Panther Pregame Football Focus: Saucon v. Nolehi (Brought to You by Vassi's Drive-In)

Est. Read Time: 6 mins

The Panthers will once again take the field at Monford E. Illick stadium.

Are you ready for some high school football, Panther Nation? Once again, the time has come to start getting pumped for another Friday night football fight. After last week’s exciting win at Salisbury, Saucon Valley (4-0) is back to defend their home turf and their undefeated record against the Northern Lehigh Bulldogs (3-1). The ‘Dawgs own victories over Wilson, Catasauqua and Pen Argyl. Those three teams have an unimpressive and collective win/loss record of 2-10 as they enter Week 5 of Colonial League action. Northern Lehigh’s lone loss is a 28-6 defeat to Bangor (3-1) during Week 3. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs would love nothing more than a signature win against the powerful Panthers. Last year Saucon Valley mercy-ruled Northern Lehigh 54-6. The ‘Dawgs have not beaten Saucon since 2012 when they sent the Panthers packing back to Hellertown with an 18-16 score.

Things Worth Watching:

Saucon Valley Panthers

When the Panthers have the ball…..

Northern Lehigh runs a base 4-4 defense. They will walk an outside- linebacker up to the tight-end side making it look more like a 5-man front. They will also press both outside linebackers up to the line of scrimmage making it look like a 6-2. The Bulldogs will blitz with frequency and likely play man-to-man on the back end. Like so many other Panther opponents, expect the ‘Dawgs to try and force the Panthers to abandon their brand of “Bully Ball” and put the ball into the air.

Ian Csicsek (#28) has been simply fantastic this year and he is trending even better. “Sizzler” is crushing it and has rushed for 140, 183, 205 and 280 yards in his four games this season. His 808 total yards and 12 TD’s all contribute to an 8.2 yards per carry average. According to Maxpreps, Csicsek is ranked 5th throughout all of Pennsylvania for rushing yardage. He is on pace to run for over 2,000 yards.

Csicisek is sizzling, but there are others who can tote the rock as well. Joining Csicsek in the backfield will be senior Curtis Clifford (#38). After missing a little time to injury, Clifford ran three times for 63 yards and 2 TD’s last week against Salisbury. Clifford runs with a no-nonsense attitude and seems to only have the endzone on his mind when he carries the football. Justin Kyra (#22), Kelvin Gallard (#27) and Christian “Mongo” Alling (#33) should also get a share of the carries. Kyra averages over 5 yards per carry while Alling and Gallard make most of their contributions as blockers from the fullback position.

Freshman quarterback Dante Mahaffey (#12) will once again be under center for the Panthers. Mahaffey continues to impress in his first season completing 20 of 38 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He has proven to be a dual-threat guy and has no problem tucking the ball and running with it. Mahaffey has run 34 times for 215 yards and a score. He averages 6.3 yards per carry and is the Panthers second-leading rusher behind Csicsek. Mahaffey has demonstrated a knack for making good decisions while running the Panther option attack.

When Mahaffey throws, one of his main targets is 6’2″, 215 senior tight-end, Patrick Morrissey (#80). Morrissey has snagged seven catches for 105 yards and a TD so far this year. Mahaffey has also found Ryan Holub (#13) for five catches totaling 59 yards and a couple touchdowns. Dane Csencsits (#32) is also a recipient of a Mahaffey touchdown pass.

2018 Panther Play-Makers

QB: #12 Fr. Dante Mahaffey, #16 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 formidable Saucon Valley ground game is a tribute to the collective efforts of the 2018 Hogs. Seniors Tim “Boss Hog” Weaver, Aidan Redding and Jared Harka along with junior Evan Deily and sophomore David Osman enjoy playing “Bully Ball”. Nick Warnke (#70) at 6’1″, 275 is another Hog in the Panther rotation. Saucon Valley is very good in the trenches and paving the way for Csicsek and company.

The 2018 Hogs: Week 3

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 6’1″, 225
Right Tackle: #73 Sr. Aidan Redding 6’3″, 290

When the Bulldogs have the ball…..

Nolehi Bulldogs

The Northern Lehigh offense leans on their rushing attack but shows a little bit of everything. They tend to go smash-mouth with double tightends and full-house backfield looks. They will also spread the field using 2×2 and 3×1 formations. The ‘Dawgs are definitely a run-first team and rely heavily on their toss-sweep package. Their use of a little trickery and reverses should not surprise the Panthers. The Bulldogs aren’t hulking-out up front but they aren’t exactly very small. Nolehi averages about 5’10”, 210 across their front line. Throw in a couple of tight-ends who are both about 5’11”, 185 and the average comes down a bit. The Bulldogs are well-coached, know their assignments and play with great effort.

The Bulldogs Up-Front

Tackle #77 Sr. Caleb Wanamaker 6’0″, 200
Guard #67 Jr. Bryce Dye 6’0, 210
Center #55 Jr. Carter Smith 6’0″, 190
Guard #63 Sr. Dominic Bandle 5’10”, 235
Tackle #64 Jr. Jason Check 5’8″, 230

Leading the Bulldogs on the stats page are a pair of seniors in quarterback Gage Hunsicker (#9) and running-back Justin Paul (#47). Hunsicker has completed 20 of 39 passes for 204 yards and 3 TD’s. He has also carried 33 times for a 4.8 yards per carry average. Paul is a workhouse who is good for 364 yards on 45 carries. With 8.1 yards per touch, he is definitely their best offensive player. Paul put up 191 yards on only 12 carries against winless Catasauqua, but, he is nonetheless an explosive and physical runner. However, Paul was curiously absent from last week’s 14-3 win over Pen Argyl and did not finish the Bangor game two weeks back. He was likely injured and his availability against the Panthers is currently unknown. If he does play, he will likely be the Bulldogs main man.

Picking up the slack for Paul has been sophomore Mike Repsher (#40) and senior Cameron Kline (#30). Repsher led the Bulldog rushing attack last week with a respectable 77 yards on 13 carries. He also caught two passes for 15 yards. Kline had 11 totes for 38 yards. It looks like running-back by committee for the Bulldogs.

When the Bulldogs throw it usually ends up in the hands of Repsher (#40) or senior Damion Rodriguez (#81). Of Hunsicker’s 20 completions for this season, eight of them have gone to Repsher and six to Rodriguez. Both Repsher and Rodriguez average 15 yards per catch.

2018 Panther Defense

DE’s: #44 Jr. Dale Sorensen, #65 Jr. Evan Deily, #80 Sr. Patrick Morrissey,
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, #5 Jr. Aiden Renninger, #38 Curtis Clifford
DB’s: #13 Sr. Ryan Holub, #21 Sr. Reily Hudak, #22 Sr. Justin Kyra, #11 Fr. Ty Csencsits

Even though Northern Lehigh will travel to Hellertown and enter Montford E. Illick with their 3-1 record and a confident swagger, the Panthers should outclass the Bulldogs. It does not look like the ‘Dawgs have the team speed and explosiveness similar to Palmerton and Salisbury. That combination of speed and power gave Saucon Valley tackling trouble the last two weeks. Nolehi’s Paul (#47) is a downhill, physical runner, but he lacks the breakaway speed and elusiveness that was characteristic of the Palmerton and Salisbury teams. Nonetheless, if the Panthers do fall into a tackling funk the Bulldogs may be able to control the ball and methodically move the sticks three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust style. As long as the Panthers play sound defense, the Bulldogs should leave town with a whimper.