The Hazleton Area Cougars held off a valiant effort by the visiting Wilkes-Barre Area Wolfpack on the way to squeaking out a 14-13 victory on Friday night.

Xavier Heck broke through for a 46-yard touchdown run to open the second half for the Cougars and the Wolfpack couldn’t connect on a go-ahead field goal late in the fourth.

Hazleton Area (3-6) got on the board on their first drive of the game when JJ Lantigua connected with receiver Jose Lopez for a 29-yard touchdown strike. Earlier on the drive, on a critical third and 15, Lantigua tossed a deep ball that was caught by Lopez for 43 yards.

Throughout the contest, Wilkes-Barre Area (2-7) — which was without usual starting quarterback Declan Gregor — did an excellent job of keeping Hazleton Area’s offense off the field. Backup quarterback Matthew Cinti filled in admirably, leading his Wolfpack teammates on a 15-play drive that started in the first quarter but ended in the second.

That marathon Wilkes-Barre Area drive ended with running back Aiden Gilmore plunging into the end zone for a 3-yard score, giving Wilkes-Barre Area a 7-6 lead over the host Cougars.

On the ensuing Hazleton Area possession, a clean 25-yard run from Xavier Heck was quickly negated when a bad snap sailed over Lantigua’s head for a loss of 20 yards. The Cougars were unable to make up for the lost ground and punted the ball back to the Wolfpack.

Cinti led yet another long drive in the first half, going 91 yards in 14 plays, capped by a 35-yard passing touchdown from Cinti to Rajan Watson. A Lantigua interception on the following Hazleton Area possession halted the score at 13-6 in favor of Wilkes-Barre Area.

Hazleton Area’s defense tightened in the second half, and the Cougars matched that defensive effort on the offensive side of the ball. Heck scored on a 46-yard run on the Cougars’ first play from scrimmage of the second half, giving the home squad a 14-13 advantage.

Heck looked to have scored a critical touchdown later on in the third quarter, but a penalty wiped the points off the board. Wilkes-Barre Area forced a turnover on downs with 11:09 left in the contest.

The longest drive of the game for the Wolfpack was their last. Cinti and running back Khalil Smith slowly moved the ball down the field, draining over 10 minutes off the clock and setting up kicker John Mendola for a possible go-ahead field goal with about 50 seconds remaining.

The kick ame up short, however, and Hazleton Area escaped with the win after kneeling down the ball to extinguish the remaining clock.

Hazleton Area will look to end the regular season on a winning note with a visit to Pottsville Area next week. Wilkes-Barre Area, meanwhile, will travel to Williamsport.

Hazleton Area 14, Wilkes-Barre Area 13

Wilkes-Barre Area`0`13`0`0 — 13

Hazleton Area`6`0`8`0 — 14

First quarter

HAZ — Jose Lopez 29 pass from JJ Lantigua (kick failed), 7:24

Second quarter

WBA — Aiden Gilmore 3 run (John Mendola kick), 10:42

WBA — Rajan Watson 35 pass from Matthew Cinti (pass failed), :39

Third quarter

HAZ — Xavier Heck 46 run (Heck pass from Lantigua), 7:13

Team statistics`WBA`HAZ

First downs`18`9

Rushes-yards`46-151`19-118

Passing yards`87`107

Total yards`238`225

Passing`8-11-0`4-9-1

Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0

Punts-avg.`1-33`1-40

Fumbles-lost`0-0`1-0

Penalties-yards`5-35`5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — WBA, Smith 22-86, Gilmore 15-57-1, Cinti 4-9, Pena 2-2, Daniel 2-2, Watson 1-(-6). HAZ, Heck 11-101-1, Lantigua 7-22, Lopez 1-(-5).

PASSING — WBA, Cinti 8-11-0-87. HAZ, Lantigua 4-9-1-107.

RECEIVING — WBA, Dalessandro 5-32, Watson 2-39-1, Smith 1-16. HAZ, Lopez 2-72-1, Heller 1-24, Radzwich 1-11.

MISSED FGs — WBA, 40 (S).