The 2017 Panthers hit the road for the regular season finale against Palisades.
Friday night the 6-3 Saucon Valley Panthers will travel to the 9-0 Palisades Pirates for the Colonial League finale. The Panthers will be trying to play the role of spoiler against the Pirates. A Panther win will force currently undefeated Palisades to share the League title with Southern Lehigh if the Spartans can hold off the Salisbury Falcons in their finale. Otherwise, a Saucon loss leads Palisades to being the undisputed, 2017 champs.
In addition to playing spoiler, a win for the Panthers will result in a first round District XI 4A match-up against No. 2 seed Allentown Central Catholic. With a loss, the Panthers will drop to the No. 4 seed and draw No. 1 Bethlehem Catholic if Pottsville beats North Schuylkill this weekend.
Things Worth Watching:
Saucon Valley Panthers
When the Panthers have the ball…
Offensively, this season has panned out mostly as a two-man show for the Panthers. Zach Petiet (#23) and Alstan Wolfe (#5), both seniors, have done most of the statistical heavy-lifting for Saucon. Combined, Wolfe and Petiet have rushed for almost 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns this season. Wolfe has 1,039 yards on 111 carries and Petiet 918 yards on 128 carries. Wolfe rushed for 20 TD’s while “Lightning” has struck for 12. Wolfe is as dual-threat as they come and has completed 40 passes on 71 attempts for 832 yards and 11 TD’s. The majority of those completions belong to Steven Rose (#34). Rosie has 16 catches for 325 yards and 5 TD’s. With 168 more yards passing, Wolfe could very well be the first player in school history to have both rushed and thrown for at least 1,000 yards in a single season. Petiet, by the way, is 82 yards away from 3,000 career rushing yards.
The Palisades Pirates are a very good team and appear to have a blue-collar approach to the game. They operate primarily out of a 4-3 defense, but have also shown 4-4 and 5-2. The are not afraid to play man-man defense and will blitz to try and create havoc. What jumps out most on tape is that the Pirates are very quick to read and fly to the ball. The whole gang will try and get to the ball carrier to make sure he is down.
“They posted five shutouts and have the best defense in the league”, said Coach Sams. Notre Dame and Southern Lehigh each average about 40 points per game, but only managed 17 against the Pirates. The Panthers average 43 points per game, but have not faced a defense as stingy as Palisades. Both the Panthers and Pirates will surely have their chin straps buckled tight.
Coach Sams pointed out a number of Pirate seniors who caught his eye as being big-time players including defensive end Andrew Nickles (#9), T.J. Rakowsky (#7), Kyler Newton (#14) and Pat Lodwig (#21). Nickles is listed at 6’3″, 225 and reportedly has several Division I offers. The other three beasts are linebackers who are very quick to react and track the ball. They average 5’11’, 190.
In addition, Sams pointed out undersized defensive tackle Nathan Haubert (#70) who is 5’7″, 155. He may be small in stature, but he is big when it comes to competition. Sams calls Haubert “fierce and quick.” Haubert is a standout wrestler for the Pirates who is the 2016 District XI champion and 4th place medalist in the PIAA State tournament last year.
Palisades is a quick and scrappy bunch. They like to tackle, playing fast and feisty with obvious toughness and tenacity. Saucon Valley’s offense will have to be patient and limit their mistakes. A nice combination of run and pass could be in the game-plan to try and keep the Pirate defense off balance and guessing.
When the Pirates have the ball…
Palisades Pirates
The Pirates’ biggest threat appears to be shifty senior running back Jared Colletti (#1). He checks in at 5’9″, 165 and has 720 yards with 11 TDs. Colletti prefers to bounce to the outside and has a knack for making people miss with his quick feet and change of speed. Colletti is also a good receiver snagging eight catches for 131 yards and 2 scores.
Junior Trey Gretzinger (#44) and senior T.J. Rakowsky (#7) are also Pirate options to carry the football. Gretzinger measures 5’9″, 170 and has tallied 514 yards and 9 TD’s. Rakowsky is a bruiser at 5’11”, 205 and averages 11 yards per carry totaling 404 yards. Rakowsky has found the end zone five times. The Pirate ball carriers all seem to be physical runners who don’t mind getting dirty. They seem to take pride in finishing their runs with a bang.
“Our focus this week on defense is to stop the run,” Coach Sams pointed out. “As much as possible, we will have eight guys in the box and want to force them to throw the ball.”
When Palisades does throw, the signal caller is junior Ethan Brader (#12). He has completed 45 of his 88 throws for 633 yards. Brader has thrown 9 touchdowns. Three of Brader’s TD’s have gone to senior Matt McGrath (#25). McGrath leads the team with thirteen catches for 195 yards. Nickles (#9), at 6’3″, 225 is a nice target from his tight end position that Brader has found for a couple of touchdowns.
Look for Palisades to come out in an “I” formation and see if they can pound the rock against the Panthers. They will attempt to beat Saucon Valley with their quickness off the ball and try to out-tough the Panthers. The Pirates also have the scheme to spread the Panthers out to find holes from a variety of spread, shotgun formations.
These Pirates are hungry for a championship and believe they have a golden opportunity in front of them. If Palisades gets the win, they will earn themselves an outright Colonial League title. These proud Panthers, however, will not back down. It is going to be an intense atmosphere.
Good luck Panthers, the Source is with you!
