Saucon Source (https://sauconsource.com/author/rief/)
On Friday night the Saucon Valley Panthers hit the road to battle the Pottsville Crimson Tide. The Panthers were looking to rebound from a heartbreaking loss last week to the Bangor Slaters. Pottsville was looking for their second win of the season after dropping their last game to Blue Mountain. Last year, Pottsville hammered Saucon 35-7.
It has been said for a thousand years that “familiarity breeds contempt”. So was the case at Montford E. Illick Stadium on Friday night when the Banger Slaters lined up across the Saucon Valley Panthers for a battle between two teams with 2-1 records. Last season these two teams played each other twice. The first meeting ended with a 36-22 Panther victory. The Slaters had their way with the wounded Panthers in the rematch at the Eastern Conference finals, 49-13. Nonetheless, the stage was set in this new season for a much-anticipated clash between two teams with a rich history that would have huge significance in the Colonial League and District XI standings.
Taking part in a Saturday afternoon matinee, the Panthers of Saucon Valley prowled into Wilson Boro in search of their next prey. Saucon previously defeated the Salisbury Falcons last week after dropping their season opener to Notre Dame. The Wilson Warriors were searching for their first win of the season registering losses to both Pen Argyl and Palisades. Last year, when the Panthers and Warriors tangled, it was the Warriors who came out on top after surviving a late Panther attack. So the stage was set: Would the Saucon Valley Panthers get out of town with their second consecutive win?, or would the Wilson Warriors fight off the Panther invasion to secure their first win of the 2022 season?
The second week of the 2022 high school football season paired the hometown Panthers with the Salisbury Falcons. Both teams dropped their season openers. Saucon fell 41-34 to the Notre Dame Crusaders. Salisbury lost 20-13 to Panther Valley. Last year the Panthers defeated the Falcons 31-14. The stakes were high with both teams searching for their first win of the season.
The Saucon Valley Panthers and Notre Dame Green Pond Crusaders have had a colorful history of intense competition the past few years. Perhaps it is the public school v. private school recruiting debate? Perhaps it is the proximity of the two schools? Maybe it is that the two sports programs have faced off in more than a few fierce battles in recent memory. It is probably all of those things combined that gets the players and fans all fired up. Well, whatever it is, Friday night’s high school football clash did very little to dampen the turbulent relationship. It was a bit of a slow start, but as the night wore on the Panthers and Crusaders treated those in attendance to a hard-hitting and entertaining contest that added up to 75 points scored and 900 yards of combined offense.
A new year of football is now upon us! It has been roughly ten months since the Saucon Valley Footballers took the field to close out their season in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. The Panthers managed to limp their way out of last season with a 5-6 record and are now enthusiastically look forward to the upcoming 2022 season with renewed optimism. Read on to check out our preview of the 2022 Saucon Valley Panthers football team!
Hey, Panther fans, here we go again! It’s time to preview the 2021-2022 Saucon Valley Panther wrestling team. For sure, last season was all mucked-up due to COVID and the plethora of restrictions that came along with the mitigation efforts. Hopefully this year, everybody–including the entire PIAA winter sports world–can stay healthy and allow fans throughout Pennsylvania and the nation to enjoy an entire season without incident.
The Saucon Valley Panthers and Bangor Slaters earned the right to extend their season and compete in the Eastern Conference Championship football game this past Thursday night. The ECC started in 1922 and was once the prized, de facto state title game.
To say that the Panthers and Palisades Pirates played their annual rivalry matchup Friday night in rain and wind is an understatement. Persistent downpours mixing with sustained and hat-snatching gusts throughout the contest made for a drenching and memorable night. So, with kickoff bumped up to 5:30 instead of 7 p.m. to try and avoid the storm’s worst, the Panthers were able to jump on top of the Pirates with a quick start and hold on for a water-logged victory.
It was Senior Night on Friday at Saucon Valley’s Montford E. Illick stadium. It took a little while to honor the Saucon seniors during the pregame festivities. But, it did not take very long for Northwestern Lehigh (8-0) to pounce on the Panthers (4-4). On the Tigers very first play from scrimmage, Northwestern quarterback, Justin Holmes threw a short pass to Cade Christopher that went a long way. The quick strike pass, catch and run covered 61-yards for a touchdown. The extra-point was good and only :18 seconds into the game Northwestern Lehigh jumped out to a 7-0 lead.