SWIFTWATER — Chris Ward got his 1,000 yards.

Pleasant Valley got its Bucket.

And Pocono Mountain East got little room to breathe.

Ward rushed for an unofficial 198 yards and four touchdowns, while the Bears’ defense forced four turnovers and delivered one stop after another in a 35-11 victory over their rivals Friday night.

The win brought the Ol’ Oaken Bucket back to Pleasant Valley after three consecutive losses to the Cardinals, giving Ward and his teammates a long-awaited reason to celebrate.

“We lost the past three times to them over my high school career, and this means more than the players,” Ward said. “The community really wanted this, so it was nice to bring it back to them.”

Ward entered the game with 915 rushing yards and needed 85 to reach 1,000. He finished with 1,113 for the season after touchdown runs of 20, 13, 41 and 52 yards, raising his season total to 17 touchdowns.

But the milestone was secondary to reclaiming the Bucket.

“I’ve been looking forward to reaching that goal,” Ward said. “It’s a bonus that I reached it, but it does feel very nice.”

For Pleasant Valley coach Blaec Saeger, the victory was about much more than numbers.

“It’s hard to put it into words, man,” Saeger said. “It’s what it’s all about. Just the joy, the utter joy on these kids’ faces, man.”

The Bears (4-4) recovered two fumbles, intercepted two passes and repeatedly stopped East on fourth down, keeping the Cardinals (5-3) out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.

“It was the best defensive performance we’ve had in a long time,” Saeger said. “And with Coach Miller running that defense, we’ve had a lot of good defensive performances.”

Pleasant Valley set the tone early, recovering a fumble on East’s second offensive play. Ward capped the ensuing drive with a 20-yard touchdown run, and Ethan Duran’s kick made it 7-0.

East answered with a safety when a Pleasant Valley punt snap sailed out of the end zone, but the Bears responded with one of the game’s biggest plays.

After stopping the Cardinals on fourth down at their own 26, Ward drew defenders toward him before sending a backward pass to Sean Cobb Jr., who raced 74 yards for a touchdown and a 14-2 lead late in the first quarter.

“Chris Ward, he’s an absolute dog, man,” Cobb said. “The ball was designed to go to me, but he was smart enough to draw the defenders in and get them to take their eyes off me, and at the last minute, he threw me the ball, and I just took it from there.”

Ward added a 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, zigzagging through defenders and cutting back across the field to give Pleasant Valley a 21-2 halftime advantage.

The Bears’ defense continued to frustrate East, with Jacob George recording a sack and Pleasant Valley repeatedly turning away the Cardinals on fourth down.

“We hung our hat on running the ball and playing defense,” Saeger said. “And it’s what we did tonight. We won it our way.”

Cole Vanderah recovered a fumble on East’s opening possession of the second half, setting up Ward’s 41-yard touchdown run that made it 27-2.

The Cardinals threatened on their next drive, reaching the Bears’ 8, but Cobb intercepted a pass near the goal line.

Cobb said he was determined to make up for a big play he had allowed earlier in the possession.

“They say that us DBs, we have to have a short memory, but me personally, when I let something up, it sticks with me and I know that I gotta make it up,” Cobb said. “I read the quarterback. I saw that the ball was in the air, and it was mine, man.”

Maximus Vasquez added another interception near the Pleasant Valley 5 later in the quarter, ending another East threat.

Ward broke loose for a 52-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Vasquez connected with him for the two-point conversion to make it 35-2.

East finally scored a touchdown on Evan Garrett’s 20-yard run, then added another safety on an errant Pleasant Valley punt snap.

But the Bears’ defense had one final stop, turning away the Cardinals on fourth down at the Pleasant Valley 2 with four seconds remaining.

“I’m very proud of them,” Ward said of the defense. “We would not be in this game if our defense did not step up.”

For Cobb, the victory reflected the message Pleasant Valley’s coaches had emphasized throughout the week about the rivalry’s history.

“We know how good it is to simply win a football game, but to do it for everybody around us, it feels even greater, man,” Cobb said.

Saeger echoed that sentiment.

“It’s for everybody who lost their senior year, going back 60-some years,” Saeger said. “I stressed that all week, that they’re playing for more than themselves. That bucket means more than they can imagine. They’ll figure it out 20 years from now, but they played like they figured it out tonight.”

The victory was Pleasant Valley’s second straight and brought the Bears back to .500 after a four-game losing streak.

“We’re gonna enjoy this one for the weekend,” Saeger said.

Pleasant Vy. 35, PM East 11

Pleasant Vy. 14 7 6 8 - 35

PM East 2 0 0 9 - 11

PV – Ward 20 run (Duran kick)

PME – Safety, punt snap out of end zone

PV – Cobb Jr. 74 run (Duran kick)

PV – Ward 13 run (Duran kick)

PV – Ward 41 run (kick failed)

PV – Ward 52 run (Ward pass from Vasquez)

PME – Garrett 20 run (kick failed)

PME – Safety, punt snap out of end zone