Week 6 of the Saucon Valley Youth Sports Association’s youth football season was played on a beautiful day for football right here in Dimmick Park. The visiting Northern Lehigh Bulldogs played well and provided some tough competition for the various divisions on Saturday, Sept. 29.
“Oh, say can you see…”
Rookie Flag Division
The littlest Panthers, as their coach said after the game, “had a lot of fun, and did a good job on both sides.” This game featured some great defense led by Andrew Hastie with three flag pulls, and Jayden Reifinger and Levi Miller, with two stops each. The offense scored on runs by Levi Miller and Andrew Hastie.
Levi Miller pulls a Bulldog flag while Jayden Reifinger pursues.
Andrew Hastie saves a touchdown with a last second pull at the one yard line.
Andrew Hastie breaks away for a long score.
Competitive Flag Division
This was another exciting game for the competitive flag team who, in the end, came up just short with a 20-19 loss. It wasn’t for lack of effort throughout the game, as both offense and defense had players recording good stat lines. Taylor Rohn, Xander Farkas and Trevor Weidner paced the defense with four flag pulls each, and Daniel DeTello followed suit with a strong game of his own, notching three stops including on a key 4th down in the 3rd quarter. Once again Taylor Rohn led the offense in total yards with 260, scored all three Panther touchdowns and accumulated over 50 yards on the final drive as the time unfortunately ran out on them at the one yard line. Coach Greg said “it was a hard-fought game and it was the second week in a row that they had an opportunity to win on the last drive but came up just a yard short.”
An airborne Taylor Rohn gets a touchdown-saving stop.
Mason Eisenbraum pulls a flag on a run up the middle.
Daniel DeTello and the rest of the Panthers offensive line open a huge hole.
Ricky Favere gets a flag pull.
Zachary Henn, our version of JJ Watt, collapses the offensive line.
100 Pound Division
This was a tough game for the Little Panther JV squad. The Bulldogs were noticeably bigger, faster, played with more aggression and were eventually rewarded with a 27-0 victory. Despite the offensive efforts of Noah Hubert, Braden Rohn and Ezekiel Deily, plus the defense led by Liam Stoneback and Andrew Young, the tide couldn’t be turned in their favor.
Ezekiel Deily dives for extra yardage.
An unidentified Panther makes a cutback move towards a clear lane.
The Panthers run the ball while Dylan Staub resists the urge to block from behind.
Liam Stoneback lays a hit on a Bulldog runner.
Noah Hubert lets a pass fly.
“We’ve got the right moves, all the right moves!”
120 Pound Division
The undefeated varsity Little Panthers took the field with another victory on their minds and once again dominated the game from start to finish. The ballhawking defense saw Landon Beckowski record two sacks, a tackle for loss and two stops in the first half. Also pitching in with a sack and multiple tackles was Jack Robertson, while Shane Kerosetz is credited with a tackle and a 4th quarter fumble recovery. Constantine Donahue was an unstoppable force this week, scoring 4 touchdowns–two rushing, 1 receiving and a punt return, and a few extra points as the kicker too…. Is there anything this kid can’t do? He has to be leading the league in touchdowns or at least very close to it. Carter Beller and Jack Robertson also scored for the Panthers in this blowout 42-13 victory. The coaches credit the play of the offensive line for opening running lanes and the relentless every-man-to-the-ball mentality for their defensive success.
Constantine Donahue weaving through the defense.
Yeah, I’d be a little nervous playing against this defense, too.
Nathaniel Snyder chases a Bulldog and is about to attempt to strip the ball.
Peter Albano sheds a blocker to take on the ball carrier.
