Saucon Valley’s Curtis Clifford weaving his way through traffic as he runs the ball against the Fleetwood defense during the 2018 scrimmage.
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME PANTHER FOOTBALL?
The Saucon Valley Panthers are fresh off a Saturday morning preseason football scrimmage with the Fleetwood Tigers. Fleetwood is a 4A team out of District III who was winless last season. Nonetheless, the Panthers shook off a sluggish start to dominate the Berks County team on both sides of the ball. The Panther offense scored four touchdowns on five possessions while the defense failed to surrender a single first down during the game simulation session.
The scrimmage served as the final tuneup before the 2018 Colonial League season opener on Friday against the crosstown Southern Lehigh Spartans. This scrimmage will also answer any lingering questions that Coach Sams and his staff have concerning their personnel.
The biggest of all questions buzzing throughout the community has been, Who will fill the super-freaky shoes of Alstan Wolfe at the quarterback position?
Panther senior CJ Stump throws to the flat against the Fleetwood Tiger defense.
For the signal-caller spot the Panthers are auditioning senior, C.J. Stump and freshman, Dante Mahaffey. “Alstan Wolfe is the best athlete to ever play football at Saucon, so filling his shoes is not fair to C.J. or Dante,” Coach Sams said. “C.J. and Dante are both doing an excellent job in camp. We still have not made our decision on the QB situation. They both bring different qualities to the table. All that being said, they are both capable of running our offense. Even though we lost Alstan, we still feel we can win a lot of football games and fight for a Colonial League championship this year with C.J. or Dante in charge.”
Saucon Valley freshman Dante Mahaffey rolls to his left against the Fleetwood Tigers.
No matter who starts at quarterback, the Panthers have a whole lot of “Hog” coming back this season. Four of the five starters up front return and are led by “Big Tim” Weaver. Weaver is a mountain of a man standing 6’5″, 285 and has extraordinary agility for someone that size. He has dozens of scholarship offers and is one of Pennsylvania’s top uncommitted recruits.
Joining “Big Tim” at the trough will be fellow seniors Jared Harka and Aidan Redding. Both Harka and Redding have plenty of experience and were starters last season. Harka is tough as nails and checks into his left-guard position at 5’9″, 210. Redding joins Weaver at the tackle spot and breaks the scale at 6’3″, 290. Junior Evan Deily at 5’11”, 225 has plenty of varsity experience and mans the right-guard position while sophomore David Osman returns to start at center for the Panthers. Osman played admirably as a freshman and weighs in at 6’0″, 225.
Saucon Valley’s Tim Weaver having another day at the office.
Patrick Morrissey is another returning senior and will play tight-end for Saucon Valley. At 6’2″, 215 he is plenty big enough to contribute to the Panther running game, but it is his pass-catching ability that should have fans excited. Averaging 19 yards per catch last season, Morrissey has a nice blend of size and athleticism that makes him a ripe target.
Other Panther receivers to keep an eye on include seniors Ryan Holub and Riley Hudak. Holub is no stranger to the Friday night lights and Hudak has shown flashes of play-making snag-ability. Junior, Dane Csencsits is also worth noting on the offensive side of the ball. He missed last season with a lower-body injury, but if his success on the wrestling mat is any indication of what type of competitor he is, Saucon will benefit from his talents. As a sophomore, Csencsits was one of six Saucon wrestlers who advanced to the 2018 PIAA state tournament in Hershey.
If the Panther receiving corps gets banged up, don’t be surprised to see a couple freshmen take the field. According to Coach Sams, both Ty Csencsits and Eternal “E.T.” Aris are in the mix and ready to go. Ty Csencsits is the younger brother of Dane.
E.T. gets air-born inside the pylon for a TD.
Perhaps the deepest and most talented position group the Panthers will field is at running back. Lost to graduation was thousand-yard rusher Zach Petiet, but a lively stable of anxious Panthers are ready to roar. Senior, Ian Csicsek is Saucon’s most experienced running back and averaged a whopping 7.9 yards per carry in 2017. Last season Csicsek filled in for injured Zach Petiet against Northwestern Lehigh and did not disappoint. Csicsek rushed a career high 21 times for 151 yards and two TD’s against the Tigers last year.
