The margins were so slim that everything came down to one play.

Thursday evening provided a well-played game at Pleasant Valley as the Bears fought tooth and nail against Pottsville. After trading punches throughout the contest, the Crimson Tide defensive line stood their ground to stop a two-point conversion and hold on for a 20-19 victory.

“I knew exactly what (the Tide) were going to be,” Bears head coach Blaec Saeger said. “They run a tough offense very similar to ours. They’re going to smack you right in the mouth and just stick that fullback in there over and over and over. I know a lot about it. It’s the same thing we do, and we were on the wrong end of it today.”

The Pottsville fullback that Saeger referred to is Max Clews. After being moved from his typical tight end position, the senior provided a steady dose of short runs up the middle in the second half that added up as if it was death by a thousand cuts for the Bears.

Clews tallied 49 yards in the second half on 13 carries, including what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Things didn’t look that way initially, as Pleasant Valley only took four plays on its first possession to open the scoring. Carries of 12 and 53 yards from Chris Ward took his team down to the red zone, with Ward finishing the drive off from one yard out.

The Tide responded on the following possession, taking five minutes to go 69 yards on 11 plays. That included getting a crucial first down on a 4th-and-4 when Donovann Durham ran for five yards. Durham later went the final 29 yards for the score, but a failed extra-point kick kept PV in front by one.

After a four-and-out by the Bears, Pottsville took its first lead on the first play of the second quarter when senior Shay Strencosky broke free for a 44-yard TD run. He finished with 93 yards to lead his team on the ground.

Both defenses took over for the remainder of the first half, as each side picked up a sack and forced a punt before going into the locker rooms.

Pleasant Valley couldn’t have asked for a better start to the second half. Following a four-and-out from the Tide, the Bears took eight plays to find the end zone. Jacob George carried the ball on six of those plays, including the final six yards for the TD. However, with the chance to take the lead, Clews blocked the extra-point attempt and kept the score knotted at 13.

This is when the Bears were faced with Clews leading the charge for Pottsville. In a span of 5:08 that transitioned into the fourth quarter, the Tide took 17 plays (seven by Clews) to go 66 yards to go back in front 20-13. Similar to their first possession, the visitors overcame another 3rd-and-long situation and the eventual TD scorer (Clews this time) got a first down on a fourth-down play before finishing the drive from the two.

“There were so many third (and longs) where they ran the ball against us, and they got like 10 (yards),” Saeger said. “Those were backbreakers.”

After the two teams traded defensive stops once again, the Bears appeared as if they were going to come back. Ward put his team on his back, with two carries of 34 and 38 yards down to the one where George punched his way in, setting up a two-point attempt to go in front. Ward finished the contest with 11 carries for 189 yards, and George with 86 yards on 12 attempts.

With a Tide penalty narrowing the gap to 1.5 yards, George received the handoff but was stonewalled by a wall of Pottsville linemen to preserve its lead.

“They’re young kids,” said Tide head coach Mike Brennan about his linemen. “None of them started last year. You’re a yard-and-a-half away, and our kids gutted it out. (PV) was having success running the football against us, so for us to tighten up in that moment and make that play, good stuff.”

Pottsville ran the remaining time off the clock to earn itself its first win of the season and hand PV its first loss.

“We figured whether it was to give it to Jake (George) or give it to Chris (Ward), that would be our best shot,” Saeger said. “When we got the penalty, we only needed a yard. I thought ‘give it to Jake,’ and turns out, we should have given it to Chris, but that’s hindsight. This one hurt, obviously coming up a foot short from winning the game, and it’s going to be tough to sit with, but we’ll be alright. They’re a resilient bunch.”

ONE WEEK AT A TIME … The football season rolls along for both teams, as Pleasant Valley will travel to Whitehall, while Pottsville will pay a visit to Blue Mountain next week.

Pottsville 20, Pleasant Vy. 19

Pottsville 6 7 0 7 - 20

Pleasant Vly 7 0 6 6 - 19

PV - Chris Ward 1 run (Duran kick)

P - Durham 29 run (kick failed)

P - Strencosky 44 run (Allen kick)

PV - George 6 run (kick blocked)

P - M. Clews 2 run (Allen kick)

PV - George 1 run (run failed)