Happy Hour in the Jungle
It did not take long for the Saucon Valley Panthers to impose their will on the visiting Catasauqua Rough Riders Friday night. During Catty’s very first offensive play of the game, senior inside linebacker Stephen Good (#65) stripped the ball from the Rough Rider running back and Panther Abe Lugo (#43) pounced on the fumble to steal possession for Saucon Valley.
The Panthers point their way after the Catty fumble.
Two Panther plays later Zach “Lightning” Petiet scored the first of his four touchdowns for the night. :47 seconds into the game Petiet hit from 25-yards off left tackle for the score.
A little chin music being played by Stephen Good (#65)
The Panther defense forced Catty to go three and out on the following possession. This time it was a seven play Panther drive. On 4th & 3 from the Catty 40 yard line Panther quarterback Brandon Holub hooked up on a play action pass to Alstan Wolfe for a 13 yard gain and a first down. Holub then scrambled 15 yards down to the Rough Rider eight yard line where Zach Petiet then punched the ball over the goal line for his second score of the night. Petiet’s points put the Panthers up 13-0 with 5:42 remaining in the first quarter.
The Rough Riders refocused and put together a nice drive, but thanks to a sack by Ryan “Hogzilla” Meyers and Stephen “Blitzkrieg” Good at the Panther 38 yard line, Catty turned the ball over on downs.
Saucon Valley wasted no time firing up the offense again. Panther fullback Abe Lugo rumbled his way back into Catty’s territory with a 25 yard “trap” through the heart of the defense. Alstan Wolfe then ran a deep cross-route complementing Holub’s bootleg action. The two Panthers hooked up for a 37 yard touchdown. The scoreboard read 20-0 with 11:14 left in the first half.
Catty received the ensuing kickoff and on their second offensive play Zach Petiet intercepted Andrew Brett’s downfield throw with a fantastic over-the-shoulder grab. Petiet returned the pick 45 yards down to the Rough Rider 10 yard line. Three plays later Petiet bounced across the goal line for his third TD of the night to make it 26-0.
Desperate to make something good happen, the Roughies tried a fake punt on the next series from their own 40 yard line. The Panthers sniffed out the trickery and stuffed it. A couple plays later Holub found Wolfe wide open on a short out-route and another touchdown. The sixteen yard strike and Josh Snead’s extra point stretched the Panther lead to 33-0 with 3:09 to go in the first half.
Josh Snead kicking off………..again!
Only two plays later, on Catasauqua’s next possession, Abe Lugo forced the Roughies to cough up the ball and sophomore Ian Csicsek (#28) was there to scoop it up. Csicsek returned the fumble down to the Rough Rider 10 yard line. Two plays later, Csicsek took a toss around the left end for a 9-yard touchdown. The Panthers led 40-0 at the half.
The Old Man in the Moon joined many others for a great halftime show last night.
With the mercy-rule clock running to start the second half, the Panthers took advantage of a short Catasauqua kickoff. After two plays Zach “Lightning” Petiet would strike for a 60 yard touchdown scamper. Petiet’s well-timed stiff arm to beat the last Rough Rider defender earned him this week’s Kerry’s Krunch award. Petiet’s touchdown and Snead’s extra point extended the Panther lead to 47-0.
More Panther points followed. Sophomore Curtis Clifford (#38) sacked Andrew Brett in the end zone for a safety. With 5:00 remaining it was 49-0 in favor of the Panthers.
Brandon Holub and the rest of the Panther defense was “Lights Out”.
Saucon’s final touchdown came courtesy of junior Angelo Mahaffey’s five yard plunge to close all scoring at 55-0. It was another lopsided victory for the Panthers.
The Panther defense was again dominant. Catty, who had been averaging over 240 yards passing per game, was held to only thirty-five. Overall, the high-powered Rough Rider offense only generated 85 total yards and five first downs. The opportunistic Panthers also tallied Clifford’s safety, three sacks and three takeaways with the two fumble recoveries and Petiet’s interception.
The Panthers, on the other hand, took care of the ball gaining 361 yards rushing and 92 passing for a total of 453. It was an impressive Panther performance on both sides of the ball.
The Panthers improve to 4-0 and the Roughies drop to 1-3. The Panthers schedule is going to get more challenging real fast. Coming up on Friday, the Panthers will travel down Route 378 to take on the 3-1 Southern Lehigh Spartans. It is going to be a war!
Ben Johnson performs his “Quidam” solo during the Panther Marching Band halftime show.
