SHENANDOAH — Coming into Friday night’s Anthracite Football League contest between Shenandoah Valley and Panther Valley, the thought was the winner would be determined by which style of play won out.
The Panthers’ rushing game vs. the Blue Devils’ passing game.
It was actually neither.
The Shenandoah Valley defense proved to be the unit that stood out in the Blue Devils’ 13-6 victory, the first for head coach Kevin Bolinsky.
The Blue Devils recorded five sacks, forced two turnovers and held the Panthers to 57 yards rushing in ending an 18-game AFL losing streak.
“We schemed all week with outside protection and did a great job,” Bolinsky said. “The linebackers coming off the edge were great and we had great backside pursuit.”
After a scoreless first quarter, the Blue Devils defense came up with their first big play in the second. Panthers quarterback Hunter Kennedy coughed up the ball on a first-and-10 and Shenandoah Valley linebacker Jeremy Urbanavage pounced on it at the Panther 34-yard line.
Eight plays later, Shenandoah cashed in when Urbanavage scored from 1 yard out.
“This week we went back to the drawing board a little bit and we knew we had to come up with a run game this week,” Bolinsky said. “I asked our line to get it moving and we need to establish the running game.”
Overall, the Blue Devils rushed 33 times for 75 yards, more importantly keeping the clock running and the Panthers offense off the field. Urbanavage led the team with 54 yards on 13 carries.
“He’s our thoroughbred and our team leader.” Bolinsky said. “He is always in the huddle pumping the guys up and getting them ready.”
The score remained 6-0 until late in the fourth quarter when the defense stepped up again and put the game away. With 1:47 left in the game, senior Kyle Guers stepped in front of a Kennedy pass, returned it 28 yards for the score and sent the Devils home winners.
Panther Valley got on the board in the final minute on a 40-yard pass from Kennedy to Danny Gilberry.
“We played with a lot of heart and hustle tonight and the scoreboard shows it,” Bolinsky said.
Game Summary
PV (0-4, 0-4) 0 0 0 6 — 6
SV (1-3, 1-3) 0 6 0 7 — 13
SV — Urbanavage 1 run (kick failed)
SV — Guers 28 interception return (Urbanavage kick)
PV — Gilberry 40 pass from Kennedy (kick blocked)
PV SV
First Downs 7 10
Rushes-Yards 31-57 33-75
Passes 8-16-1 4-11-0
Passing Yards 134 71
Total Yards 191 146
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties 5-46 5-37
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Panther Valley — Capobianco 7-22, Vavra 3-19, Kennedy 14-14, Gilberry 3-9, Figueroa 4-(-7) . Shenandoah Valley — Urbanavage 13-54, Florio 6-19, McCole 9-14, Morales 2-1, McNeil 1-(-2), Allegretta 1-(-4), Team 1-(-7).
PASSING: Panther Valley — Kennedy 8-16-1, 134. Shenandoah Valley — McCole 4-11-0, 71.
RECEIVING: Panther Valley — Vavra 3-46, Gilberry 2-74, Blasko 2-4, Rodriguez 1-10. Shenandoah Valley — Allegretta 2-32, Urbanavage 1-28, Morales 1-11.
INTERCEPTIONS: Shenandoah Valley — Guers.