Schuylkill Valley hoping to avoid repeat of last season’s late fade
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Schuylkill Valley was sailing toward a Week 10 championship showdown a year ago, unbeaten in league play and with six straight wins as it hosted Annville-Cleona in Week 9.
The Panthers lost their shot to play for an outright title in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League when they stumbled against the Dutchmen, losing 42-10.
“We had a letdown and they took it to us,” said Panthers coach Bruce Harbach.
Schuylkill Valley was coming off an emotional victory over Hamburg in the Frost Bowl and looking ahead to the final week and a chance to bring home the first football title in program history. The Panthers got caught in the middle — the classic “trap” game.
Annville-Cleona smashed them with its Veer running game, rushing for 358 yards and controlling the ball for 64 plays.
A year later the Panthers (5-0, 7-1) face a similar scenario: They’re coming off a win over Hamburg, face a strong, run-oriented Annville-Cleona team and have a chance to nail down their first title in Week 10.
Harbach, who collected eight straight section titles during his previous stint in the L-L, at Lancaster Catholic, believes things are different this time. It’s a different program, he said; the culture is evolving.
For years the biggest game on the Panthers’ schedule was the Frost Bowl. Now he wants them to see the bigger picture. They have beaten Hamburg two straight years and did it soundly this season. Better, they were expecting to.
(Photo by Jeremy Drey)
“Five or 10 years ago, when you’re playing .500 or below (every season) your big game was Hamburg,” he said. “You were pleased if you won that game. Now, that was just Week 8 for us. Now (we) have bigger things at hand.”
A win Friday at Annville will clinch at least a share of the Section 5 title. The Panthers can complete a perfect run and own the title outright if they win their next two games, including next week at Lancaster Catholic (4-1, 7-1), which remains in the running for a share of the title.
“Our fate lies in our own hands,” Harbach said.
That’s pretty much the case around the league:
- Section 1: Manheim Township (4-0, 8-0) and Wilson (4-0, 6-2) are expected to win this week and play for the title next week at West Lawn.
- Section 2: Exeter (4-0, 8-0) and Manheim Central (4-0, 7-1) appear headed for another Week 10 showdown, just as last season. They’ll meet this time in Reiffton.
- Section 3: Twin Valley (4-1, 7-1) can clinch a share of the title with a win over Daniel Boone. The Raiders will likely end up sharing that with both Ephrata (4-1, 7-1) and Garden Spot (4-1, 7-1).
- Section 4: Cocalico (5-0, 7-1) can wrap up the title by beating Berks Catholic (3-2, 4-4) Friday and winning at Conrad Weiser (2-3, 2-6) in Week 10.
The Panthers have their work cut out for them. They’re facing the best team they’ve seen since opening the season with a 44-13 loss at Twin Valley.
The Dutchmen had their own early season troubles, falling to 1-2 after lopsided losses to Elco and Littlestown. It was midway through that Week 3 loss to Littlestown, said Annville-Cleona coach Matt Gingrich, that his team found its identity. The Dutchmen trailed 33-7 at the time. They haven’t lost since.
“We had a good talk about how the only things we could control were how physical we are, how much fun we have and how energetic we are,” he said. “We won the second half 14-0.”
Gingrich switched some things around on the offensive line after that, then got back to basics. For the Dutchmen that means ground and pound and that’s what they’ve done since. They took control of their season when they pounded defending Section 5 champ Lancaster Catholic 35-21 in Week 7. They ran the ball 70 times against Catholic and churned out 388 yards on the ground.
“Our offensive line has really picked up the pace,” Gingrich said. “We moved our tight end, Darrian Holloway, to tackle (after the third game) and that’s when everything changed for us.
“This is the biggest line we’ve ever had and they’re all athletic, multi-sport kids. We’re going to try to just pound on teams; if we can do that we have a chance to win.”
That’s what Schuylkill Valley is faced with: An offensive line that averages 220 across the board. That’s good size for a Class 2A team.
Schuylkill Valley’s defense has played extremely well the last month, since All-State running back Dominic Giuffre went out with a broken arm. He could return for Friday but as of Wednesday had not been cleared to play.
