Momentum is key in any ball game, but it’s especially important during the course of a rivalry game.

On Friday night, rivals Panther Valley and Marian exchanged momentum-changing blows in the first half, but it was the Panthers (1-1) that were able to come through with the game-breaking play of the game - a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown that would propel them to a 28-7 victory.

From the onset, Panther Valley established its physicality on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

The Panthers took advantage of that to get on the board first, putting together a seven-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a Louie Clouser one-yard plunge into the end zone. Six of the Panthers’ plays in their opening drive came on the ground. The PV defense also forced two Marian punts in the first quarter, setting the tone early.

“We wanted to come out and play physical football, we thought we had the edge there, and we came out and ran the ball hard,” said Panthers’ head coach Rick Jones. “Our intensity and aggressiveness were good as well throughout the night.

“We need to clean some things up for sure, but we have a lot of positives to build off; we just need to continue to get better.”

The Panthers followed their impressive opening drive with an eight-plays, 51-yard drive the next time they got the ball. That culminated in a Mike Pascoe 10-yard rushing score.

With PV leading 12-0 and holding the game’s momentum, Marian got back in it by taking advantage of a PV miscue.

A mishandled punt by the Panthers with 6:49 left in the second quarter gave the Colts great field position at the PV five-yard line. Two plays later, Xavier Ocasio took it in for the Colts from five yards out to get them within 12-7.

“Our goal is to just keep getting better every week. We know this is going to be a long term process for us. Once again, there are some positives we can take from this game,” said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. “Our nemesis so far has been the big play. We were right in the ball game there in the second quarter, but we gave up a big play in special teams and that hurt us.

“But we had a lot of kids mature tonight; I’m really proud of the way we battled.”

The special teams breakdown that Dakosty was referring to happened on the kickoff following Ocasio’s score.

Clouser took the Marian kickoff 92 yards to the house, making a few guys miss around the Panthers’ 20-yard line and racing down the right sideline to steal back the momentum.

“Louie is one of those guys that can make game-changing plays like that,” said Jones. “He can sway the course of a ball game, and it’s a shame we didn’t have him the rest of the game after that, because he got a little banged up.

“But that play really brought the emotion back to our side and it was key for us getting the win.”

After a combined 27 points in the first half, this one turned into a defensive battle in the second half, with neither team scoring a point in the third quarter. Both defenses played well, but it was the Panthers defense that continued its dominance. PV forced the Colts to punt once, turn the ball over on downs twice, and also recovered a fumble.

Pascoe put the game away late in the fourth with a 16-yard touchdown run.

GROUND AND POUND … The Panthers used a physical ground attack early to get out to a 12-0 lead. A seven-play 67-yard drive and an eight-play 51-yard drive ended in rushing touchdowns.

UP FRONT … PV did not make it easy for Marian to run the football, which was the Colts’ game plan coming in. Marian ran the ball 39 times, but were held to just 2.6 yards per carry.

CENTURY CLUB ... Panther Valley’s Pascoe (17 carries for 114 yards) and Marian’s Ocasio (25 carries for 107 yards), both ran hard and topped the 100-yard mark.