The first year is usually the hardest.

That’s the case with most things, but it’s especially true in coaching.

“Last year was a learning process for both the athletes and myself,” Panther Valley football coach Rick Jones said about his initial season with the program.

Jones, who has over 40 years of coaching experience, has now gone through first-year growing pains with three different programs. That background has him excited heading into year two with the Panthers.

“It took me awhile to figure out what guys should be on the field and what guys should be playing, and it took them awhile to learn the system,” Jones said. “This year, we are a lot further ahead in that respect even though we lost a lot of really good kids to graduation.

“The kids returning picked up right off where they were last year. They don’t have to learn terminology, and they don’t have to learn formations. So, it has been a lot easier.”

Despite the benefits of being a lot more familiar with the players in the program, Jones and his coaching staff still have some tough decisions to make regarding personnel - none bigger than deciding who will replace Ethan Reis as the Panthers’ quarterback this season.Reis finished with over 600 yards passing and seven touchdowns a year ago.

Jones has a pair of candidates for the position.

“Both of the kids that we have at quarterback - Julian Matula and Mike Pascoe - have some positives and do some nice things with the ball,” Jones said. “They’re both decent athletes, and both are athletically sized. We’re going to split their time in the scrimmages and go from there.”

Whoever wins the quarterback competition will have some nice offensive pieces to work with.

“We have some solid linemen coming back in CJ Ohl, Antonio Perilli and Austin Hadley, and two kids that have played tight end for us in Shubeck and Berk,” Jones said about the Panthers’ returnees up front.

The Panthers also have some players at the skill positions that Jones is excited about.

“At the slot position, Louie Clouser was one of our most explosive players last year and he returns, and Tremaine Ervine is a young kid who has incredible speed, but he’s raw.We also have Jon Byers, Angel Fuentes and Julian Matula at the receiver positions.

“They all give us some nice weapons when we throw the ball.”

One position where that Panthers don’t have a lot of experience is running back where both Elias Tavares and Eric Moyer have graduated.

Juniors De’Antay Alston and Lamar Easley are the most likely candidates to try to fill that void for the Panthers.

With several players competing for starting spots at most positions, Jones is waiting for some separation.

“I think our biggest question right now is what kids going are going to take another step forward in their performances,” Jones said. “There has certainly been some growth with our program that we are excited about. We just need to keep improving and take that next step.”

Jones is sticking with the same philosophy he has followed during his entire coaching career when it comes to goals.

That means he’s not setting a certain number of wins that his team needs to reach.

“The big thing is to come out and compete each and every game,” Jones said. “We want to compete and put ourselves in positions so that we’re playing late in the game with an opportunity to win depending on circumstances.

“But our focus needs to be on the things that we can control like our effort and our execution.”

But while Jones isn’t setting a specific number of wins he wants his team to have, he stressed that doesn’t mean that winning isn’t important.

“We certainly want to win games,” Jones said. “I don’t want to underemphasize that. But, when you’re trying to build a program - especially a program that has 20 wins and 80 losses in the last 10 years - your main objective has to be slowly change and show progression from year to year to year to year.”

POSITION BREAKDOWN

QUARTERBACKS - Panther Valley will rely on two signal-callers this season. Snaps will be split between senior Julian Matula and sophomore Mike Pascoe. The two will be replacing Ethan Reis, who was PV’s starter for the past two and a half years and threw for 638 yards and two touchdowns last year.

RUNNING BACKS - Juniors Lamar Easley and Da’Antay Alston will be the main ballcarriers for Coach Jones in 2020. They fill be filling the shoes of the Panthers’ departed 1-2 punch of Elias Tavares (537 yards) and Eric Moyer (286). Both Easley and Alston saw limited action a year ago, and hope to establish a solid PV ground game.

WIDE RECEIVERS - Seniors Louie Clouser and Jon Byers, along with sophomore Tremaine Ervine, will line up in the slot for the Panthers, while junior Angel Fuentes and Matula will hope to make key catches as receivers. The Panthers must replace a productive Blake White, who led the Panthers in receiving a year ago (22 receptions, 467 yards and five touchdowns).

OFFENSIVE LINE - Seniors Antonio Perilli and CJ Ohl return to the trenches, as does sophomore Austin Hadley. PV will also look for contributions from junior Rich Zabroski, sophomore Riley Hoben, and freshman Brad Jones. Seniors Seth Berk and Jayden Shubeck add blocking skills on the end, while also adding threats as receivers.

DEFENSIVE LINE - Hadley and Alston bring experience on the end. Hadley (6-3, 222 pounds) and Alston (5-11, 215) will make their presence known. The line will also feature Perilli (6-0, 262), Ohl (6-2, 227), and junior Sincere Flamer (5-8, 300). Hadley finished with 32 tackles, eight assists and a sack a year ago. Flamer also contributed three tackles for loss.

LINEBACKERS - Berk and Shubeck will be key member of the defensive unit from their linebacker spots. Shubeck had success last season, as he registered 44 tackles (which was second best on the team) and had six assisted tackles.

SECONDARY - Clouser, Fuentes and Byers will line up as PV’s cornerbacks, while Matula, Pascoe, Ervine and senior Gage Breiner most likely will be see action as the team’s safeties.