The Saucon Valley Panthers charging their way through the postseason.
Tonight at 7 p.m. the 13-0 Saucon Valley Panthers will trade punches with the Selinsgrove Seals at Northern Lehigh’s Bulldog Stadium in the 2015 quarterfinal of the PIAA state football tournament. Selinsgrove, out of the Heartland I Conference, is the District IV champion with a 13-1 record. The Seals defeated Johnstown 49-28 last week in the opening round of the state tournament. The Panthers advanced by virtue of a great win over District II champion Scranton Prep. With another win, Saucon Valley will advance to the state semifinals against the Academy Park-Imhotep Charter winner. A loss and the well-deserved ride comes to an end.
Things Worth Watching:
Saucon Valley Panthers
When the Panthers have the ball…
Offensively, the Panthers average 45 points per game and will look to feed Evan Culver who is seemingly running better than ever. Culver finished with 331 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 18 carries last week in a dominating performance against Scranton Prep. For the season Culver’s numbers are 249 carries, 2,659 yards and 42 touchdowns. Impressive numbers don’t only belong to Culver. Last week Zach Thatcher made good decisions on his reads and ran 12 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Thatcher is credited with having a hand in 28 touchdowns with 1,021 yards rushing and 1,060 yards passing. The duo by themselves present a challenge to any defense. When you throw the Hogs (Steven Good, Christian Carvis, Ryan Meyers, Trey Polak and Cody Zrinski) out in front of them, the challenge appears improbable.
Selinsgrove, however, will be up for the challenge. They are senior-laden and play hard, blue-collar football. The Seals run a base 3-5-3 defense and have some size up front. Coach Evancho stressed, “We need to sustain blocks and be mentally prepared for multiple looks up front.” The Hogs will need to be alert and execute their responsibilities against an aggressive Seal defense that shows a lot of movement. Culver doesn’t need much, but the Seals don’t give very much either.
Expect Selinsgrove to pack the box with eight players using a lot of shifting and movement. They will likely try to smother the Panther rushing attack forcing Saucon Valley to throw. The leading tackler for the Seals is inside linebacker Jack Gaugler. He is a 6’0″, 240 pound senior with 133 tackles and 2 sacks for the season. Gaugler and his herd are noticeably aggressive to the ball. Culver, Thatcher and the Hogs are certainly presented with another big challenge by this Seal defense.
If Selinsgrove is successful stuffing the Panther run, Thatcher has a talented trio of receivers to target. Nate Harka, Mike Kane and Alstan Wolfe all hover around 20-yards per catch. They are proven playmakers who have reliable hands. It’s a good bet that if Saucon experiences any run-game struggles the Panther receivers will be called on to make big plays catching the football. Expect senior fullback Mike Paolini to have a couple of big catches out of the backfield to keep the chains moving for the Panthers.
When the Seals have the ball…
Selinsgrove Seals
Selinsgrove has an offensive dynamo in senior running back Juvon Batts (#1). He is 5’8″, 185 with great vision and a big-time burst. If Batts can get into the open field with any consistency it is going to be a big problem for the Panthers. For the 2015 season Batts has rushed for 1,785 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. Last week against Johnstown Batts proved to be the Seals’ go-to guy as he carried an astonishing 43 times for 276 yards and 5 touchdowns. Coach Evancho was impressed with Batts saying, “We will need to tackle really well and not let him get started.” Batts is, no doubt, the Seals’ primetime guy.
Beware, however, as the Seals are not one dimensional thanks to sophomore quarterback Logan Leiby (#18). Leiby is listed at 6’0″, 187 lbs and has thrown for an impressive 1,810 yards and 22 touchdowns. Leiby plays with poise and has shown the ability to carve up a defense when he has time to throw. His preferred receivers are Colin Hoke (#8) and Nick Swineford (#11). If it weren’t for their jersey numbers they would be easily confused. Hoke is 5’11”, 185 while Swineford checks in at 6’0″, 180. Both are seniors and both have close to 600 yards receiving.
Selinsgrove is effective mixing their runs and passes. Much like Saucon, they like to run out of the “I” formation as well as spreading the defense out and going shotgun. They capably drop-back and play-action pass from both schemes. The Seals run a very nice “bootleg” action series.
Selinsgrove has their own version of the Hogs. Up front they have three seniors, a junior and a sophomore. They average 230 pounds across the offensive line. These Seals are athletic and persistent. They do, however, seem to struggle at times picking up the blitz. Saucon Valley will want to get to Leiby before he can set his feet and throw. Mike Kane (#82) could have a very big night coming off the edge from his defensive end position disrupting Leiby’s rhythm.
So here we go again. The Friday Night Lights will be burning bright for this PIAA quarterfinal in Slatington. Saucon Valley is one of only eight “AAA” football teams still playing in the state of Pennsylvania. The Panthers will be looking for perfection tonight against the Seals. It’s doubtful they will ever play the perfect game, but the emphasis to be perfect is vital. Turnovers, penalties and mental mistakes are often the difference in championship games. Saucon played well last week, but was penalized eight times for 100 yards. In addition, they lost a fumble. As teams move deeper into the playoffs imperfection becomes more costly. The Panthers are well-coached and have certainly addressed these mistakes to continue the quest for perfection.
The preparation and practice is done. The time has come for the Panthers to once again focus their collective efforts, execute their assignments and go “all-in” for 48 minutes. The time has come for the players, cheerleaders, student body and band to board the busses once again and travel north. The time has come for the SV community to again stand firmly behind their Panthers and give them our steadfast support. Coach Evancho has called for a raucous “sea of red and black.” Let’s give it to him!
Good Luck Panthers! The Source is with you.
