Your Financial Secrets Safe With Them, Several Locally Based Bank Officials
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Alfred Kwiatkowski

By KEVIN KEARNEY tlsports@leader.net
 Sunday, November 12, 2000 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 4C 





CLARKS SUMMIT - During the regular season, Abington Heights coach Greg
Justave relied heavily on his team's offense, particularly the running game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But it was Abington's defense that rose to the forefront Saturday, as the
Comets advanced in the Eastern Conference Division IV playoffs with a 29-21
victory over Pottsville. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Abington (8-3) will host Pleasant Valley next Saturday at 1 p.m. for the
Eastern Conference Division IV title. Pottsville ended its season at 6-5. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With Andrew Smith being held to 38 yards on the ground, Comets tight
end/defensive end Chris Beresovoy picked up the slack. Beresovoy anchored the
Abington defense with nine tackles and two sacks. The Comets limited
Pottsville to 57 yards of offense in the second half. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Beresovoy also hauled in one of three touchdown passes by Bill
Pasqualichio. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The biggest defensive play of the second half came from Comets cornerback
Dane Hewlett. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With Abington clinging to the eight-point lead with just over seven minutes
left, Pottsville marched to the Comets 15-yard line. On fourth down,
Pottsville quarterback Tony Gomez lofted a pass to Anthony Mohling in the
corner of the end zone, but Hewlett knocked the ball out of Mohling's grasp to
preserve the Abington victory. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I think the kids were sharp throughout the whole game, and our defense
gave us a lift in the second half,'' coach Greg Justave said. ``This is a
great win for our football program. The kids played all four quarters.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Comets came out of the gate quickly as Matt Tosh returned the opening
kickoff 34 yards to midfield. Three plays later, Pasqualichio found Beresovoy
behind the Pottsville defense for a 37-yard score, giving the Comets a 7-0
lead just three minutes into the game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jeff Williams hauled in a 16-yard scoring strike from Gomez to cut
Abington's lead to 10-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Comets answered on their ensuing possession. Pasqualichio took a keeper
20 yards to bring Abington into Pottsville territory. The junior quarterback
then connected with Jeff Cianni on a 34-yard pass, bringing the Comets to
Pottsville's 5-yard line. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Two plays later, Tosh ran it in from 4 yards out, increasing the lead to
16-7. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Pottsville's next possession, Abington nose tackle Eric Davis recovered
a fumble at the Crimson Tide 16-yard line. On the following play, Pasqualichio
found wide receiver Chris Moher in the corner of the end zone, giving Abington
a 22-7 advantage with 5:59 left in the half. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Abington Makes The Defensive Plays, Reaches Ec Final