HELLERTOWN - The turning point in the Saucon Valley-Northern Lehigh battle came late in the second quarter - after the Bulldogs battled to within a point of the Panthers.

With Saucon leading 21-20, a nice kickoff return by Alstan Wolfe set up a Zach Petiet score five plays later. An interception then yielded a 25-yard field goal by Josh Snead.As quick as that, three minutes of clock turned a one-point game into a 31-20 advantage for Saucon.The Panthers went on to ride that momentum swing to a 46-20 Colonial League victory.After a hard loss to Northwestern a week ago, first-year head coach Phil Sams felt it was paramount to return to the win column without haste."Getting that field goal before half was huge," Sams said. "That was his first career field goal, too, which was great."The winners rattled off 25 straight points following that pivotal stage in the second quarter and improved to 6-1 on the season.Petiet, the Panthers' junior tailback, put together a strong effort as he carried the ball 20 times for 149 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior quarterback Brandon Holub completed 10 of 12 passes for 152 yards and a score."Every year, it doesn't matter what their record is, they are just a tough bunch of kids and well-coached and they give us a fight every year," Sams said about the Bulldogs. "Tonight, was no different, and defensively, we have some things to work on. But it's a credit to them that they hung tough."Saucon Valley struck first in the game as it marched 68 yards in five plays before Petiet trudged in from the four.Northern Lehigh responded quickly with its own drive that went 97 yards in seven plays. Austin Hemingway took a handoff on an inside reverse play that tied the game at 7-7.An 84-yard kickoff return by Petiet rattled the 'Dawgs' cages as a three-and-out gave the ball back to the hosts. Petiet added to his already-strong performance with another score, this time from the two, giving his squad a 21-7 edge.The Bulldogs didn't stay down and fought to earn their way back."Our special teams - we have to get better at that. Last week, with our punts, and now this week with kickoffs," Tout said. "After a low effort last week, our effort was there tonight. We played an excellent football team coming off an upset loss that had something to prove at home. But we challenged our offensive line and I think we did some good things tonight."The Bulldogs took the ball on their own 45 with 4:25 left in the second quarter and three plays later Mason Seiler sprinted up the middle for a score thatr cut it to 21-13. On Panthers' ensuing possession, they coughed up the ball and Nolehi recovered on the 14. Justin Paul ran the ball in to turn the momentum in his team's favor."We did a great job of getting momentum, but we just couldn't maintain that momentum and hopefully, we can work on that," Tout said.From that point on, the Panthers took command with big plays before half that continued into the second half.DOWN THE ROAD ... Northern Lehigh is hoping to take positives away from this one into a 'winnable' game against Salisbury next week.CLEANING UP ... Both teams had a pair of giveaways in the contest, as the Bulldogss lost a fumble and threw an interception, while the Panthers lost the ball twice on fumbles.NOT-SO-SPECIAL TEAMS ... The special teams yielded several big plays. Other than the Petiet 84-yard kickoff return for a score, the Panthers added a field goal and a two-point conversion in their favor, while also blocking a PAT.