KINTNERSVILLE - Coming off what might be the toughest first-half schedule in the Colonial-Schuykill football co-op, Palisades was looking not just for its second win of the season, but also to make a statement Friday night when it hosted Panther Valley.

The Pirates did just that, controlling play from the opening kick off until the final horn in a 55-6 drubbing of Panther Valley.

“They absolutely dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage, offensively and defensively,” said Panther head coach Mark Lavine. “Coming in I thought we were going to be able to move the ball and we couldn’t move the ball at all and that’s a testament to them.

“Defensively we couldn’t get any stops. It’s very disheartening because I thought on tape we matched up well. I couldn’t find a positive to pull out of today.”

The Pirates (2-4) held Panther Valley (1-5) to just three rushing yards and six yards of total offense. The Panthers’ only two first downs in the game came on Palisades penalties.

The Palisades defense made six tackles in the Panther Valley backfield and didn’t allow a play longer than six yards.

“They’re very fast,” said Lavine of the Palisades linemen. “They came off the ball faster than we did on both sides of the ball. They flew to the ball. They gang tackled. They played good team football.”

The Pirates came out in a wishbone look and set the tone by running the ball seven times on their opening drive. The drive was aided by four Panther offsides penalties, including three on consecutive plays.

John Haubert capped the opening drive with a 20-yard touchdown run. It was his first of four trips to the end zone as he also scored from 4, 10 and 14 yards.

The junior piled up 135 yards on 20 carries.

Senior fullback Kyle Kirsch also crossed the 100-yard mark with 102 yards on eight carries. Kirsch hit paydirt twice in the win, once by air and once by land.

“Came out in wishbone,” said Lavine. “That’s something we hadn’t seen on tape. They switched their defense to something we hadn’t seen on tape. They thought they could run on us and they did. They were getting us on the cutback offensively. They played a complete game and we didn’t.”

Palisades junior quarterback Greg Borgeson ran six times for 31 yards and a score. He threw one pass, which was caught by Kirsch for a score. Borgeson also went 7-for-8 kicking extra points, although he did miss a long field goal late in the first half.

Palisades scored on each of its first six possessions to build a 41-6 lead at halftime and get the mercy rule clock running in the second half.

“They came out fired up tonight,” said Palisades head coach Bobby Smith. “It’s homecoming and First Responders/Military Night. That gave them a little extra juice. The line was really clicking tonight.”

Panther Valley’s only score in the game came on Brennan Kunkel’s 83-yard kick off return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

The Panthers made a stop late in the first half, forcing a three-and-out and the missed field goal.

The Pirates added two touchdowns in the second half, one on a Kirsch run and the other on a run from backup quarterback Jack Trickel.

HARD ROAD ... Palisades came into the game with just one win, but its four losses this season were to teams that had a combined 18-2 first-half record in unbeaten Southern Lehigh and Palmerton, and one-loss teams Schuylkill Haven and Bangor.

FIRST TIME, SECOND TIME ... No Pirate back had run for 100 yards until Friday night, when both Haubert and Kirsch hit triple digits.

YOU’RE FLAGGED ... The Panthers committed 10 penalties in the win, not including a couple that were declined.

NEXT ... The Panthers travel to Schuylkill Haven next Friday night. The Pirates have a Saturday game at Pen Argyl.