Editor’s Note: Delayed post. This story is being published later than expected. The successive game stories will be published the week of Oct. 7, in advance of the Little Panthers’ final regular season games at home (Dimmick Park, Hellertown) against Palisades on Saturday, Oct. 13. We apologize to the players, fans, boosters, coaches and community for any inconvenience the delay in publishing this content may have caused.
The SVYSA’s week 5 matchups featuring the four Little Panther teams versus the Catasauqua Rough Riders took place on Sept. 22.
Rookie Flag Division
This was the first time all year when the Panthers were able to have two separate 5-man squads playing simultaneously. There was a lot of action to keep up with at both ends of the field. Leading the way offensively was Andrew Hastie with two touchdowns, while Jayden Reifinger, Jase Szlachtianshyn and Levi Miller pitched in one score each. Brody Weiss contributed a long run on the drive to set up Levi’s score. Defensively the Panthers had flag pulls by Bradley Stetch, Levi Miller and Jayden Reifinger.
The little Panther Rookie flags’ defense pursues a Rough Rider Ball carrier.
Rookie Flag Brody Weiss takes the handoff to the outside for a big gain.
Rookie flags Jayden Reifinger and Brody Weiss trap the Catasauqua runner.
Rookie Flag Andrew Hastie puts on the jets for the score.
Competitive Flag Division
This was a very back-and-forth exciting game. Unfortunately the Panthers came out on the short end of this contest after a last minute drive ran out of time at the one-yard line. It was a great team effort, with Zachary Henn standing out on defense with five stops (one for loss). Ricky Favere had three, including a sack, while Taylor Rohn and Jaxon Walser contributed two each. Taylor Rohn racked up huge chunks of yards totaling more than 170 with a score (a second 66-yard scamper was called back). Zachary Henn and Ricky Favere also scored for the Panthers, who fell to 3-2 on the season by a 25-20 final score. Coach Greg said after the game that it was a good game that went down to the wire, and that they just came up short.
Competitive Flag Ricky Favere follows his blockers to the outside.
Competitive Flag Xander Farkas tries to evade a flag pull while Taylor Rohn looks to help out with a block.
Competitive flags (visible jerseys left to right): Daniel DeTello, Zachary Henn, Xander Farkas, Landon Wolf, Trevor Weidner and Ricky Favere look to escort ball carrier Taylor Rohn to the end zone.
Competitive Flag Zachary Henn takes a late game handoff for a long run.
100 Pound Division
This was a close, one-score game. The Rough Riders played like their name suggests and handed the Panthers a 15-7 loss. Scoring the Panthers’ touchdown was Jakob Ziegler. Defensively, Liam Stoneback and Gavin Brunell combined for a sack and Andrew Young had several tackles.*
The Little Panther running back for the 100-Pounders cuts inside a would-be tackler.
100 Pounder Noah Hubert breaks left on a quarterback keeper.
100 Pounder Andrew Young neutralizes a Rough Rider runner.
Credit: Rick Favere
*Note: I would like to recognize David Fatzinger and his wife, Cheryl, who have been very active in the Lions Club here in Hellertown and in their hometown of Emmaus/Macungie. Cheryl unfortunately recently lost her battle with cancer and I ask for your prayers for the family. Unfortunately this news about his grandmother being shared with my son after his Competitive Flag game required some personal time with him and his mother and affected my ability to actively pay attention to the 100 Pound game. My apologies to the hardworking team, individual players and coaches for this.
120 Pound Division
The varsity squad continued their winning ways this week, defeating the the Rough Riders by a score of 28-13. Although the shutout streak was stopped at four games, the swarming defense played a huge part in the win, racking up two sacks featuring Nathaniel Snyder and Hector Mateo. Key fourth down stops–one by Ashton Beckowski–a pass defended by Andrew Gilbert and an interception by Landon Beckowski that was originally ruled a pick 6 but was nullified by a penalty call, and a fumble recovery held the Catasauqua team in check while the offense saw Landon Beckowski explode for a 67-yard score and Constantine Donahue contribute another touchdown. Coaches Brown and Schneider talked the week before about how the undefeated Catasauqua team was going to provide a tough test for the Panthers, who just keep rolling along.
120-Pounder Landon Beckowski regains his balance after putting #5 to the ground with a stiff arm.
120-Pounder Constantine Donahue runs behind a block by Landon Beckwoski.
Another crushing tackle for loss by the swarming 120-Pound Little Panther defense.
120 Pounder Leonidas Zaharakis and the rest of the Panther defense collapse the pocket on the Rough Riders.
