For the first time in four years, Conestoga Valley defeated McCaskey, earning a 43-21 victory Friday night in Lancaster in the Section One opener for both teams. In what was a one-score game through most of the second and third quarters, Conestoga Valley (1-0, 3-1) found its breakthrough on the opening play of the fourth quarter. Leading 28-21 and with McCaskey (0-1, 2-2) facing 2nd-and-13 from its own 1, Xavier Lopez and Thomas Weideman corralled receiver Anthony DeLeon for a safety. Following the safety punt, the Buckskins pieced together a 9-play, 66-yard drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown catch from tight end Jalen Ransing with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter to give Conestoga Valley a 37-21 lead. "They came out and double-teamed Jose Barbon, and that left the middle of the field open and Ransing, a first-year player, had a heck of a catch," senior quarterback Grant Stoltzfus said. Stoltzfus finished 8-for-20 for 181 yards and two touchdowns "We struggled last week because we couldn't get a first down when we needed to and this week we did," CV head coach Gerry Novak said. The Buckskins converted a pair of fourth downs on a 10-play, 50-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped by Stoltzfus' 6-yard touchdown run. After scoring 34 points in the second half last week, the Red Tornado were unable to get the offense going against the Buckskins. McCaskey picked up 151 yards of total offense, including just 47 yards after halftime. Credit the Buckskins defense that bounced back after allowing 409 yards against Lampeter-Strasburg. "(Defensive coordinator) Bob Swift and the defensive coaches are doing a great job with those kids," Novak said. "We're finally getting them to believe in the things we're trying to do. We had a rough week last week but each week we seem to be improving on the things that we're doing. And McCaskey is a very skilled team, this was not an easy task." The defense helped the Buckskins out to a 21-14 halftime lead when Barbon intercepted a Jathan Gonzalez pass at the CV 20 and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown and 21-7 lead. McCaskey would get a defensive touchdown of its own with 1:52 left in the first half when Greg Nunez intercepted Stoltzfus at the line of scrimmage and returned it 33 yards. Conestoga Valley senior Connor Brinton provided the early spark, returning the opening kickoff 94-yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 Buckskins lead. Brinton finished with 240 all-purpose yards including a 79-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter and a game-high 67 yards on 19 carries.