the board, and that’s all that matters.”
He got another opportunity about two minutes later. This time, there was no stopping him.
Roe returned it 48 yards for a score, and No 4 Valley View dominated the second quarter in a 45-6 win over West Scranton in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I game Friday night at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Cougars (5-2 overall, 3-1 Division I) scored 35 points in the second quarter as it heads into a showdown with No. 9 Abington Heights in Week 8.
“We are looking forward to Abington. They kind of took it to us last year,” Valley View coach Scot Wasilchak said. “Our kids know it, and we’ve kind of had this one circled on the calendar. We will be ready to go.”
Back to Roe’s punt-return night.
On the first one, he took the kick around midfield, made a cut in the middle of the field and hit the left sideline, only to fall one yard short. Seamus Sprague gobbled up the last yard for the touchdown.
After the Invaders were held to their third straight three-and-out, Roe jogged out to midfield and awaited another opportunity.
Cash was money on that one, following his blocks to the house for the 48-yard score. The touchdown put Valley View up, 45-6, at the break and sent the game into the mercy rule for the second half.
“The first one, I got so many great blocks on that one. Really, it was great blocking by everyone,” Roe said. “The second one, I saw that it was going to take a bounce off the turf, and it was a great opportunity. I got under it, picked it up, and again, got some great blocking by everyone.”
The Cougars’ offense was clicking Friday night.
Valley View scored on all six of its first-half possessions, and the Cougars showed some good balance. Four different ballcarriers crossed the goal line, and sophomore quarterback Colin Dempsey completed 6 for 7 passes for 118 yards and one score.
His final two passes were picturesque; the first one, a beautiful ball down the left sideline that Ben Evans hauled for the 32-yard score, while the second — a 41-yard pass to Colin Witkowski — set up the Cougars’ sixth score of the first half.
“We knew we were coming off a big win, so we came in with a lot of confidence. We just had to do what we had to do,” Dempsey said. “Coach Scot put some great plays in at practice this week, and me and my guys knew that we had to execute them. I think we are slowly starting to unlock the passing game. We have a big receiver core and a big running-back core. I think this offense is going to be tough when we get all the parts clicking together.”
And that’s not counting the points Valley View left on the field.
Braden Loff split the uprights on a 44-yard field goal with plenty of distance to spare, only to see it wiped off the board on a holding penalty. Maddox Carey’s 36-yard pick-6 was also negated by a block in the back late in the fourth quarter.
“Early in the year, we kind of struggled offensively. But the past three or four weeks, we are starting to see it come together,” Wasilchak said. “The kids are doing a nice job, and we are spreading the ball around. It’s starting to click a little bit. Our offensive line is starting to come together. We are going in the right direction.”
West Scranton (2-5, 0-4) had its best possession early in the second quarter.
Trailing, 17-0, the Invaders strung together a nine-play, 80-yard drive, highlighted by two catches by Kazual Colbert. The first one, an athletic, one-handed grab near the sideline, moved West to the Valley View 30. His second one that spanned 21 yards kept the drive alive on third down, leading to an Austin Sostre 8-yard keeper off the right side, trimming the lead to 17-7 with 8:25 left before halftime.
But the Cougars ended the half by scoring 28 unanswered points as Valley View’s defense held the Invaders to 24 yards on the ground and 142 for the game.
“In practice, you can see that the offensive line is really setting that energy,” Roe said. “Last week was big. We were able to score 28 against a good Delaware Valley team. That really started the offense, and I think we carried it over to the first half this week and scored 45. That’s big heading into next week because Abington has a great team.”