Whether he’s out there or not the game will come down to the Panthers’ front seven standing up to a sturdy Dutchmen front line. If they can’t blunt that power running attack their Section 5 title hopes will fade.
“They’re gonna pound and ground,” Harbach said. “We’ve gotta keep their offense off the field.”
Can they do that?
“Well, I guess we’ll find out,” he said.
| SECTION 1 | League | Overall | PS | PA | Up next |
| Wilson | 4-0 | 6-2 | 242 | 192 | @ McCaskey |
| Manheim Twp. | 4-0 | 8-0 | 367 | 53 | vs. Penn Manor |
| Cedar Crest | 3-2 | 6-2 | 225 | 112 | @ Hempfield |
| Penn Manor | 2-2 | 3-5 | 84 | 206 | @ Manheim Township |
| McCaskey | 1-3 | 2-6 | 138 | 291 | vs. Wilson |
| Hempfield | 1-3 | 2-6 | 169 | 270 | vs. Cedar Crest |
| Reading High | 0-5 | 1-7 | 120 | 277 | vs. Central York |
| SECTION 2 | League | Overall | PF | PA | Up next |
| Exeter | 4-0 | 8-0 | 328 | 92 | @ Conestoga Valley |
| Manheim Central | 4-0 | 7-1 | 357 | 118 | vs. Gov. Mifflin |
| Conestoga Valley | 3-1 | 6-2 | 169 | 109 | vs. Exeter |
| Gov. Mifflin | 2-2 | 4-4 | 206 | 169 | @ Manheim Central |
| Warwick | 1-3 | 2-6 | 146 | 201 | vs. Lebanon |
| Muhlenberg | 1-4 | 1-7 | 55 | 295 | vs. Ephrata |
| Lebanon | 0-5 | 0-8 | 52 | 382 | @ Warwick |
| SECTION 3 | League | Overall | PF | PA | Up next |
| Twin Valley | 4-1 | 7-1 | 312 | 175 | vs. Daniel Boone |
| Ephrata | 4-1 | 7-1 | 328 | 183 | @ Muhlenberg |
| Garden Spot | 3-1 | 7-1 | 323 | 123 | vs. Elizabethtown |
| Elizabethtown | 2-2 | 2-6 | 90 | 255 | @ Garden Spot |
| Solanco | 2-2 | 3-5 | 187 | 250 | @ Fleetwood |
| Fleetwood | 0-4 | 3-5 | 216 | 254 | vs. Solanco |
| Daniel Boone | 0-4 | 1-7 | 148 | 253 | @ Twin Valley |
| SECTION 4 | League | Overall | PF | PA | Up next |
| Cocalico | 5-0 | 7-1 | 311 | 104 | vs. Berks Catholic |
| Wyomissing | 4-1 | 7-1 | 323 | 97 | vs. Octorara |
| Lampeter-Strasburg | 3-1 | 7-1 | 336 | 61 | @ Conrad Weiser |
| Berks Catholic | 3-2 | 4-4 | 135 | 219 | @ Cocalico |
| Elco | 2-3 | 5-3 | 245 | 206 | vs. Donegal |
| Conrad Weiser | 2-3 | 2-6 | 140 | 240 | vs. Lampeter-Strasburg |
| Donegal | 0-5 | 2-6 | 113 | 229 | @ Elco |
| Octorara | 0-5 | 2-6 | 124 | 235 | @ Wyomissing |
| SECTION 5 | League | Overall | PF | PA | Up next |
| Schuylkill Valley | 5-0 | 7-1 | 244 | 135 | @ Annville-Cleona |
| Annville-Cleona | 5-0 | 6-2 | 260 | 181 | vs. Schuylkill Valley |
| Lancaster Catholic | 4-1 | 7-1 | 326 | 152 | @ Pequea Valley |
| Northern Lebanon | 3-2 | 4-4 | 173 | 165 | @ Hamburg |
| Hamburg | 1-4 | 4-4 | 241 | 238 | vs. Northern Lebanon |
| Kutztown | 1-4 | 2-6 | 211 | 314 | vs. Columbia |
| Pequea Valley | 1-4 | 2-6 | 84 | 228 | vs. Lancaster Catholic |
| Columbia | 0-5 | 1-7 | 110 | 267 | @ Kutztown |
