Pleasant Valley’s recent football history with Pocono Mountain West hasn’t been too kind to the Bears.

And Saturday was no different.

PV’s winless skid against the Panthers continued in a 19-0 loss during a crucial stretch in hopes of reaching the playoffs.

“They played tough defensively and I’m proud of them for that,” Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger said. “Other than that, it was an absolute disaster on every facet.

“We were undisciplined, we had penalties and numerous fumbles. It looked like Year One again. Special teams was atrocious and that sums up a 19-0 shutout.”

Pocono Mountain West running back Jaden Bowens rushed through the Pleasant Valley defense to start the game. Once things settled down, Bowens was still able to register two key runs on PM West’s second drive of the game to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Armand to Michael Lawrence. The short field resulted after a Pleasant Valley fumble on the PM West 30-yard line.

The Bears, who have now dropped five straight games to West, were unable to punch one in the end zone the entire afternoon. It was the second straight week Pleasant Valley was shut out following a 42-0 loss to Freedom the week before.

The PV running game did manage to put up 138 yards, but Papaleo wasn’t able to break through for any long touchdown runs like he has in the past this season.

Pocono Mountain West took advantage of PV’s fumbles and put up 19 points in the contest, including a pair of field goals off the leg of Joel Weirich. The Panther kicker connected on a 22-yarder in the first quarter and nailed a 42-yarder in the second.

The Bears have one game remaining in the regular season at Stroudsburg Friday.

“We have not seen that since Year One,” Saeger said about his team’s effort. “We’ve lost, but we didn’t play like that. If we play like that, then this will be the result. If we can play like we play most times, we’ve got a shot.”

Pleasant Valley (4-4) is in the middle of the 6A playoff race between Pocono Mountain West and Stroudsburg. West’s win over PV currently places it as the No. 7 seed. The battle for the No. 8 seed will come down to the PV-Stroudsburg matchup. Stroudsburg got routed by rival East Stroudsburg South Friday night 49-7 in the Little Brown Jug game.

The Mounties enter Friday’s game at 4-5.

TROUBLE KEEPING THE BALL ... Pleasant Valley fumbled three times, losing the ball twice, in the game. The Bears got off to a rocky start when Papaleo fumbled on the team’s first play from scrimmage. Pocono Mountain West running back Bowens also had a fumble, but he was by far the best rusher of the game. The Panther back finished with 148 yards on 26 carries, including a 5-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

PLAYOFF HOPES STILL ALIVE ... Even with the loss, Pleasant Valley still has a chance to make the 6A playoffs with a win over Stroudsburg Friday night. The last time Pleasant Valley beat the Mounties was in the 2012 playoffs when PV posted a 24-21 quarterfinal victory. The Mounties have defeated PV eight straight times since then, including a 41-21 victory last year.