Say the word “rebound” and you think of basketball, but last night this word aptly described Panther Valley’s 30-6 win over Shenandoah Valley.

After squandering a 12-7 lead and giving up 41 fourth-quarter points last week, the Panthers rebounded to play a complete game on both sides of the ball. Their offense was led by junior running back Rene Figueroa, who carried the rock 23 times for 200 yards and four touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 55 yards for a score one play after Kyle Rusnak blocked a punt out of the end zone for a second quarter 2-0 PV lead.

The Panther defense was outstanding all night, holding Shenandoah’s running game to negative-17 yards on 25 carries and just five first downs. They were constantly in the Blue Devil backfield or stuffing the line of scrimmage.

Figueroa sliced and diced through and around Shenandoah’s “D”, especially in the second half when PV wore down an undermanned Devil defense.

“Our line did a great job opening up holes all night long,” said Figueroa. “In the second half I was able to break off some long runs.”

If it were not for penalties, the final score might have been more lopsided.

A Figueroa first-quarter TD run was nullified by a false start penalty, one of four flags thrown against the Panthers in the first 12 minutes. The Devils, however, could not capitalize and never mustered an offensive drive the entire game. Their lone score came on a fourth-quarter 75-yard pass and run play from quarterback Jason Najunas to wide receiver Michael Vinas, who got past the Panther secondary and made some nifty cuts to run to pay dirt.

“Our starting quarterback was injured and Najunas, who never played the position in a varsity game had three days of practice behind the center before tonight,” said Shenandoah coach, Kevin Keating. “With our roster numbers problem, we have a lack of depth and we also lack strength up front as well.”

To say that the Devils (1-6) were over matched might be an understatement. Other than the one long TD pass play and a few other completions, their other highlight was a 51-yard third-quarter punt by Alvin Ortiz.

Coming off four straight losses, PV head coach Scott Price rallied his troops with a slogan he preached at practice all week.

“I told the team they are a family and they need to act like a family when they played this game,” said Price. “Shenandoah hung with us in the first quarter and that’s because Coach Keating, despite his low numbers, prepares his kids to play every week.”

The Panthers put the game away in the third quarter. At the 9:08 mark, Figueroa burst up the middle for 25 yards to the Devils’ 28-yard line. Nine plays later he scored on a 6-yard blast off left tackle.

After PV recovered a fumble at the Shenandoah 45, quarterback Ethan Reis drove his team to the six where Figueroa again punched it in from six yards out.

On their first possession in the fourth quarter, it was Figueroa again scoring, this time on a 35-yard scamper through a tired Devils defense.

With the victory, Panther Valley remains the fourth 2A seed in its quest to make the playoffs fort the first time since 2009.

“We’ve got some very dedicated kids here who have stepped up to get us to where we have a chance to get to the playoffs,” said Price.” If we stay together like a family, we’re going to give it our best shot.”

ON THE JOB TRAINING ... At halftime, Price asked tight end Tristan Blasko to move to right tackle to get more inside power blocking. Blasko had never practiced or played tackle before, but the strategy worked as he helped open up huge holes.

SMALL NUMBERS - BIG HEARTS ... Shenadoah dressed only 19 players for the game, and after injuries, finished with 16, but the Devils competed hard right to the final horn.