There’s a new kid on the block at Panther Valley and Friday night against Mahanoy Area he commanded attention.

Cy Maynard, a sophomore quarterback, made his varsity debut and during the game he matured very quickly.

The 6-3, 170-pound powerhouse ran for three second-half touchdowns, accumulated 118 yards rushing (96 in the second half) and completed six of nine passes in leading the Panthers to a hard-fought 34-25 victory.

PV head coach Mark Lavine said he had confidence in Maynard even though it was first varsity game.

“We weren’t worried about him,” Lavine said. “Going into camp he wasn’t afraid of the moment ever. We knew he could run. He’s a weightroom kid. He works really hard in the weight room. He’s a really smart kid. He had a coming out party today and I’m happy for him.”

Maynard, who was the JV quarterback for the Panthers last year, had to step up to the varsity level as a result of the graduation of Brody Breiner, a four-year starter and all-leaguer.

Some tentativeness was shown by Maynard early, but when his running skills were most needed, he showed the momentum of a Pamplona bull.

His first TD came early in the third quarter.

With the Panthers down 19-14 at the time, Maynard charged around the right side of the line for a 27-yard score. Seven minutes later, he ran 19 yards to pay dirt. He scored the final six points on a one-yard keeper in the fourth quarter.

But it wasn’t only Maynard that had Levine beaming. It was the overall performance of his offense, including stellar performances by multiple backs.

Another sophomore, Carson Jones, kept the game close early on with two avalanche-force runs. One was a four-yard jaunt and the other he pounded across from eight yards out.

“Those running backs ran really hard,” Levin said. “We had three or four running backs that were either carrying the ball or blocking. I was really happy with our offense.”

Mahanoy head coach Mick Connolly said turnovers were painful for his team, which lost three fumbles and an interception.

“We were moving the ball,” Connolly said, “but we kept making silly, silly, silly, mistakes. And that’s on us. We’ll fix that. We’ll have that fixed for next week.”

In the second quarter, after the Panthers scored on Jones’ first touchdown, Yoibel Perez took the ensuing kickoff for the Golden Bears on the 15 and returned it to the 35 where he was met by PV’s Gabriel Rodriguez. Rodriguez knocked the ball loose during the tackle and PV sophomore Corrigan Crampsie recovered. Four plays later, Jones got his second score.

Fumble number two happened in the third quarter. Mahanoy drove to the PV 32 before a fumble was recovered by Troy Nunez.

The most impressive run of the night for Mahanoy was in quarter four when sophomore Quinten Rucker broke loose on an 83-yard touchdown run.

Nunez showed a solid performance on offense, too, amassing 63 total yards.

PV HAS MULTIPLE WEAPONS - One of the things which delighted Levine the most was that so many of his running backs had positive yardage. He said, “We have a three or four headed monster this year and they (opponents) can’t just key on one guy, which is really nice.”

IMMOVABLE OBJECTS - Coach Connolly was impressed with the size of the PV line. “We’re probably not going to see a line the size of that line again,” he said. “They came out. They played their hearts out. They’re tough. They’re big. They’re strong. They wore us out.”

NEXT ON THE AGENDA - Next Friday night, Panther Valley is home in a rivalry game against Marian Catholic. The Golden Bears travel to Catasauqua.

Panther Valley 34,

Mahanoy Area 25

Mahanoy 7 6 6 6 - 25

Panther Vy 0 6 14 14 - 34

MA - Rucker 30 run (Redgate kick)

PV - Jones 4 run (Kick blocked)

PV - Jones 8 run (McArdle run)

MA - Matrician 20 pass from Kowalchick (kick blocked)

MA - Stoyer 41 run (pass failed)

PV - Maynard 27 run (Ahn pass from Crampsie)

PV - Maynard 19 run (run failed)

MA - Rucker 83 run (pass failed)

PV - Maynard 1 run (kick failed)