On Halloween night, Panther Valley could pull no tricks out of its bag nor were they given any treats when they found themselves at the wrong end of a 59-0 loss to the North Schuylkill Spartans.

North Schuylkill, finishing its season at a perfect 10-0 while raising the AFL champions' trophy, wasted no time in displaying the same power and skill it has delivered to every league foe this season.On its first possession from the Spartan 42, senior running back, John Rupinski gained 17 yards on first down. Following an incomplete pass and a procedure penalty, junior Bobby Grigas pulled off of several Panther tacklers en route to a 46 -yard touchdown run.After a PV three and out, the Spartans struck pay dirt again, this time on a 48 yard pass and run play from Grigas to wide receiver, Jordan Marlow.Following another Panther punt, North Schuylkill rode the legs of Rupinski once again as he gained 54 yards on two carries to set up Richard Zahodnick's three yard burst up the middle for a 19-0 Spartan lead Panther Valley (1-9) mustered its only first down in the half when junior quarterback, Ali Capobianco hit senior wide receiver, Ethan Vermillion with a nine yard pass to the PV 34 yard line with 1:45 to go in the quarter, but a Panther fumble returned the ball to the Spartan offense just two plays later. Grigas' pass then found Tevin Murray in the end zone for another Spartan score.The second quarter proved to be more of the same as the Spartans put up 32 more points on the scoreboard. Rupinski, who had 175 yards rushing on eight carries in the game, scored three times on two runs of 35 yards and another on an eight- yard TD dash. North Schuylkill also crossed the goal line on another Grigas TD pass to Murray again and on an 18 yard run by freshman, Justyn Deangelo.Both coaches approached this game with much different mindsets. The Spartans were looking to stay sharp as they prepare for their District 11 AA playoff game against either Palmerton or Northern Lehigh while the Panthers were trying to build momentum to get ready for next season."We prepare the same way every week," said Spartan coach Wally Hall. "We intended to give our starters at least a half tonight so we could work on some things to get better. This is a great group of kids who come ready to play every game. Now we need to get a strong focus to try to win a district championship.""We knew we were up against a very good team tonight," said PV coach Matt Davis, "but we did not expect to play this way. As I said they are a real good football team, but we made it too easy for them tonight."The final numbers verify North Schuylkill's dominating play. While rolling up 449 yards of total offense, the Spartans held the Panthers to just 30 yards for the game while allowing only freshman quarterback, Tristan Blasko, PV's leading rusher, a respectable 24 yards on 5 carries.Coach Davis assessed his first year as PV mentor with dose of reality as well as with an air of optimism for the future of his Panther Program."Obviously, finishing with only one win is not acceptable," he said. "But with 50 players on the roster and an emerging junior high program we are pointed in the right direction. Our most important priority is academics. Our kids have to achieve in the classroom before they can succeed on the football field. Then we have to get physically stronger. After a week off, we will hit the weight room and that's where our effort to prepare for next season will begin."