Panthers Win Backyard Brawl with Spartans

Est. Read Time: 5 mins

Mike Kane and Trey Polak bringing the pressure

It was an exciting tale of two halves. In the first half of this rivalry game between Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh the Panthers edged the Spartans 28-24. The second half proved Saucon to be the better team. The Panthers outplayed Southern Lehigh 21-6. The bottom line was a Saucon Valley 49-30 victory. Saucon improved to a 3-0 record while Southern Lehigh dropped to 2-1.

Evan Culver benefitting from his downfield blocks

Offensive fireworks from both teams characterized the intensely competitive first half. The two teams traded touchdowns showcasing an early 14-14 offensive slugfest. Running-back Evan Culver followed the “Hogs” and used his footwork for two touchdowns.

The Spartan scores were set up by a couple of passes from quarterback Blake Levengood to Ethan Price. One, a 76-yard one handed grab by Price was….priceless.

The tone of the game shifted ever so slightly near the end of the first quarter when the Panther defense stopped the Spartans at the 19 yard line and forced Southern Lehigh to settle for a 36-yard field goal by kicker Anthony Colasurdo. At the end of the first quarter the score stood in favor of the Spartans 17-14.

The Panthers would strike next with a shifty 9-yard touchdown run by Evan Culver that was set up by two pretty Panther plays . One, Nate Harka’s 35-yard run on a “jet-sweep”. The other was a 20-yard catch and run by Mike Paolini. The Panthers took the lead 21-17.

Nathan Harka

Quarterbacks Levengood and Thatcher traded touchdown runs keeping the score in favor of the Panthers 28-24. With 2:48 to go in the 2^nd quarter, Southern Lehigh took possession and drove the field. It looked as if the Spartans were going to score. However on the last play of the half, Nathan Harka came up huge with a game-changing interception in the end-zone to protect the Panther lead.

The wow-factor of Price’s first half performance was off the charts. He was impressive making big plays for his team against Saucon’s single coverage and looked unstoppable.

The second half brought change. The Panther defensive front ramped up the pressure on Levengood. Ryan Myers and his defensive line-mates (Mike Kane, Cody Zrinski, Trey Polak and Abe Lugo) were monsters as the Spartan QB was harassed, sacked, smothered and hit the rest of the night. The Panthers virtually shut Price and the Southern Lehigh offense down the second half.

Sacked!

When asked about the strategy to reign in Price, Panther defensive coordinator Chris Labatch said, “We just mixed coverages a little more. We showed man coverage on the first two series. We started playing off then pressing, rolling the coverage, then playing zone. I think all and all we played him well. Culver slipped on one play and then Price made a one-handed catch that most athletes can’t do anything about.”

The Panthers, riding Harka’s momentum-shifting interception into the third quarter, extended their lead to 35 -24 on Zach Thatcher’s 8-yard touchdown run. The Saucon defense asserted itself the rest of the way holding Southern Lehigh to a late Ryland

Zach Thatcher looking to score one of his three touchdowns

Holland 7-yard touchdown run while the Panther offense would cash in and get more points courtesy of Zach Thatcher. Thatcher added a 22-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter the Panther QB found Mike Kane in the back corner of the end-zone for a 10-yard touchdown reception.

As a unit, Saucon rushed for over 400 yards on 46 carries. Evan Culver scored 3 TD’s and ended up with 207-yards on 23 carries. Zach Thatcher rushed 14 times for 156 yards and added three more touchdowns. Thatcher was also 3 of 8 for 61 yards and a touchdown pass.

It was a great team effort by Saucon Valley to stay unbeaten against a very good Southern Lehigh squad. Consequently, Saucon Source would like to highlight some not-so-obvious achievements.

“Under the Radar Recognition Awards”

Panther receivers Alstan Wolfe and Nate Harka for being mostly exceptional as run blockers downfield helping Culver to big runs.
Mike Paolini for a couple of key runs and a reception out of the backfield. He seemed to do just enough to keep the Spartans off balance. In addition “Big Mike” deflated the Spartans with a key late game interception.
Cody Zrinski rightfully gets 300 lbs worth of attention, but this night Ryan Meyers was a BEAST from his defensive line position.
Evan Culver for his “pancake” blocks on the edge helping to spring some big Zach Thatcher runs.
Nate Kehs for his defensive play. In particular his “jams” when helping defend Ethan Price.
Josh Snead for converting all 7 PAT’s.
The Panther and Spartan offensive units for providing 824 yards worth of Friday night football entertainment!

Up next, the Panthers will again take their show on the road to Catasauqua. After a 27-0 victory over Bangor week 1, the Rough-Riders were defeated by both Notre Dame (49-22) and Palisades (38-21) weeks 2 and 3.