The Panther defense had their hands full trying to stop the Crimson Tide.
The Saucon Valley Panthers got punched squarely in the mouth not once, not twice, but three times during the opening quarter against the Pottsville Crimson Tide last night in the PIAA District XI 4A semifinal. Saucon Valley, however, demonstrated tremendous pride and toughness as they refused to go down. The Panthers may have started slow, but they were able to claw their way back and hold on for a 27-26 victory in a sensational high school football game.
Without the services of two-way super stud Alstan “Primetime” Wolfe who was bedridden with flu like symptoms, the first punch staggered the Panthers on the opening series of the game. Saucon started on defense and allowed Pottsville to finish a 65 yard drive that ended with a 20 yard touchdown pass on 3rd and 15. The Tide missed the extra point but led 6-0 with 7:51 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tide was on an early roll against the Panther defense.
The second Pottsville punch connected on Saucon Valley’s very first offensive play. With good field position and starting at their own 43 yard line courtesy of a poor Pottsville kick, Zach Petiet had the ball stripped from him as he collided with Tide middle linebacker Chase Alisauckas. Pottsville recovered the fumble and the Panther defense was quickly forced back onto the field.
Pottsville slugged Saucon again as they converted the turnover into more points. Crafting an eight play drive, the Crimson Tide were able to cash in on a 4th & 8 from the Panther 10 yard line. Tide quarterback Eric Wapinsky found Kory Kleckner on an out-route for a 9 yard touchdown pass and catch. Once again Pottsville could not hit the valuable extra point, but led 12-0 with 3:42 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Tide defense played well for most of the night.
The Panthers went three-and-out on their next series and punted the ball back to Pottsville. Saucon Valley only ran four first quarter offensive plays. The Crimson Tide rolled down to the Panther 33 yard line where they turned the ball over on downs back to Saucon Valley.
The Panthers were finally able to get some traction as they forged a 60 yard drive that finished with a Nate Kehs 2 yard touchdown run. Josh Snead’s extra point was blocked however, and Saucon settled for 12-6 score with 7:39 to play in first half.
Nate Kehs on his way to touchdown.
The momentum shift was short-lived though as Pottsville on 3rd & 9 from their own 20 yard line flipped a screen pass to Darion Jacoby who took the ball all the way to the Panther 8 yard line. On the following play, Tide quarterback Eric Wapinsky found room on his left side and powered in for a Pottsville touchdown. In only four plays the Tide answered Saucon’s score. However, once again, the Crimson Tide could not convert the precious extra point try. Pottsville took an 18-6 lead into the halftime locker room.
Saucon Valley came out of their locker room for the start of the third quarter with a little bit of an attitude. It seemed as though the Panthers sensed that it was now time for them to start punching back. Saucon swung back with a big 1-2 combination.
The Panthers received the second half kickoff and went smash-mouth football for seven plays and seventy yards for 7 points. “Lightning” struck from 13 yards out as the Hogs and fullback Abe Lugo opened a seam for Zach Petiet off the left side of the line. Saucon Valley convincingly scratched their way back and trailed 18-13 with 8:55 left in the third quarter.
Lightning strikes!
On the next possession Saucon forced Pottsville into a three-and-out punt situation from their own 13 yard line. Panther sophomore Christian Alling found a seam of his own on the left side of the Tide line. He knifed through and, fully stretched, was able to get a hand on the punt as it left the kicker’s foot. The ball ricocheted high in the air and backward into the Pottsville end zone where Panther Patrick Morrissey alertly pounced on it for another Saucon Valley touchdown. Snead was good with the extra point and Saucon fought to a 20-18 lead with 7:03 left in the third quarter.
When asked what he said to his team at halftime to get their groove back Coach Sams said, “We all said our peace at halftime and told the players they were playing poorly. We emphasized that it was unacceptable for us to come up here with a 9-1 record and let everything go without a fight.”
“Coach Muller told the boys that they had to play a solid 24 minutes if they wanted 48 more,” Sams said.
Sams continued saying, “Nothing real special or inspiring was said but the players knew their season was on the line. They were the ones that responded. Credit goes to the players for getting us back on track.”
When asked about some insight to the blocked punt by Christian Alling Coach Sams offered, “Coach Mike Phillips is in charge of our punt return and deserves a lot of credit. At one of our staff meetings we felt we could block the punt from the edge. Alling is a beast so he is the one Coach Phillips sent after it.”
Coach Sams along with Coach Chromczak and Coach Philips with a celebrating Kory Kemmerer in the background.
Pottsville did not lay down, however. They answered with an eleven play drive that ended with Darion Jacoby scampering in for a 21 yard score with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter. With the score 24-20, the Tide decided to go for a two-point conversion and were successful. Wapinsky went play-action boot left and lobbed it up for 6’6″ Ian Renninger who had Panther cornerback Zach Petiet draped all over him. Petiet made a solid play, but the ball was deflected toward the ground and landed right into Renninger’s midsection. Renninger held on to help his team reclaim the lead at 26-20.
Following the Tide kick, the Panthers took over at their own 35 yard line. Lightning would strike again with Petiet taking a toss around the left end for a 37 yard gain all the way down to the Pottsville 22 yard line. Petiet cleanly received the pitch and stumbled on his upfield cut but regained his balance and accelerated deep into Tide territory. On the very next play, fullback Abe Lugo sneaked out of the backfield into the Tide sideline. Lugo took Holub’s short pass down to the three yard line. Nate Kehs followed, taking the plunge up the middle and into the Crimson Tide end zone. Snead’s extra point was good and with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter the Panthers took the lead back 27-26.
The Panther offense started slow but finished strong.
Kehs’ touchdown and Snead’s point after held to the final whistle as the teams alternated punts while the final minutes ticked off the clock. Outstanding defensive plays by Ian Csicsek, Brandon Holub, Stephen Good and the rest of the Panthers sealed the victory. Csicsek and Holub won their downfield jump balls spiking the pigskin to the ground while Good snuffed out a fullback screen for no gain with a little Panther attitude.
The Hogs picked it up as the game wore on.
Zach Petiet led the Panther rushing attack with 174 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Kehs finished the night with 15 carries for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kehs also had 10 tackles and shared a quarterback sack with Ryan Meyers.
Last night’s game was an instant Saucon Valley classic that propelled the Panthers into the District XI finals. For a team to be pummeled early-on and then step up for the second half on the road to impose their will for a victory, certainly made this a special night for Panther Nation.
Looking forward, Bethlehem Catholic as the #4 seed in the tournament defeated #1 Allentown Central Catholic 39-33. Now, with their victory, the Panthers as the #3 seed will battle Bethlehem Catholic for the District XI championship at a site to be determined. This will be a rematch between last season’s District XI semifinals that the Panthers won 14-6.
Great job Panthers, enjoy this awesome win before refocusing on Bethlehem Catholic. The win at Pottsville was truly a magical night to remember. The Source is with you!
