ALLENTOWN – The only hurdle Pleasant Valley’s football team had to overcome Thursday night at J. Birney Crum Stadium, besides Allentown Dieruff, was the humidity and some cramping.

Otherwise, this one belonged to the Bears.

Pleasant Valley rolled to a 51-6 victory for its second straight win, and its best start since 2022.

With Pottsville coming to town for next week’s home opener, the Bears are in position to build momentum before conference play begins in two weeks.

Pleasant Valley coach Blaec Saeger likes what he has seen so far, but cautioned against becoming complacent.

“It is a good way to start, but there is plenty of football to play,” the team’s head coach said.

The Bears showed they have plenty of offensive weapons.

Pleasant Valley ran its Wing-T offense effectively, and it didn’t matter who was under center. Chris Ward and senior Brandt Wines both showed big-play ability.

Ward also made an impact at tailback, highlighted by a 73-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter that gave the Bears their second score of the game. Pleasant Valley opened the scoring when Sean Cobb raced 29 yards for a touchdown on the team’s first offensive possession. Cameron Ward, Chris’ brother, then caught a pass for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

“It doesn’t matter who is quarterbacking,” Chris Ward said.

His long touchdown run was one of the game’s biggest plays.

“It’s all about execution,” Ward said of the touchdown. “The guys up front gave me the (lane) to run and I saw it opened up and I just ran.”

The Pleasant Valley defense also dominated, limiting anything Dieruff tried to accomplish offensively.

“We’ve struggled here for whatever reason,” Saeger said, “but the kids wanted to come out early ... they knew they were the better team.”

That confidence showed on both sides of the ball.

The defense was led by tackle Colin O’Neil, who controlled the line from his nose guard position.

“We wanted to make an early statement, we (ganged) up and controlled the line (of scrimmage),” O’Neil said.

While Ward provided the fireworks, fullback Jacob George powered the ground game. He finished with 50 rushing yards, including a 23-yard touchdown run that gave Pleasant Valley a 37-0 lead early in the second half.

“We had a big night, but we want to keep it going the rest of the season,” George said. “The O-line opened up the holes, all I had to do was run through the openings.”

Saeger was equally complimentary of his fullback.

“He’s just a bull, the proto-typical option fullback, who gets those big yards for us,” Saeger said.

The Bears extended their lead with 4:49 remaining in the second quarter when Cobb scored on a 12-yard run. Pleasant Valley then capped the first half on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Wines to Tyler Brown. Brown broke inside on his route, Wines delivered a strike, and Brown raced into the end zone for a 30-0 halftime lead.

Pleasant Valley wasted little time adding to its advantage after halftime. George broke loose for his 23-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 37-0.

Dieruff got on the board when Kayson Bowers caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Jiovanni Camacho, but the Bears answered immediately. Zidan Moore returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards for a touchdown, and Pleasant Valley’s final score came on a 23-yard touchdown pass to Bowers from Chris Ward.

Saeger also praised several defensive standouts, including O’Neil, Anthony Salvi and Cole Vanderah. He also singled out senior Gavin Bates, who is playing football for the first time this season.

“Gavin is such an amazing kid, just so happy we have him out,” Saeger said.

Pleasant Vy. 51, Dieruff 6

Pleasant Valley 8 22 14 7 - 51

Dieruff 0 0 6 0 - 6

PV - Cobb 29 run (Ca. Ward pass from Ch. Ward)

PV - Ch. Ward 73 run (Duran kick)

PV - Cobb 12 run (Duran kick)

PV - Brown 37 pass Wines (Duran kick)

PV - George 23 run (Duran kick)

D - Barlow 45 pass from Camacho (pass failed)

PV - Moore 72 kickoff return (Duran kick)

PV - Brown 24 pass Ch. Ward (Duran kick)