Schuylkill Valley uses special teams plays to pull past Kutztown
By Andrew Clauser— MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Schuylkill Valley took advantage of Kutztown’s special teams miscues leading to three touchdowns in a 35-6 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5 victory Friday night at Leesport.
The Panthers (1-0, 2-2), in winning their second straight game, took advantage of every Cougars miscue, including bad snaps on the first two punt attempts. The first led to a recovery in the end zone by Jacob Stelluti and the second set up a Dominic Giufrre touchdown run from the 3-yard line.
The biggest play came from freshman defensive back Logan Cammauff. Late in the fourth quarter he busted through the Cougars line to block a punt. Cammauf recovered the blocked kick in the end zone for the final touchdown.
“Special teams and defense wins games for you along with moving the chains,” said Panthers coach Bruce Harbach. “Our special team coach, Matt Wisotsky, did a great job looking at the film, which is always important.
“Right now we are putting it all together and improving every game. It is our second win in a row and we are looking to build on that. The goal is a Section 5 title and it started tonight.”
While the special teams made the big plays the Panther offense played an efficient game.
“Michael (Goad) took control of the game with no turnovers,” Harbach said of his quarterback. “Our running backs, led by Dominic, (Brayden) Woods, and Stelluti ran hard. Of course our offensive line did a great job tonight as well playing their best game of the season.”
The Panthers look to build on their recent successes as they head to Pequea Valley next week for their second Section 5 game.
Despite the miscues on special teams, Kutztown was able to limit big plays by the Panthers offense. The Cougars (0-1, 1-3) stopped the Panthers at the 5-yard line as time expired in the first half.
Despite the low offensive output early in the game the Cougars were able to manufacture a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Running backs Brenden Ackley and Dakota Thomas finally found some holes and ran hard to the end.
It doesn’t get easier for the Cougars next week as they head to unbeaten Hamburg for a Section 5 match-up.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Kutztown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Goad, 2 run (Wamsher kick) | 5:55 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 1 run (Wamsher kick) | 6:40 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Stelluti, fumble return (Wamsher kick) | 5:44 |
| 3 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 3 run (Wamsher kick) | 4:06 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Cammauf, fumble return (Wamsher kick) | 10:51 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Thomas, 5 run (kick failed) | 3:11 |
Team statistics
| Kutztown | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 12 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 39-74 | 31-173 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 79 |
| Total yards | 74 | 252 |
| Passes | 0-5-0 | 11-13-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0 | 0 |
| Punts-average | 4-30 | 0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-25 | 10-70 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Kutztown: Ackley 12-51, Lafferty 13-26, Thomas 8-11, Bates 2-10, Swoyer 2-7, Schlappich 1-5, Gruber 2-3.
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 14-84, Woods 3-23, Nawrocki 2-22, Goad 5-16, Hohenadel 2-15, Stelluti 4-8, Cammauff 1-5.
PASSING
Kutztown: Lafferty 0-5-0-0.
Schuylkill Valley: Goad 11-13-0-83.
RECEIVING
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 3-6, Sports 2-25, Hohenadel 2-15, Crills 2-9, Woods 1-16, Lackner 1-8.
