FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Last night Panther Valley’s passing game was the best it has been all season.

Junior quarterback Cy Maynard tossed for 216 total yards, with his key receiver being classmate Chase McArdle, who pulled in five of them for 116 yards.

The aerial show was overshadowed by a bruising North Schuylkill offense that scored every time it had the ball in the first half.

That impetuous start gave the Spartans a 47-12 win over the Panthers in a Schuylkill League matchup.

The 216 passing yards by Maynard, in his first season as a varsity quarterback, gives him an unofficial total of 956 for the season.

For McArdle, his first reception for the night of 33 yards in the first quarter pushed him over the 500-yard mark. Unofficially, the gutsy 5-10 target has accumulated 575 receiving yards this season.

He now has career receptions of over 1,000 yards.

He was glad his 500-yard mark was achieved at North Schuylkill considering that last year he anticipated reaching that milestone while playing the Spartans, but their defense held him short.

It’s especially a significant achievement considering he battled through injuries most of the season.

“I’m feeling 100 percent right now,” he said. The last couple of weeks I’ve been banged up, but I bounced back strong.

“I knew I was close to 500 so coming in, that was my mantra; that was my goal.”

McArdle said that the season “is winding down now, so I just had to give my best.”

Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine said of Maynard, “He’s a great receiver and we said it all along. When he’s healthy, he’s as good a receiver as anyone in this league.”

The coach was pleased with the offense - especially the passing game - but felt the defense “wasn’t very good tonight. We weren’t getting stops.”

“That what it came down to,” Lavine said. “Offensively, we were doing some things, but we weren’t making any stops today.”

The Spartans scored all five times they had the ball in the first half.

Their first TD was set up when junior Cole Meskunas picked off a pass at the PV 30. Bryce Kile, the ace running back for the Spartans, carried twice, first to the 18 and then he raced downfield to the end zone.

The Panthers went for a first down on a fourth-and-two from their 28 and failed, turning the ball over to North Schuylkill. Five plays later, Daniel Brake scurried to paydirt.

A fumble recovery on a punt attempt gave North Schuylkill the ball at the Panther one and Kile capitalized, running virtually untouched through the line.

Besides Kile, also having multiple scores for the Spartans were Noah Leib and Brake. Leib had scoring carries of four, seven and 45 yards. Brake, in addition to that six-yard run, connected on a 33-yard pass play from Noah Leib.

Although Panther Valley is missing some linemen, Lavine didn’t use it as a reason for the loss. Regarding the manpower situation, Lavine said, “Yeah, it doesn’t help. We’re banged up a big, but I think a lot of teams are banged up this time of the year.”

The Panthers were down 26-0 before they managed to hit the scoreboard with 5:49 left in the half. Two remarkable pass plays in the drive led to the touchdown.

First, with the ball on their own 16, Maynard found McArdle open at about the 23 where he reached over his head for the catch, then ran down the right side line to the North Schuylkill 11 before being stopped. Three plays later, Maynard unleashed a spiral to McArdle in the end zone for a TD at the 5:49 mark.

The Panthers didn’t score again until late in the third quarter - with 38-second left, to be exact - on a five-yard smash by Carlos Maldanando. It capped a 72-yard, 13 play drive.

GO FIGURE...North Schuylkill threw only two passes during the game, one was a 33-yard touchdown bomb. The other fell incomplete. The Spartans amassed 256 rushing yards compared to 123 for PV. The Panthers had 216 passing yards, while the Spartans had just 33.

DISTRICTS ARE NEXT FOR PV... Panther Valley has qualified for District 11 playoffs in Class 3A despite its 4-6 overall record. It appears the Panthers will be seeded seventh or eighth. Official matchups will be announced this weekend, but PV will likely be traveling to Notre Dame of Green Pond or Northwestern for a Thursday game. North Schuylkill has a 3-7 record (2-4 league) and qualified for the districts in Division 4A.

PRAISE FOR HIS BACKS...Lavine had high praise for Maynard and McArdle. He also was happy with the performances of running back Troy Muniz and Carson Jones. Both had 27 yards rushing on only a handful of carries. Lavine said, “They’re both a little banged up. It’s late in the season. They both ran hard. They’re running through some injuries, and they give you everything they have every week.”

N. Schuylkill 47, Panther Vy. 12

Panther Valley 0 6 6 0 - 12

N. Schuylkill 19 14 14 0 - 47

NS - Kile, 18 run (Urban kick)

NS - Brake 6 run (pass failed)

NS - Kile 1 run (kick failed)

NS - Brake 33 pass from Leib (Urban kick)

PV - McArdle 11 pass from Maynard (kick failed)

NS - Leib 4 run (Urban kick)

NS - Leib 7 run (Urban kick)

NS - Leib 45 run (Urban kick)

PV - Maldanando 5 run (kick failed)