ALMEDIA — Kole Hurler caught the fourth-down pass and considered stepping out of bounds, preserving time late in the first half. Then he saw a white jersey flash before his eyes and the end zone suddenly seemed a possibility.

Hustling Cowanesque Valley tackle Magnus Swimley threw an outstanding block, Hurler put on a spin move, cut upfield and completed a highlight-reel 36-yard touchdown. There have not been a lot of highlights the last three seasons in Westfield, but it has not been for a lack of effort. CV shows up every day and practices just as champions do.

And all that dedication produced a long-sought win. Hurler made big catches, Tucker St. Peter accounted for three touchdowns and the defense dominated Saturday at Wen Cerra Memorial Field as Cowanesque Valley defeated CMVT, 20-8, and snapped an 18-game losing streak. It was a gutsy win for a team that features just four senior starters and that played all but one series without dynamic quarterback Seth Huyler who suffered a first-quarter shoulder injury. It also was a true team win with players on both sides of the ball repeatedly delivering big plays at the most opportune times.

“It’s nice. I know those boys feel good to be able to say they won a game,” CV first-year coach Mike Schmitt said. “From top to bottom, and with 80 percent of them being sophomores, everyone contributed and being able to pull something out like this is big. They’re a physical football team and we had been struggling with that so to be able to handle that and win with a backup quarterback, that was fun.”

CV never trailed, scoring 12 second-quarter points and answering CMVT’s lone touchdown drive with one if its own as St. Peter found Jacob Schmitt for a 9-yard third-quarter touchdown that made it 20-8. The Indians played their best defensive game in three years, surrendering just 157 yards, went 3 for their last 3 on fourth-down plays and pulled together when Huyler, a player who has totaled 784 yards, was sidelined.

Instead of buckling, CV pulled closer together and won its first game since Sept. 22, 2017 when it defeated Wyalusing, 14-12.

“It feels really, really good. It’s always good to go out and get a win and it has been a long time,” Hurler said after catching four passes for 86 yards and adding an interception. “It’s really sweet and we’re looking to get more.”

“We’ve really stepped on the gas this year. We’ve gotten better as a whole team,” St. Peter said. “It makes all the practices where we bust our butts all worth it.”

Huyler, a four-year starter, totaled 32 yards on CV’s initial possession. St. Peter, a 5-foot-7 sophomore, moved from wide receiver when Huyler was injured and showed no fear. His 3-yard touchdown capped CV’s first scoring drive and he went 3 for 3 for a touchdown and three first downs on three fourth-down passes. Huyler also completed 8 of 12 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

CV’s biggest fourth-down conversion came late in the half when Hurler and Swimley showcased their talent and desire. On a 4th-and-1, St. Peter completed a 6-yard pass to Hurler. Less than 40 seconds remained in the half, but Swimley’s block gave Hurler a shot to make something bigger happen and Hurler delivered. The senior broke a series of tackles and scored his third touchdown in the last two weeks.

“It was all the blocking. I was running and was about to step out of bounds and I saw Magnus Swimley coming in to hit big No. 15 (Mekhi Mundrick) and he did and I saw a cutback lane and took it,” Hurler said. “After that, it was all all she wrote. It was our day.”

Mundrick is a hard-nosed 240-pound running back who ran for 110 yards and he carried seven straight times up the middle, capping CMVT’s lone scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion. He topped 100 yards for a third time in four games, but CV shut down all other aspects of CMVT’s offense and made Mundrick earn those 110 yards the hard way. It also put together a well-balanced touchdown drive immediately following that touchdown, changing the game’s complexion in the process.

CV went 65 yards on 11 plays, continuing the drive when freshman Elliott Good caught an 11-yard pass on 4th-and-2. Three plays later, St. Peter ducked underneath a pass rusher, alertly looked downfield and found Jacob Schmitt for a 9-yard touchdown.

“At first I was a little nervous, but when I got settled in and relaxed I was like, ‘OK, I can do this,'” St. Peter said. “The seniors really helped me a lot. (Fullback) Owen Fitzwater helped me the most. He calmed me down and kept me under control and helped me with the plays. He’s always there to pick up the team if we need it. He’s one of our better leaders.”

Fitzwater showed that throughout the game, sparking a hard-hitting defense that limited CMVT to 3.8 yards per carry and that did not allow a run to go more than 10 yards until late in the game. Fitzwater made 11 tackles, including three for loss, while Tanyan Brown’s second-quarter fourth-down stop on a fake punt set up CV’s first touchdown. Swimley made eight tackles, Isaac Huntington made six more and defensive lineman Kade Sottolano consistently was making plays behind or near the line of scrimmage.

“That kid (Mundrick) ran hard and we were able to adjust on the fly and our linebackers made some intelligent plays to cause some problems,” Mike Schmitt said. “We’re so small in numbers and so young, so in practice we just teach and it’s hard to really get a good look for what you will see Friday night. They were able to step up their game once they got out here on the field and that was good to see.”