MINERSVILLE With an Eastern Conference Class AA playoff berth on the line, Panther Valley had to do whatever it took for a victory in Friday's Anthracite Football League game at Minersville.

Usually, that would mean the Panthers turning to their running game and wearing down the defense. This time, however, a methodical attack would have played into the hands of the Battlin' Miners, who were selling out to stop the run.

Fortunately, this year the Panthers have not been one dimensional, and they were able to fly into the playoffs with a 28-7 victory. Leading the air attack was the passing of junior quarterback Casey Lawrence and junior wide receiver Jake Dunn.

Lawrence completed 14-of-24 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns, and Dunn finished with a career-high 10 receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

With the score tied 7-7, Lawrence completed 6-of-9 passes for 79 yards in a 15-play, 90-yard drive, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dunn as time ran out in the half. Dunn had five receptions for 71 yards in the drive, including a 28-yard catch-and-run to the nine that left Lawrence just enough time to spike the ball and stop the clock with four seconds left.

It appeared the Panthers had little hope of breaking the tie when a mishandled kickoff gave them the ball at their 10. But when Kyle McAvoy, who carried 19 times for 63 yards, broke off an 11-yard run on first down, the Panthers went on the attack.

"When we got that big run on first down, we thought there was still enough time left for us to make some plays," Lawrence said. "We were able to get the ball to the sideline, and Jake did a good job of getting out of bounds to stop the clock.

"On the play that moved the ball down there, it was designed to go deeper, but I had to check down and throw underneath. When Jake caught the ball, we kept waiting for him to get out of bounds, but he turned it into a big play, and we were able to stop the clock.

"After losing two weeks ago to Tamaqua in our big rivalry game, we played an emotional game last week against North Schuylkill. We've played them close the last two years, so we needed to finish up with a win after that (overtime) loss to them."

Minersville (2-8, 2-6) opened the second half with a drive that ended on downs at the Panther 32, and five plays later, a 24-yard pass from Lawrence to Dunn increased the lead to 21-7. On the previous play, Lawrence completed a 28-yard pass to Tom Eisenhower, who finished with four receptions for 80 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"Scoring before the half was big, and we needed a big play," Dunn said. "I knew I could beat the coverage, and Casey did a good job throwing the ball."

For the Miners, it was another case of an opponent having too many weapons for them to contain. They limited the Panthers to 91 yards rushing, including a 4-yard touchdown by Brandon Heffelfinger in the first quarter, but had no answer for Lawrence.

Minersville's strong effort was exactly what Panther Valley coach Frank Damian expected. And he reminded the Panthers of what they needed to do before the go-ahead drive at the end of the half.

"It wasn't a case of us having to change anything," Damian said. "It was simply a matter of us going out and executing the way we can.

"I told the offense it was up to them to make some plays, protect the ball and take charge. After the last two weeks, we certainly didn't take Minersville lightly, but had to stop making mistakes and had to step up and take control."

Unbelievable...

Incredible...

Crazy...

Those were just some of the words used to describe the drama that unfolded last night at Panther Valley Stadium, as a "do-or-die game" with major playoff implications culminated with a "do-or-die decision" on the final play of the contest that resulted in North Schuylkill posting a stunning 40-39 double overtime victory over the host Panthers.

With Panther Valley's playoff destiny sitting just three yards in front of them, the Panthers bypassed the extra-point attempt and showcased their guts by going for two (and the win) on the final play of the second overtime session following a Kyle McAvoy three-yard touchdown run that brought the Panthers to within one point, 40-39.

On the two-point conversion attempt, quarterback Casey Lawrence faked the handoff to McAvoy and rolled out to his right; however, a host of Spartans were waiting as they swarmed Lawrence and buried the Panthers signal caller at the line of scrimmage.

The result of the play also buried the Panthers' District playoff hopes, as North Schuylkill jumped into the driver's seat for the fourth and final playoff spot in the District 11, Class AA Tournament.

"This one really hurts right now, I don't even know what to say," stated a dejected and heartbroken Frank Damian. "Tonight was a great game, a great atmosphere... we just came up a little bit short in the end."

With 5:16 remaining in the game and North Schuylkill driving for a potential tying touchdown, Zach Cress coughed up his second fumble of the game (and the Spartans' third of the night), which Panther Valley's Jake Dunn picked up and took 66 yards to paydirt for a game-changing turnover that put the Panthers ahead 27-13.

However, North Schuylkill closed the gap to 27-19 when Jared Whitecavage rumbled in from four yards out to cut the deficit to 27-19 with 2:48 remaining in the regulation.

The Panthers went three-and-out on their ensuing possession and a 38-yard punt positioned the Spartans at their own 36 yard line with 1:27 on the clock and no timeouts.

In just 10 plays, North Schuylkill orchestrated a 10-play drive that saw Steve Ennis make a spectacular diving catch on a Garrett Kelly fade route to put the ball at the Panthers' one yard line with under 10 seconds remaining. As referee Joe Gerchak started the clock following the first down, Garrett Kelly plunged over the pile with six seconds left to cut the Panthers' lead to 27-25.

With the game on the line and forced to go for two, Kelly again called his own number and dove into the end zone for the tying two-point conversion, which forced overtime tied at 27.

"All's they did was run right at us tonight and we just couldn't stop them," added Damian. "We had momentum on our side late in the fourth quarter with the two touchdown lead and we let it get away from us."

