LEHIGHTON Williams Valley let the second half get away from them when they dropped a PIAA 2A state quarterfinal matchup to Lansdale Catholic Friday evening at Lehighton. “It’s not the result we wanted but I couldn’t be more proud of this group of seniors and it was a full team effort to come out as district champions,” said Williams Valley head coach Ben Ancheff. “They have nothing to hang their heads about.” The Vikings (12-2; 8-1) trailed just 13-7 at halftime and then proceeded to turn the ball over three times to start the second half and Lansdale Catholic (12-2; 5-1) went on a 20-0 scoring run for the 33-7 victory. Williams Valley has now dropped three consecutive PIAA 2A state playoff games and miss out on their first ever trip to the state semifinals. See full photo gallery here “To have a top eight team in the state for the third year in a row was pretty special,” said Ancheff. “There’s only one team happy at the end of the season and that’s the state champion.” Lansdale Catholic advances to the PIAA 2A state semifinals to take on Southern Columbia next weekend at a site and time TBA. Yebboa Cobbold Jr. led Lansdale Catholic’s offense with two touchdown passes and 168 passing yards as well a a touchdown run and 110 rushing yards. An Evan Achenbach interception in the second quarter as well as a missed field goal for Lansdale Catholic slowed down the Crusaders attack for just a 13-7 lead at halftime. “They just came out and played a better second half than us,” said Ancheff. “We came up with a big stop and had an interception at the half and 13-7 is still a game.” Williams Valley turned the ball over seven times, including three turnover on downs, three interceptions and a lost fumble to end the game. Lansdale Catholic struck first with a 93-yard drive which was capped by a Cobbold Jr. to Darren Jackson 11-yard touchdown pass for the initial 6-0 lead. Williams Valley got the ball back and ate up over four minutes of game clock and took a 7-6 lead on a Fletcher Thompson four-yard touchdown run with nine minutes left in the first half. Cobbold Jr. came surging back for the Crusaders and took off for a 51-yard touchdown run on the next drive for the 13-7 lead. “Their best player is number 14 (Darren Jackson) and he was all over the field tonight and we didn’t have an answer for him,” Ancheff said. “He’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.” The Vikings turned the ball over on downs next before Achenbach stepped in front of a Cobbold Jr. pass which he intercepted at Williams Valley’s own 20-yard line. Williams Valley couldn’t capitalize as Brady Shomper was picked off by Lansdale Catholic’s Nick O’Brien. The Crusaders drove the field but were unable to connect on a field goal to keep it 13-7 at halftime. Lansdale Catholic extended the lead on the first drive of the second half as Cobbold Jr. found James Webb for a six-yard touchdown pass and the 19-7 lead. Williams Valley turned the ball over on downs near midfield and then Shomper threw another interception, this one to Asher Thickening. The interception set up an O’Brien two-yard touchdown run for the 26-7 lead with 10 seconds left in the third quarter. The Vikings turned the ball over three more times in the fourth quarter, beginning with a turnover on downs. Thickening then secured his second interception off Shomper at the Crusaders six-yard line. That turnover resulted in an O’Brien six-yard touchdown run and the 33-7 lead with two minutes left in the game. “We were up for the task in the first half and then it just wasn’t there in the second half,” said Ancheff. “There’s nothing for these guys to hang their heads about.” The final chance the Vikings had with the ball saw Shomper lose a fumble before it was scooped up by Lansdale Catholic’s Brandon Maison around midfield for the 33-7 win. WV (12-2; 8-1); 0; 7; 0; 0;-7 LC (12-2; 5-1); 6; 7; 13; 7;-3 1st Quarter LC Cobbold Jr. to Jackson 11-yard TD pass (2: 24) 2nd Quarter WV Thompson 4-yard TD run, Smeltz PAT (9: 19) LC Cobbold Jr. 51-yard TD run, PAT (5: 50) 3rd Quarter LC Cobbold Jr. to Webb 6-yard TD pass (9: 11) LC O’Brien 2-yard TD run. PAT (0: 10) 4th Quarter LC Thickening 6-yard TD run, PAT (2: 50).
https://www.mcall.com/2025/11/22/h-s-football-williams-valley-gives-away-piaa-state-playoff-game-to-lansdale-catholic/