Saucon senior Nate Kehs on his way to a three touchdown night.
It did not take long for the 2016 Saucon Valley Panthers to hit their stride and continue the quality of play that marked the success of their 2015 storybook season. But, the heroics did not happen right away.
Bangor’s Saivaughn Vass returned the opening kickoff 55 yards to the Panther 45-yard line. Vass then powered his way 9 yards off right tackle. Sorry to disappoint any Slater fans, but that is all for the Bangor Slaters opening night highlights on a varsity level.
On 2&1, inside linebacker Stephen Good knifed through Bangor’s offensive line and bagged Vass behind the line of scrimmage for a three yard loss. On 3rd & 4, Ryan Meyers from his defensive end position penetrated and forced Vass to bounce the play wide, where outside linebacker Nate Kehs stuffed Vass for another three-yard loss. The Slaters chose to punt from the Saucon 41-yard line in the hopes of pinning the Panthers deep.
On the receiving end of the punt was Saucon Valley junior Alstan “Prime Time” Wolfe. Wolfe cleanly fielded the kick at his own nine-yard line, ran right, broke a couple sets of Slater ankles, cut back to his left across the field and glided his way into the end zone for a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown. Senior kicker Josh Snead converted the extra point for a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.
Saucon Valley junior Alstan “Prime Time” Wolfe returns interceptions and punts in the Panthers 2016 Colonial League opener at Bangor.
On 3rd & 14 of the next Bangor possession the Panther pass rush pressured Bangor’s quarterback to fumble the ball into the scooping arms of senior defensive end Drew Wagner at the Slater 11-yard line. The Panthers again called on Kehs and two plays later it was 14-0 Panthers with 7:40 remaining in the first quarter.
The pattern of the game became obvious. The Saucon Valley defense would suffocate the Slaters into a 3-and-out or a turnover and then the Panthers would go the other way and score. Kehs followed his four-yard score with touchdown runs of 62 and eight yards. With 1:54 remaining in the first quarter the scoreboard read 28-0 in favor of the Panthers.
Saucon senior Nate Kehs bulldogs his way across the goal-line for one of his three first half touchdowns against the Bangor Slaters.
The second quarter brought more of the same, with a stout Panther defense and an assortment of offensive highlights. The scoring highlights belonged to junior Zach Petiet, who was the lightning to Kehs’ thunder. Petiet scored three second quarter touchdowns from 34, 24 and 24 yards out. Saucon Valley built a 49-0 halftime lead.
Panther junior Zach Petiet on his way to one of his three first half touchdowns against Bangor.
The Saucon Valley defense was equally dominant, holding the Slaters to three first half 1st downs. With the help of a couple penalties and relentless pressure, the Panther defense even pummeled and pushed Bangor back into an amusing 4th & 95 punting situation in the waning seconds of the first half.
Panther defensive coordinator Chuck Muller in his 30 years of coaching admits he has never seen a scoreboard that looked like this.
The mercy-rule clock was in effect for the second half of the game, as the Saucon Valley varsity team celebrated and watched their reserves from the sidelines. Bangor chose to play their starters the rest of the game and managed to get 21 points on the board against Saucon’s junior varsity players.
Overall, it was defensive domination and crisp offensive execution for the Panthers. Bangor was held to only three first half 1st downs while the Saucon Valley offense was unstoppable. Coach Sams could not have expected a better opening night result for his first career win as head coach.
Saucon Valley’s Phil Sams recognizes his troops for a job well-done following his first career win as a head football coach.
Last night is one down with a whole lot of football to go. The Panthers will now enjoy this win for another 24 hours or so and then put it behind them. With the coaches already making preparations for Week 2, the players will be back at it on Monday, getting ready for a much improved, smash-mouth Pen Argyl team. It will be a Saturday afternoon showdown that you will not want to miss.
Congrats Panthers, stay the course. The Source is with you!