"What you saw out there tonight is the new North Schuylkill," lauded Spartans head coach Rick Geist. "The kids don't quit because they finally believe in themselves as football players and as a football team. We only do things one way here and that's my way and the only difference between last year's 0-10 team and this year's team is that the kids are finally understanding my way and buying into it."

In overtime, the Spartans won the toss and chose to go on defense first. On the second play of overtime, McAvoy scampered in from 10 yards out to put PV ahead. After missing two straight extra point kicks in regulation, Damian sent the offense back out on the field for the conversion attempt, but Lawrence's pass fell incomplete.

It took North Schuylkill just two plays to answer back as Cress barged in from five yards out to tie the game at 33-33. With the Spartans just an extra point away from victory, Charles Hutnick sailed the PAT kick wide right to force a second overtime.

North Schuylkill took the ball first and Cress punched in his third touchdown of the night from two yards out and following a Hutnick kick, the Spartans led 40-33.

McAvoy then answered with his third touchdown before the unsuccessful two-point conversion run failed.

"Their defensive end read the play perfectly and did a nice job of staying home," stated Damian about the failed conversion. "We took a timeout and we knew exactly what we wanted to do, so I'm not going to second guess the playcall one bit... their kid just made an excellent play."

McAvoy finished the night with 113 yards rushing, while Lawrence added 127 yards through the air, 88 of which were hauled in by Dunn on five receptions.

"It's very disheartening to lose like this but we have one game left so hopefully we can regroup and finish the season off on a winning note to maybe sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs."

Published on Times News Online (http://www.tnonline.com)

By JOE PLASKO jplasko@tnonline.com

Wayde Williams has a way of making contributions that go beyond mere statistics.

Against archrival Panther Valley, the Tamaqua senior carried the pigskin 30 times for 87 yards, scored a pair of touchdowns, caught a pass for 12 years, punted five times for 38.6 yards per kick, returned a punt 39 yards, recovered a fumble and made a TD saving tackle on the Panthers' Kyle McAvoy.

Williams was even crowned Tamaqua's Homecoming King at halftime, joining Queen Corynn Wehr on the traditional auto ride around the track before jumping back into action.

WIlliams had plenty of support from his fired up Raider teammates, as they knocked off the visiting Panthers for a 28-6 Anthracite League triumph Friday night.

The victory was Tamaqua's fourth straight over the Panthers, but it also improved the Raiders to 5-3 (3-3 league) and snapped a two-game slide in which they surrendered 84 points and 714 yards rushing in losses to North Schuylkill and Schuylkill Haven.

"It feels great," said Williams. "This is what we were capable of doing all year, and we knew it. We had a rough two weeks, but to come back like this is what we needed to do."

A determined Raider defense held the Panthers to just 27 yards on the ground, with Tyler Kunkel and Ryan Oldt sacking quarterback Casey Lawrence twice each. Panther Valley also committed two costly turnovers in the red zone.

"We definitely felt we had something to prove after we took it on the chin the last two weeks," said Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner, after a water bucket dousing by his players. "I think we came out on a bit of a mission defensively."

In addition to keeping heat on Lawrence, the Raiders used senior Justin Miller to cover junior Jake Dunn, the Panthers' top receiver, who was held to one catch.

After forcing a Panther punt on the game's first series, the Raiders took over and marched 65 yards on 16 plays, a drive that ate up 9:27 of the first quarter and was capped by a one-yard Grif Griffiths TD plunge.

Lance Williams, Wayde's brother, kicked the first of four extra points for a 7-0 Raider lead at 30.8 of the opening stanza.

Except for three Ryan Palsgrove passes to wideout Anthony Bumbulsky, Williams did the bulk of the ball carrying on the drive, running behind the left side of the Raider line, featuring guard Cody Brode (6-0, 254) and tackle Robert Guth (6-3, 258).

"Coach told us that we were going to run behind the left side of our line because they are seniors, and without them, I wouldn't have done anything," said Williams. "They did their job."

Panther Valley (6-2 overall, 4-2 league) had chances to answer, but Williams recovered a PV fumble on the Tamaqua 15 after a 45 yard Lawrence to Jeff Corby pass had the Panthers on the doorstep. PV then forced a punt and drove to the Raider 16, only to have Bumbulsky intercept a pass at the goal line.

"We don't have a problem playing from behind, but we didn't take advantage of our opportunities tonight," said Panther Valley coach Frank Damian. "We didn't get it done at all. This was the worst we played all year. Give coach Bonner and his staff credit for having their kids prepared, but if you turn the ball over like that, you're not going to beat anybody."

Williams returned a punt 39 yards to the PV 18 late in the second quarter, and five carries later he was in the end zone, extending the Raider lead to 14-0 at half.

Williams saved a TD by tackling McAvoy during a 44 yard gain to the Raider 13 in the third quarter. Caleb Shilko ended the threat by throwing Lawrence for a three-yard loss on fourth down.

Ryan Porambo's outstanding effort on a 43 yard punt return for a TD pulled the Panthers with 14-6 with 1:15 left in the third quarter, but PV was held without a first down the rest of the way.

A Williams two-yard TD run with 5:24 to go and a Palsgrove 30 yard scoring strike to Bumbulsky with 2:20 remaining closed the scoring and began the celebratory fireworks on Stadium Hill.