MINERSVILLE — It might not have been the most glamorous victory, but Minersville will take it.
Behind a strong defensive effort Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the Battlin’ Miners emerged with an 8-0 win over Panther Valley in a battle between the Anthracite Football League’s two one-win teams.
“We’ve been kind of struggling here and there throughout the year,” Minersville senior defensive end Kyle Lucas said. “Tonight it all came together. Our D-line did what they were supposed to do, our D-backs were there for passes. We just filled the holes and made plays.”
Lucas made a lot of plays in the Panther Valley backfield, combining with linebacker Adam Stoppie and fellow lineman Patrick Conville to constantly pressure PV freshman quarterback Tristan Blasko. Blasko was sacked once and finished 0-for-5 passing.
“It’s just the want to win,” Lucas said. “It’s the last time that we (the seniors) are playing with this team on this field. I just wanted to go out with a win.”
Minersville freshman quarterback Kei’dre Taylor provided the offensive means for the Miners to do just that.
Taylor completed Minersville’s only pass to Dave Schultz for a 9-yard touchdown with 3:29 left to play in the first quarter.
Schultz then ran in the two-point conversion — the last time either team would reach the end zone.
That didn’t mean either team wasn’t productive.
Minersville (2-7, 2-7 AFL) dominated the first half, gaining 154 yards to Panther Valley’s 17. Until the Panthers’ final drive of the half, when Ali Capobianco came in under center, Panther Valley (1-8, 1-7) totaled negative yardage.
Taylor, in his third start after starter Jon McBreen was injured against Tamaqua, eclipsed the century mark rushing before the intermission and finished with a game-high 128 yards on 16 carries.
“We knew he was something special coming in to the year, but he was a freshman and he just wasn’t ready yet,” Minersville coach Pat Mason said. “The kid can play football. He’s got that extra thing that you can’t coach, you can’t teach.”
The Miners finished with a 218-76 advantage in yards rushing. Schultz added 46 yards on 14 carries.
“Gotta give it to the guys up front. They played their butts off,” Schultz said. “It was probably the best they’ve blocked all season. They opened the holes and I just ran through them. They did it all.”
Panther Valley opened the second half with the longest drive of the game, a methodical, 10-minute possession that came up empty thanks to a personal foul penalty at the Minersville 2. The Miners’ defense then forced two incomplete passes as the Panthers turned it over on downs.
“We came out and said we wanted to control the clock and we did,” Panther Valley coach Matt Davis said of the second half. “We were starting to push on the line and we had a crazy penalty there.
“Kid lost his composure and we went from third-and-goal at the 2 to second-and-goal at the 18. ... That’s unacceptable. That’s not how we teach our kids to play and it put us in a bad spot.”
Capobianco nearly brought the game back on a last-minute drive. He hit Anthony Micholik for 14 yards and ran for 10 more before the clock ran out on his 16-yard run to the Miners’ 25.
“We said this game wasn’t going to come down to X’s and O’s or play-calling or anything else,” Davis said. “It was going to come down to what team wanted it more.”
Game Summary
PV (1-8, 1-7) 0 0 0 0 — 0 Min (2-7, 2-7) 8 0 0 0 — 8
M —Schultz 9 pass from Taylor (Schultz run)
PV Min
First Downs 11 10
Rushes-Yards 35-76 41-218
Passes 4-16-1 1-8-2
Passing Yards 48 9
Total Yards 124 227
Fumbles-Lost 4-1 1-0
Penalties 5-45 10-60
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Panther Valley — Capobianco 17-55, Cruz-Ortiz 11-32, Vavra 4-5, Suveg 2-(-7), Blasko 1-(-9). Minersville — Taylor 16-128, Schultz 14-46, Lucas 5-25, Bethea 4-11, Griffiths 1-8, Killiam 1-0.
PASSING: Panther Valley — Capobianco 4-11-1, 48; Blasko 0-5-0, 0. Minersville — Taylor 1-8-2, 9.
RECEIVING: Panther Valley — Micholik 3-36, Gilberry 1-12. Minersville — Schultz 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS: Panther Valley — Gilberry, Rodriguez. Minersville — Brennan.