The Panthers take the field.
Friday night the 10-1 Colonial League champion Saucon Valley Panthers will travel to J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown to host the 8-3 Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks in the PIAA District XI 4A championship. With a win the Panthers advance to the PIAA playoffs and continue the quest for a state title. A loss, and a very good 2016 season comes to a close. It is going to be another exciting night for Panther football!
Things Worth Watching:
Saucon Valley Panthers
When the Panthers have the ball…
No doubt the Panthers will probe and try and establish the run against the Golden Hawks and their 3-3-5 defense. Junior Zach “Lightning” Petiet (#23) leads the way for the Panthers with his 1,531 yards and 22 TDs. He currently averages 153 yards per game and 8 yards per touch. With his exceptional quickness, Petiet doesn’t need much to pop through the line of scrimmage. “Lightning” can strike from anywhere on the field but needs just a little bit of space to get going. BECA’s Isaiah Onuschak (#53) and Niko Camacho (#73) are two standouts who will try to limit Petiet’s yardage. Onuschak plays linebacker at 6’1″, 220, while Camacho is defensive lineman who is listed at 6’2″, 275. Both are East Penn Conference All-Stars.
To complement “Lightning” is Nate Kehs (#32). The “Big Cat” is back and averages over 8 yards per carry. Last week against Pottsville Kehs provided a spark to the Panther offense carrying 16 times for 101 yards and 2 TDs. Together, Kehs and Petiet are a handful for any defense coordinator to deal with.
Dual-threat Saucon Valley senior quarterback Brandon Holub (#12) can also create problems for a defense. Holub has rushed 88 times for 412 yards and 5 touchdowns. He is not just a threat on designed runs, but he also makes good decisions to scramble when his receivers are covered downfield.
Holub can throw as well. On the year he has completed 53 0f 90 passes for 900 yards. He only averages 8 passes per game, but has completed 60 percent of them. To his credit he has 11 touchdown passes with only 3 interceptions. In passing situations Holub and the Panthers will likely see a 3-3-5 defense and plenty of man coverage. The Hawks will also bring the blitz.
Alstan Wolfe (#5) and Kory Kemmerer (#4) are Holub’s key targets. Wolfe has 25 receptions for 478 yards which comes out to 19 yards per catch. Wolfe missed last week due to illness, but claims 9 touchdown catches and 1 punt return for a TD. Kemmerer has 14 receptions for 199 yards, and tends to come up big in big games.
The Hogs will be looking forward to some trench warfare with the Hawks. Steven Good (#65), Ryan Meyers (#74), Trey Polak (#75), Cody Zrinski (#76), Tim Weaver (#77) and Hayden Clifford (#66) will need to stymie the BECA defensive linemen and have their heads up to obstruct the blitzing linebackers. As a unit the Hawk defense is very fast and they will be quick to try and collapse on the Panther run.
When the Hawks have the ball…
Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks
BECA, like Saucon, averages 33 points per game. They are a talented bunch with plenty of skill and speed. The Golden Hawks run a balanced spread-gun offense. They have a very good dual-threat quarterback in Javon Clements (#12), who can throw and run with the best of them. Clements, a junior, is listed at 6’1″, 194 and has thrown for over 1,100 yards this season. He has missed some time due to a knee injury but led the Hawks to a big win last week against Allentown Central Catholic. If the ball is not in Clements’ hands then it is likely being handed to Randy Terry (#9). Terry is on the small side, but he is dynamite. Terry is listed at 5’7″, 155 and has rushed for 1,232 yards and 15 TDs.
BECA has a couple other weapons as well:
- Senior Nick Petros (#7) is a returning starter at wide receiver and measures 5’10”, 155. He has 23 receptions for 528 yards and 6 TDs.
- Senior Karim Powell (#2) is a wide receiver listed at 6’1″, 175. BECA likes to dictate single coverage to him and throw him the ball. Powell has 20 receptions for 432 yards and 8 TDs.
- Junior Daizhun Rhodes (#5) at 5’9″, 170 is a running back that the Hawks like to get outside with jet sweeps runs. He has 60 carries for 511 yards and 9 TDs. Rhodes is also a dangerous return man. Coach Phil Sams believes he may be the fastest of all the BECA fast.
Bethlehem Catholic certainly has its full share of dangerous weapons who can score points in a hurry. The Golden Hawks are multi-dimensional with the playmakers to run or pass the ball effectively. Saucon’s Meyers (#74), Polak (#75) and Zrinski (#76) will try to control the line of scrimmage with their slight size advantage. Good (#65), Kehs (#32), Lugo (#43) and Zaharakis (#30) will make it a point to corral the Hawks before their speedy ball carriers can find space.
The Panther pass rush will need to keep Clements uncomfortably in the pocket with their pressure. In the open field Saucon Valley will need to take good angles with their pursuit and tackle well as a team. The Panthers will welcome defensive backs Alstan Wolfe (#5) and Steven Rose (#34) back into action. They are a bonus, but the entire Saucon Valley defense will need their “A-game” to minimize damage that can be done by this high flying Hawk offense.
Friday night is going to be intense. The past two years these two teams have faced each other in the District XI playoffs. In 2014 BECA topped Saucon 49-7. Last year the Panthers got their revenge with a 14-6 win. While familiarity breeds contempt, Friday night we’re going to see who earns the best of three.
Saucon Source will be there, and we hope to see you there too. Good luck Panthers, the Source is with you!
