The Seneca Valley Spears junior football team advanced to the league semifinals with a 20-14 win over Bethel Park over the weekend.

The Spears gained momentum in the third quarter when Marco Marchionda had a 60- yard punt return, giving the team great field position. Troy Fisher scored the go-ahead touchdown, his third of the day, and the two-point conversion with 1:28 left in the game.

A defensive stand by Jake Stebbins, Logan Vokes, Branden Millward, and Xavier Khoury shut down the last-minute attempt of Bethel Park to win the game.

The Spears move on to face Canon-McMillan on Saturday.

In other action:

The Seneca Valley Stallions moved to round two of the Age 6-and-7 playoffs with a 27-20 win over visiting North Allegheny

Behind the blocking of Luke Harris, Matt Altsman, Jack Veverka, Felipe Junquiera, and Zachary Miller, Gabe Lawson broke two big runs of over 50 yards each, one being a 60-yard run with less than a minute to go in the first half, giving the Stallions a 21-20 lead. Lawson ended the day with 181 yards rushing on 16 carries and three touchdowns.

The second half was a defensive struggle between the two teams. With less than five minutes left, quarterback Dominic Veltri lead the Stallions on a six-play, 55-yard drive to extend the lead to 27-20. Mason Bush keyed the offense with a 35-yard run on a third-and-long play. Two plays later Bush ran in for the final score of the game. Bush ended the day with 133 yards rushing on 11 carries and one touchdown.

Gabe Lawson led the defense with eight tackles. Also contributing in the victory were Christian Williams, Aiden Kutchma, Nick Siwiak, Josh Miller, and Zachary Cooper.