Panther Pregame Football Focus: Saucon @ Pen Argyl (Brought to You by Vassi's Drive-In)

Est. Read Time: 7 mins

The Panthers will have to conquer “The Hill” at Pen Argyl to get their second win of the season.

Are you ready for some more football, Saucon Valley? Of course, this week you are going to have to wait that extra day to get your Saucon Valley Panther football fix. Saucon will travel to Pen Argyl (1-0) for a Saturday football matinee up on “The Hill”. Last year the Panthers convincingly defended their home turf and sent the Green Knights away with a 57-14 beating. However, this season is shaping up to be a much more competitive affair. Last week the Panthers got out early to a great start and held on to defeat crosstown rival Southern Lehigh 27-13 while the Pen Argyl Green Knights came from behind in dramatic fashion to defeat the Salisbury Falcons 17-16. This battle of the unbeatens is scheduled to kickoff on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Things Worth Watching:

Saucon Valley Panthers

When the Panthers have the ball…..

Expect to see a base 4-3 defense from Pen Argyl. They are a blitz-happy team and love to bring pressure right up the gut. Keep an eye on inside linebacker Gavin Amerman (#32) as he tends to come with the most frequency. Amerman is not the only Green Knight who will be coming after the Panthers, but he comes often.

Pen Argyl has not shown a whole lot of defensive variety so far, but like many other Panther foes, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them lock-up with man-to-man coverage and sit on the Panther rushing attack with seven or eight defenders in the box. It is no secret that the Panthers are a run-first team. Saucon takes pride in smash-mouth football and their physical play. Southern Lehigh’s coach John Toman described the Panthers style as “bully ball” following Saucon’s 27-13 victory last week. This comment brought a rare smile to the face of Saucon Valley offensive line coach/offensive coordinator, Ed Chromczak. Even though Panther opponents prepare for “Bully Ball”, they usually have trouble stopping it.

Looking to “pop” the defensive pressure will be a stable of capable Panther ball carriers led by senior Ian Csicsek (#28). Csicsek was credited for 140 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown against Southern Lehigh a week ago. Joining Csicsek this week to share the carries will be seniors, Justin Kyra (#22), Kelvin Gallard (#27) and Christian “Mongo” Alling (#33). Mongo also serves as a pimped-up bulldozer of a blocker from his fullback position. Mongo like football.

Also paving the way for the Saucon Valley ground game are the 2018 Hogs. Seniors Tim “Boss Hog” Weaver, Aidan Redding and Jared Harka along with junior Evan Deily and sophomore David Osman are all battle-tested with experience. These swine bring a lethal mix of size, athleticism and grit. The Panthers are very good in trench warfare.

The 2018 Hogs: Week 2

Left Tackle: #77 Sr. Tim Weaver 6’5″, 285
Left Guard: #61 Sr. Jared Harka 5’9″, 210
Center: #60 So. David Osman 6’0″, 225
Right Guard: #65 Jr. Evan Deily 5’11”, 225
Right Tackle: #73 Sr. Aidan Redding 6’3″, 290

In addition to plowing the way for Panther runners, the Hogs will, of course, have to protect their quarterback. Saucon’s signal-caller for the second straight week will be freshman Dante Mahaffey. Mahaffey played a solid game against Southern Lehigh last week completing a modest 4 of 6 passes for 45 yards. One of those throws was a 14-yard touchdown pass to junior wide-out Dane Csencsits. In addition, Mahaffey proved to a be an offensive weapon with his feet. The freshman scrambled his way for a 10-yard score against the Spartan defense. Perhaps the best quality exhibited by Mahaffey, however, was his ability to take care of the football. With no interceptions or fumbles against a very good Southern Lehigh team, Mahaffey made good decisions throughout the night and played with intelligence and poise. If Mahaffey happens to stumble against the Green Knights, the Panthers have senior C.J. Stump waiting in the wings. Stump is more than capable to run the Panther offense.

The favorite target for the Panther quarterback will likely be Patrick Morrissey (#80). Morrissey, who stands 6’2″, 215, is a senior with good hands. Morrissey averaged 19-yards per catch last season and led all Panther receivers with two catches for 22 yards against Southern Lehigh. In addition to Morrissey, there are additional Panther-playmakers who can catch the ball including Ryan Holub (#13), Reily Hudak (#21) and Dane Csencsits (#32).

