FOUNTAIN SPRINGS – Things went according to plan Thursday night in the first round of the District 11 Class 3A playoffs in this small village outside Ashland.

Panther Valley entered as the underdog, while North Schuylkill was the favorite — and the Spartans proved why.

They dominated from start to finish, defeating the Panthers 53-27 and advancing to face defending PIAA 3A state champion Northwestern Lehigh on the road next Friday night.

The only thing that seemed to disappoint North Schuylkill head coach Wally Hall was the limited number of offensive plays his team ran.

“How many plays did we run offensively, twenty-some maybe?” Hall asked after the game.

The total was 27 plays with his starting unit.

Senior running back Luke Miller, a track star known for his speed, had 11 touches and scored three touchdowns on runs of 52, 26 and 31 yards. He also caught a 26-yard scoring pass and finished with 185 rushing yards.

“He just doesn’t put his head down and run, he’s much more than that,” Hall said.

Miller showed patience and vision, waiting for his blockers and accelerating to the end zone once he found space.

“They’ve got such gifted players, they’ve got speed and they’re very big,” said Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

Early in the first quarter, it looked like the Panthers might be buried quickly.

Miller’s first touchdown came at the 10-minute mark on a 6-yard run after quarterback Cayden Mengle completed two passes to set up the score.

Moments later, North Schuylkill intercepted a pass, and Casey Rader returned it 40 yards for a touchdown, giving the Spartans a fast 14–0 lead.

Panther Valley answered with a 70-yard, 15-play drive led by standout athlete Brody Breiner, who threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ben Baneravage off a tipped ball. That score made it 14–6 with 3:47 left in the first quarter. North Schuylkill responded quickly.

Miller broke free for a 26-yard touchdown, and Julian Nelson added another score on a 30-yard pass from Mengle.

“We got beat on a few plays there, so I was disappointed with our defensive play, but, again, they’ve got a lot of guys who can score,” Lavine said.

Baneravage and Breiner connected again before halftime on a 38-yard touchdown pass, cutting into the deficit.

But the Spartans struck twice more — Miller on a 45-yard run and Mengle on a 31-yard scramble — giving North Schuylkill a 40-12 halftime lead.

Just 13 seconds into the third quarter, Miller sprinted 31 yards for another score, starting the running clock at 47–12.

On the next drive, backup Bryce Kile added a 12-yard TD run.

“It is just not all about Miller, he is incredibly fast, but it is all about tempo, he just doesn’t blow through holes and start running,” Hall said.

“Just as good as Luke is, the quarterback (Mengle) does a lot of great things, and the guys on the perimeter do a lot of great things.”

Breiner capped off his stellar career by surpassing 1,000 yards rushing and passing on the season. He added a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Troy Nunez closed the scoring with a 20-yard TD run and a two-point conversion.

“(Our) coaches said play hard and anything can happen, and I felt we played really hard,” Breiner said.

“We were just patient with our runs, and our line did an incredible job. North Schuylkill is an incredible team. I felt our line did a great job, against a great team.”

It was also the final game for senior Yuricheck, who had over 500 receiving yards this season.

“It’s sad but a great season, one of the best we’ve had in years,” Yuricheck said. “It was a goal of mine coming into the season.”

HE SAID IT … “It is hard to move those guys, our kids made some adjustments, and we stayed on blocks (better) in the second half,” said PV’s Lavine about his offensive line.

WHAT’S NEXT? … “Defensively, I thought we should have been a little bit better … you win and you keep going on,” Hall said.

ON THE HORIZON … “Going into that second week, it’s for real… the play is going to be totally different,” Hall said of facing Northwestern.

CONCENTRATION ... On Baneravage’s touchdown catch, he made a nifty catch after the ball was tipped.

STATS CHECK … Panther Valley had 250 total yards (140 rushing, 110 passing). North Schuylkill finished with 378 (270 rush, 108 pass).

N. Schuylkill 53, Panther Vy. 27

Panther Vy. 6 6 0 15 - 27

N. Schuylkill 21 19 13 0 - 53

NS - Miller 6 run (Urban kick)

NS - Rader 40 interception return (Urban kick)

PV - Baneravage 18 pass from Breiner (run failed)

NS - Miller 26 pass from Mengle (kick failed)

NS - Nelson 30 pass from Mengle (run failed)

PV - Baneravage 38 pass from Breiner (pass failed)

NS - Miler 45 run (kick failed)

NS - Mengle 31 run (Urban kick)

NS - Kile 10 run (Urban kick)

PV - Breiner 10 run (Williams kick)

PV - Nunez 20 run (Nunez run)