SV Panthers Patrick Morrissey, Jared Harka and Evan Deily lead the way for Ian Csicsek against the Fleetwood Tigers.
Should the Saucon staff choose to rotate their running-backs, a couple of other seniors in Curtis Clifford and Justin Kyra are chomping at the bit to get their carries. Each player has a unique running style that looks to be productive. Any of these talented Panther running-backs look as though they can get the job done.
One other wrinkle Panther fans will enjoy seeing is fullback Christian “Mongo” Alling lead-blocking or carrying the ball through a cloud of dust. There was even a Mongo sighting at the tailback position during the Fleetwood scrimmage. Alling is a 6’1″, 195 bruiser who is an explosive blocker and tough to tackle. Mongo like football.
Mongo
Defensively, it will be the usual suspects up front. Expect to see Weaver and Harka starting inside with Morrissey and Deily playing the defensive end positions. Dale Sorensen, a 6’0″, 170 junior, should also be in the rotation as a defensive end with Osman getting some reps inside. Nicholas Warnke, a junior at 5’10”, 265, could be a helpful run-stopper in the middle as well.
The inside-linebacker positions will be anchored by Mongo and Dane Csencsits. They will be flanked on the outside by Clifford and Csicsek. Senior Kelvin Gallard and junior Aiden Renninger will be seeing plenty of snaps in the linebacker rotation as well. Gallard is quick and tenacious while Renninger has a nose for finding the ball.
In the defensive secondary the Panthers plan to prevent the pass with Kyra and Holub at the cornerback positions and Hudak lining up at safety. Freshman Ty Csencsits is in the mix in the secondary as well.
Panthers Dane Csencsits, Evan Deily and Ian Csicsek hunting their prey.
Returning Panther Starters
- #33 Christian Alling RB/LB
- #13 Ryan Holub WR/DB
- #38 Curtis Clifford RB/LB
- #65 Evan Deily OL/DL
- #61 Jared Harka OL/DL
- #80 Patrick Morrissey TE/DE
- #60 David Osman OL/DL
- #73 Aidan Redding OL/DL
- #77 Tim Weaver OL/DL
The Panthers punch in another touchdown against the Fleetwood Tigers.
Saucon Valley will travel to Southern Lehigh for their Friday night opener. The Spartans were 10-2 last season losing 35-17 to undefeated Colonial League champion Palisades and 34-17 the Whitehall Zephyrs in the District XI 5A Final. The Spartans survived a 31-28 see-saw-shootout against the Panthers last season. Southern Lehigh did take a hit to graduation, but they do return quarterback Logan Edmund who accounted for over 2,100 yards of offense and 28 touchdowns last year. He is as good as they get.
What a fantastic way to kickoff the 2018 season!
Saucon Valley Panthers
2018 Varsity Football Schedule
- Friday Aug, 24 @ Southern Lehigh (7 p.m.)
- Saturday Sept. 1 @ Pen Argyl (1:30 p.m.)
- Friday Sept. 7 v. Palmerton (7 p.m.) **Youth Night**
- Friday Sept. 14 @ Salisbury (7 p.m.)
- Friday Sept. 21 v. Northern Lehigh (7 p.m.) **MiniTHON Blue Out**
- Friday Sept. 28 @ Bangor (7 p.m.)
- Friday Oct. 5 v. Wilson (7 p.m.) **Pink Night**
- Friday Oct. 12 v. NWestern Lehigh (7 p.m.) **Homecoming**
- Friday Oct. 19 @ Notre Dame (7 p.m.)
- Friday Oct. 26 v. Palisades (7 p.m.) **Senior Night**
Check out some more Fleetwood photos…………
- (credit to Travis Riefenstahl)
Good luck Panthers, the Source is with you!
