Palisades strength in the trenches paired with its power run game proved too much for Panther Valley on Friday as the Pirates (3-2) bulled their way to a 35-7 Schuylkill/Colonial White Division win over the Panthers.

Panther Valley looked good early in the first quarter.

The Panthers forced a Palisades three and out on the Pirates first offensive possession of the game and then PV quarterback Michael Pascoe put the Panthers (2-4) on the board. A 22-yard run from Pascoe to the Palisades 30-yard line setup a Pascoe 30-yard rumble to give the Panthers a 7-0 advantage at the 5:06 mark in the first. Pascoe made a patient play on the 30-yard scamper, waiting for his blocks to develop, dragging a defender through the line of scrimmage and then breaking away for the score.

“We knew coming in that Palisades was going to be a challenge for us with how big and strong they were up front on both sides of the ball,” Panther Valley coach Mark Lavine said. “We knew we were going to have to formation them a bit to have success and we caught them in a formation we liked and Michael made a great play and we were able to punch one in. Unfortunately, after that we weren’t able to get much going and didn’t have an answer for their size up front. Credit to them, that’s a very good offensive and defensive line and it showed.”

After the Panthers’ score, Palisades showcased its physicality up front often and on the Pirates ensuing possession tied the game at 7-7 after a seven-play 58 yard drive that was capped off by a Kai Stiansen one-yard quarterback keeper.

In the second quarter the Pirates run game got going with running back Steven Lilly, who rushed for 63 of his game-high 103 yards in that quarter. Lilly punched one in from a yard out at the four-minute mark of the second to make it a 14-7 Pirates lead.

Palisades took control after scoring right before the half on a nifty 17-yard hookup on a wheel route from Stiansen to Lilly, who then took it in from the right sideline for a 21-7 lead.

“This season, sometimes, we just haven’t come out with the focus that we have needed to start games. But I like the way we answered back and we played with a sense of urgency after getting down early,” said Palisades head coach Bobby Smith. “No doubt, the kids responded. I think we also did a nice job on Pascoe after their second possession. We spied him a little bit, mixed in some blitzes and that worked in our favor.”

The Pirates then put the game away in the third quarter, tacking on two more scores and holding the Panthers scoreless to head into the fourth with a 28-point lead. A Stiansen nine-yard rushing score and a Lilly three-yard plunge capped off the successful night on the ground for Palisades.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS ... Pascoe’s first two carries of the game went for 22 and 30 yards, but then the Pirates gave up just 13 yards to Pascoe on his next eight carries.

STALL BALL ... From the second quarter on, PV couldn’t get anything going offensively, punting four times and turning it over on downs once.

WHERE THEY STAND ... With the win, Palisades moves into the number one spot in the District 11 2A power ratings, while the Panthers sits in the number five spot.