Pleasant Valley found itself in a hard‑fought battle with Pottsville last Thursday night, ultimately falling just short in a 20–19 loss to the Crimson Tide.

A missed two‑point conversion from a yard-and-a-half-out late in the fourth quarter proved to be the Bears’ final opportunity to retake the lead.

They’ll need to shake off that tough defeat quickly, though, because the challenge doesn’t get any easier this week.

Pleasant Valley now turns its attention to a talented Whitehall squad from the EPC Lehigh Division in the Times News Game of the Week.

“Going over the tape of the Pottsville loss; that one doesn’t get any easier to swallow even a few days later. We made some mistakes, but Pottsville played very tough,” said Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger.

“It was really just some of the little things that we have to clean up but those miscues ended up being the difference, stuff that would result in drive killers. But we have had a few good days of practice, and we’re looking forward to working hard to correct those mistakes.”

Both Pleasant Valley and Whitehall enter the matchup at 2–1. The Zephyrs were handled by Nazareth in Week 2, 49–13, but bounced back impressively with a 31–19 win over Northampton last week in the Cement Bowl.

For Whitehall, it all starts with its quarterback Tanner Dogmanits, who had a huge game against the Konkrete Kids.

Dogmanits threw for 218 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for a career-high 156 yards and three rushing scores. Zephyrs’ running back Jeziah Gregory also put together some nice numbers on the ground, rushing 18 times for 129 yards. Henry Shultz was Dogmantis’ top target, with six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

There’s no doubt the Bears will have their work cut out for them against a Whitehall offense that figures to be one of the very best in the EPC.

“Offensively, they have it all. They’re an excellent football team,” added Saeger. “It will be an uphill battle for sure. They’re very fast, and they have a big and strong offensive line.

“They probably outweigh us by 60 pounds a man up front. We have to play an unbelievably clean game, but they’re going to see a team that is going to give it everything we got and that is going to play tough as nails.” The Bears have found a bunch of success of their own as well, especially when it comes to their option rushing attack. Chris Ward continues to be one of the most dynamic runners in the Times News area, compiling 436 yards and five touchdowns at an impressive 14.53 yards per carry. Jacob George has been the grinder for the Bears, rushing for 212 yards, while Sean Cobb has also been productive, tallying 142 yards at almost 11 yards per carry.

Whitehall struggled against the run last week, giving up 279 yards on the ground to the Konkrete Kids at over six yards per carry.

“It’s no secret that we have some talented kids that can make plays. And then those guys are surrounded by guys who are hard workers. Of course, it all starts with the offense line. Without that group we don’t have anything. And we had to replace four out of our five starters there, so they’ve been playing well,” said Saeger.

“But this group just has a team-first attitude. So, we’re going to look to spread the ball around and go out there and try to make some plays.”