Friday night's game started along the same path that Panther Valley's game did a week ago.

What a difference a week can make, however, as the Panthers significantly changed the outcome.This time around, the Panthers ended up taking matters into their own hands to post a 41-20 non-league victory over Hanover Area."Last week, we went down 7-0 to Lehighton and we came right back on a great drive and scored. It was important for us to come right back and answer again," said Panther Valley coach Matt Davis. "This time though we got the game to snowball the opposite direction from the way it went last week."Emotions are a huge part of this game. We really stress that you have to stay strong and stay together when things don't go well. And on the other side of it, when things are going well, you have to keep the foot on the gas and that's what we did tonight."After Hanover only needed two plays to score the game's first touchdown on their opening offensive series, the Hawkeyes decided to attempt an onside kick, which didn't go their way, and set the Panthers up with excellent field position.The Panthers' Rene Figueroa made them pay for it.Figueroa only needed a single play to do so. The freshman phenom took the hand off from Hunter Kennedy and sprinted down the left side of the field for a 47-yard touchdown run making it a whole new game.The Panthers rolled off that initial touchdown run by Figueroa.Nate Miller added to it and sparked the Panthers' defense with his first pick of the game on the Hawkeyes' next drive. PV's offense then fed off the momentum as Kennedy found Tristan Blasko open for a 25-yard touchdown reception.That's when things really started to snowball in the Panthers' favor.First, Figueroa picked up a fumble and ran it from 44 yards out for a touchdown. Then, Miller stepped in front of Jacob Peters' pass and took off for 38 yards and another touchdown which gave the Panthers a 27-6 lead after one quarter of play.In the second quarter, Kennedy played a role in the Panthers' two scores. He had a six-yard touchdown run and then connected with Danny Gilberry for an 18-yard touchdown pass.The emotions really came through for Davis once the Panthers were able to celebrate a victory for the first time this season."It feels good," Davis said. "It's about time. These kids have been giving it their all. The amount of wins we have does not dictate what great kids they are. They are super kids and they deserve this win tonight."NO MORE ... Brendan Morgans missed his first extra point attempt and refused to let it happen again. Morgans went on to hit his next five extra points.KEEN EYE ... Nate Miller excels in the classroom as he is number one in his senior class. Last night, when he stepped onto the gridiron, he was on his "A" game at his linebacker position. Miller finished with two interceptions and two tackles for losses. On his second interception, Miller scampered 38 yards for a touchdown.NOT IN OUR HOUSE ... The Panthers' defense made big plays time and time again during the game. They had eight tackles for losses, four sacks, three interceptions, two tackles for no yards and a fumble recovery.