After building a 20 - 0 lead with three seconds to go in the first half, Panther Valley appeared that it was well on its way to presenting Matt Davis, their first year coach, with his first career victory.

It didn't turn out that simple, as it took both a fumble and an interception return for touchdowns in the second half to lock down the Panthers' 33 - 21 triumph over Shenandoah Valley.In the first quarter the Panthers' defense and punting game placed them in excellent field position. Senior Jake Suveg bombed a 67 yard punt to the Blue Devil 5 yard line where the Panther defense forced a three and out, setting up their offense at the SV 43. Ten plays later, junior Matt Hudicka, starting his first game at quarterback for Panther Valley, found his wide receiver, Cee Keo in the back of the end zone for a 6-0 lead with 2:57 to go in the first quarter.Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were unable to gain their first first down until late in the second quarter."We have to start better if we hope to compete better," said SV coach, Randy Maksimik. "We need to play two halves."The Panthers then jumped out to a 20 point lead in the second quarter. They drove 54 yards in seven plays with the big play being a 47 yard option run around the left end by Hudicka. After a two yard loss, Hudicka slashed in to the end zone for the score.Following another three and out by the Devils, Hudicka hit Suveg on a 50 yard pass and run play before Hudicka scored again from one yard out to give the Panthers a commanding 20-0 lead."Matt did a great job for us tonight at QB," said Davis. "Ali Capiobianco was a bit banged up so we decided to start Matt and he certainly made some big plays for us."The Panthers were on the move again late in the quarter until Shenandoah's Joel Santana intercepted a pass to set up the Devils' offense at the PV 49. Quarterback, Ian McCole, after injuring his leg on a running play, directed his team with passes to Santana for 18 yards and Noah Allegretta for 15 yards. Then with three seconds in the half, the Devils got back in the game when McCole showed his toughness wit a one yard run up the middle for the score.With half time momentum, the Devils continued their comeback in the third quarter. With the ball on the PV 27, Allegretta picked off a batted pass and raced down the right sideline to bring his team to within seven after the extra point."We were right back in the game and you could see the energy in our team," said Maksimik.After three and out series by the Panthers, the Devils drove to the PV 29 seemingly poised to tie the game. On the next play, Panthers' linebacker, Kyle Emmert not only stuffed an inside running play, he stripped the ball and bolted from the pack to scamper 71 yards for a touchdown."We kept saying to our team that we needed players to step up and make big plays and Kyle's was certainly a momentum and a game changer," said Davis.Shenandoah came right back though and with nine minutes to go in the game, running back Freddy Morales broke through three Panther tackles en route to a 50 yard TD run."I was proud our kids showed no quit," said Maksimik.The Panthers' Devin Hoffman recovered a SV squib kick, but the PV offense stalled. Suveg then sailed a 55 yard punt, pinning the Devils back at their own five yard line. Then with three minutes left in the game. Suveg swiped a McCole pass on the home team sideline and returned it for a 30 yard score cementing the victory."They had us on our heels for a while there," said Davis, "but we came up big with the fumble and interception returns. It was a great win for the program, and not just for me. I couldn't be any happier right now for our kids.".