On Friday, November 1, the fourth-seed Panthers defeated the 14th-seed Penncrest Lions 42-0 at George L. King Field. The Panthers, now 10-1, advance into the PIAA District 1 5A quarter-finals.
After last Friday’s 14-35 loss to Springfield, the Panthers prepared for their first playoff game.
“It was a very difficult week of practice and game for us coming off of last week,” head coach Mr. Kevin Clancy said. “The kids responded and they weren’t going to have that happen again.”
Since last Friday, the Panthers have worked on team bonding as a priority during practices.
“We definitely wanted to focus more on practice, blocks as a team, and just getting better,” senior quarterback Caden Shuster said.
By halftime, the Panthers were up 21 points with touchdowns by seniors running-back Shane Green, tight end Jahi Curtis, and wide receiver James Fisher, with all fair one-point conversions by freshman kicker Matt Styer and senior kicker Ian Gallagher.
At the beginning of the second half, with 11:56 playing time remaining, sophomore tight end John Reilly scored a touchdown bringing the Panthers up to a score of 28-0. The touchdown marks Reilly’s first in a varsity matchup.
The Lions attempted to open the third quarter with an onside kick where Reilly picked up the ball.
“I looked and saw that the ball was gonna go up, and I had to highpoint it,” he said. “I just ran, ran, and ran to the endzone.”
Other touchdowns scored by Fisher and Shuster propelled the Panthers into leading the game with a final score of 42-0.
“We have to go to practice Monday and keep getting better,” Clancy said. “A team that gets better will keep winning.”
The Panthers will host the fifth-seed Garnet Valley Jaguars in the quarter-finals of the PIAA District 1 5A playoffs on Friday, November 8. The Panthers previously beat the Jaguars 35-7 on September 20.