2018 Panther Play-Makers

QB: #12 Fr. Dante Mahaffey, #16 Sr. C.J. Stump
RB: #22 Sr. Justin Kyra, #27 Sr. Kelvin Gallard, #28 Sr. Ian Csicsek, #32 Jr. Dane Csencsits, #33 Sr. Christian “Mongo” Alling, RB: #38 Sr. Curtis Clifford
WR: #6 Sr. Justin Clements, #11 Fr. Ty Csencsits, #13 Sr. Ryan Holub, #18 Fr. Eternal (E.T.) Aris, #21 Sr. Reily Hudak
TE: #80 Sr. Patrick Morrissey, #44 Jr. Dale Sorensen

The Pen Argyl defense is tough and they play hard with a notable blue-collar effort. The Green Knights surrendered 270 total yards to the Salisbury Falcons last week. The Falcon quarterback was 11 of 18 for 145 yards passing and the ground attack accounted for an additional 125 yards. Salisbury was forced to punt only three times. Pen Argyl’s defense, however, did earn themselves three takeaways with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Saucon must take care of the football.

When the Green Knights have the ball…..

Pen Argyl Green Knights

The Pen Argyl offense has a little variety to it, but they seem most comfortable with a smash-mouth approach of their own. The Green Knights often utilize two tight-ends with an I-formation and their quarterback under center. They have also shown quite a bit of “unbalanced line”. In addition, they have shown to spread the defense with some wide formations. Nonetheless, expect to see a steady diet of toss-sweeps, a little dive-option and some bootleg action.

The Green Knight’s offensive personnel is a little cloudy due to last year’s starting quarterback, Anderson Dear (#8), seemingly injured and not playing against Salisbury. If Dear is available for the Panthers, it is questionable whether he will get the start anyway due to last week’s performance by Tadd Bar (#3). Barr led the Green Knights to their big win and accounted for a total of 122 yards and a touchdown pass. Both Dear and Barr, are seniors but Barr is the hot-hand right now and provides more of a dual-threat attack. If Dear is the man, then Barr will likely bounce out to wide-receiver where he has averaged 19-yards per catch throughout his career. Dear is listed at 6’2″, 185 and Barr at 5’11”, 170.

The Green Knights Up-Front

Tackle #67 Sr. Jake Haverland 6’3″, 295
Guard #60 Sr. Austin Ashenfalder 5’7″, 160
Center #77 So. Tyler Taylor 5’7″,180
Guard #56 Jr. Derek Herfurth 6’0″, 220
Tackle #78 Sr. Jake Davis 6’5″, 280

A key matchup will be Pen Argyl’s offensive line against the Panthers defensive front. For those of you who like three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust type football, this very well could be an enjoyable afternoon for you. The Green Knight’s will also try to attack the Panther perimeter with toss and option, but Saucon Valley will answer with some pretty good edge players. The Panther defensive ends and outside linebackers will be prepared for that challenge.

2018 Panther Defense

DE’s: #65 Jr. Evan Deily, #80 Sr. Patrick Morrissey, #44 Jr. Dale Sorensen
DT’s: #61 Sr. Jared Harka, #77 Sr. Tim Weaver,
ILB’s: #32 Jr. Dane Csencsits, #33 Sr. Christian “Mongo” Alling,
OLB’s: #28 Sr. Ian Csicsek, #27 Sr. Kelvin Gallard
DB’s: #13 Sr. Ryan Holub, #21 Sr. Reily Hudak, #22 Sr. Justin Kyra, #11 Fr. Ty Csencsits

Other Green Knights to keep an eye on when they have the ball are seniors Connor Kupres (#24) and Daniel Pfeiffer (#28). Kupres plays tight-end and hulks out at 6’2″, 220. He caught 4 four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown last week. Pfeiffer, a running-back, is listed at 5’10”, 160 and carried 15 times for 53 yards. Pfeiffer also caught 3 balls for an additional 32 yards against the Falcons a week ago.

This will be no easy task for the Panthers. Pen Argyl has a football program that is rich with a glorified history and multiple championships. With a new coach this season that is very much in tune with that past, many feel as though the Green Knights have reconnected with their former winning ways and tradition. It should mean nothing to the Panthers that Pen Argyl was 1-9 a year ago. Traveling to Pen Argyl in an attempt to take “The Hill” is never an easy task. This could be a Saturday afternoon slugfest classic!