Abington Heights’ Jayden Anglin (26) is met with Scranton’s Alex Esposito at Abington Heights Football Stadium in South Abington Twp. Friday, October 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Jayden Anglin runs through an opening in the Scranton defense at Abington Heights Football Stadium in South Abington Twp. Friday, October 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Jayden Anglin runs through an opening in the Scranton defense at Abington Heights Football Stadium in South Abington Twp. Friday, October 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 3
Abington Heights’ Jayden Anglin (26) is met with Scranton’s Alex Esposito at Abington Heights Football Stadium in South Abington Twp. Friday, October 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
CLARKS SUMMIT – Abington Heights’ defense and special teams set up the offense with short fields and the Comets cashed in.
Aided by the other side of the ball, Abington Heights’ first four possessions started on the positive side of midfield, and the fourth-ranked Comets converted all four into touchdowns to roll to a 55-7 win over Scranton in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I game on Friday at Abington Heights High School.
It started with the opening kickoff as Scott Weiland returned the ball 52 yards to Scranton’s 35. Two plays later, Jayden Anglin scored on a 1-yard run to give Abington Heights a 7-0 lead 51 seconds into the game. The Comets’ defense then forced a punt but the snap was bad and Abington Heights took over on Scranton’s 18. Anglin took a handoff on the first play of the drive and reached the end zone to push the lead to 13-0.
Abington Heights (5-4 overall, 4-2 Division I) then forced another punt and Weiland returned it 17 yards to Scranton’s 35. Two plays later, Anglin ran around the right end for a 22-yard touchdown.
“We want to be able to play complimentary football and be effective in all three phases of the game and I feel like that was something we were able to accomplish tonight,” Abington Heights head coach Joe Repshis said.
Scranton (0-9, 0-6) picked up two first downs on its next drive but then fumbled the ball away and Abington Heights took over at the Knights 49. Anglin had a 31-yard gain on first down and four plays later, Landin Sobolewski scored on a 1-yard run and the Comets led, 27-0, with 3:24 left in the first quarter.
Anglin, who entered the game as the conference’s rushing leader, finished with 197 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries.
“We knew their record doesn’t mean anything,” Anglin said. “You have to come in 0-0, you know they’re going to come to play as well and I thought we came out pretty well.”
Abington Heights forced another punt and took possession at midfield. Anglin had two carries for 23 yards and then, on the first play of the second quarter, Noah Kayal dropped back and hit Rodman Azar on a slant for a 27-yard touchdown pass to give Abington Heights a 34-0 lead.
“We want to be able to come out and start quick and put points on the board,” Repshis said. “I thought our defense did a really good job playing fast and aggressive and special teams contributed a great deal as well.”
Scranton put together its best drive of the game on its next possession, going 75 yards in 15 plays. Quarterback Chris Manning converted a fourth-and-2 with a 4-yard run to keep the drive alive and then hit Alex Esposito in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 34-7 with 3:12 left in the first half.
Abington Heights’ ensuing drive started at its own 14 but the Comets quickly drove down the field. Anglin had five carries for 68 yards on the drive and Kayal then hit Evan Keiper for 17-yard gain down to the 1-yard-line. Kayal snuck it in on the next play and Abington Heights led 41-7.
“I thought the defense played really well and they’ve been playing really well all year,” Repshis said. “They play with great effort, they run to the football. We have a lot of guys out there contributing. That effort is what we’re looking for. But there’s always room for improvement and that’s the great thing is the opportunity to come back on Monday and work to get better as a team and I know these players will come back ready to work and get better.”