SPRINGFIELD — Luke Valerio ran Friday night until the knot in his calf said he couldn’t anymore. When he stopped, his first praise was for his Springfield offensive line, then his quarterback, then the underclassmen who spelled him however briefly in the game.

Such is the effect of Valerio, seen everywhere Friday in helping the top-seeded Cougars survive a valiant effort from No. 8 Penncrest in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals, 21-14.

Valerio ran for 178 yards, about 65 percent of Springfield’s total offense, in a game where Penncrest only collected 214 yards of offense. He got the Cougars on the board in the first quarter, and his threat set up a pair of passing touchdowns from Johnny Hopkins.

Still, it took an interception by Alex McGiniss on the goal line with 3:24 left to turn

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