A metaphor for Friday night’s football game between Panther Valley and Pine Grove Area might be a Rocky movie, where the momentum of the opponents shifts throughout.

Pine Grove gave some hard shots to the Panthers early. But the Panthers fought back. The last swing was a knockout blow by PV.

In the closing moments of regulation, PV dug deep, gave its all, and scored a TD with only 1:38 to play, securing a 27-20 victory.

The win puts PV’s record at 4-5, while Pine Grove’s is 2-7.

The Cardinals had tied the game early in the last quarter with a 12-yard carry by ace running back Logan Troup, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior. It had been Troup’s third burst into the end zone in the game. This particular run tied the score at 20-20 with 5:20 to play.

PV got the ensuing kickoff on its 35 due to an out-of-bounds kick. It took four plays for the determined Panthers to get the ball to the 48. Then, quarterback Cy Maynard tossed a pass to wide-open running back Carson Jones at the 30 for a first down.

Two plays later, Maynard slung a pass to Jason Ahn, a tough 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior, at the 25. Ahn, who was covered one on one, slipped past an attempted tackle and raced to the end zone with 1:38 showing on the clock.

The PV defense didn’t yield in the next four plays. The Cardinals did try a pass play with time ticking away, but Chase McArdle, the lanky 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior, leaped in front of the intended receiver for an interception on about the 15-yard line and ran alone to the 32 before stopping with just 15 seconds to play.

Obviously, PV head coach Mark Lavine was thrilled with the win.

“I can’t say enough about our guys,” he said. “We had adversity so many times today. We were down three starters; we lost two linemen, which was potentially four positions on offense and defense.

“They could have hung their heads and felt sorry for themselves, but they played with emotion. They played great team football on offense and defense.”

There were a couple of attributes to the win that were obvious.

One was McArdle’s performance. He had arguably his best game of the year even though he wasn’t 100 percent, recovering from an injury that has slowed him for the past several weeks.

The interception was one of two incredible moments for the youngster.

In the third quarter, on the second play from scrimmage, with Pine Grove up 14-7, McArdle was thrown a pass from Maynard. The ball was on PV’s own 24 at the time. McArdle snagged it at about the 40 and ran the remaining distance into the end zone, a play covering 76 yards.

Another reason for the win was the sophomore tandem of Carson Jones and Nathan Rolon. Together they amassed 136 of PV’s 147 rushing yards.

Jones had 136 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown, while Rolon contributed 142.

“He’s still not 100 percent but he has that spark back in his legs again,” Lavine said. “He runs hard. He breaks tackles.”

One more factor in the game for PV was that it managed something that was missing the past few weeks: a vigorous pass defense.

The Panthers had two interceptions. There could have been a third, but Maynard swatted the ball away on a fourth-down play that provided better field position by not catching it.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were 2-for-6 throwing, with three of those completions coming in the first quarter.

Lavine said some adjustments were made at halftime, which helped shut the Cardinals’ offense down.

Pine Grove started the game aggressively. On the third play from scrimmage, Troup busted through the middle of the line and ran 80 yards for a touchdown.

PV came right back and tied it on a drive that took 4 1/2 minutes, with Jones scoring from the 1.

But Pine Grove made it 14-7 a short while later on a 15-yard scurry by Troup.

“It’s tough,” Pine Grove coach David Shiffer said of the loss.

“They made big plays when they had to,” he said. “We had opportunities and we didn’t take them.”

REGULAR SEASON NEARS END ... Next week is the end of the regular season before the playoffs begin. Pine Grove will travel to Tamaqua on Friday. Panther Valley visits North Schuylkill. A win for PV could potentially still get it into postseason play.

SENIORS HONORED ... It was senior night, with Panther Valley honoring the senior cheerleaders, band members and football players. Four seniors served as team captains for Panther Valley: Cameron Rolon, Gabriel Rodriguez, Jayden Ramos and Spencer Black.

SOME STATS ... Panther Valley had 147 total rushing yards, while Pine Grove had 143. The Panthers accumulated 160 passing yards compared with 33 for the Cardinals.

GOOD KICKER ... The Panthers have one of the best kickers they’ve had in years in sophomore Isa Gjoca. He made three of four PATs (one was blocked) Friday night. He has 10 successful points-after touchdowns for the season. His punts have been averaging 33 yards.

Panther Vy. 27, Pine Grove 20

Pine Grove 14 0 0 6 - 20

Panther Valley 7 0 13 7 - 27

PG - Troup, 20-run (Herber kick)

PV - Jones, 1 run (Gjoca kick)

PG - Troup, 15 run (Herber kick)

PV - McArdle, 76 pass from Maynard (Gjoca kick)

PV - Maynard, 1 run (kick blocked)

PG - Troup, 12 run (Herber kick)

PV - Ahn, 30 pass from Maynard (Gjoca kick)