The 50 Yard Line - Semi-final District Playoff

November 16, 2011

The second time was certainly the charm as the Panthers overwhelmed the Marple Newtown Tigers 31-7.  After racking up 342 yards on the ground (Molhollen didn't attempt one pass) the Panthers only trouble seemed to be on scoring the extra points.  They held the Tigers to under 200 total offensive yards, had two sacks and five tackles for a loss.  They also held key running back Moat to 85 yards on 25 carries.  A very impressive performance indeed.

The Panthers shouldn't let it go to their heads.  You get no breaks during the playoffs.  Every team you face gets better and better and the Panthers have a big bulls eye on their jerseys as defending District Champions and as THE premier football program in Division One. 

The Panthers played the Falcons last year for the Division title.  It was a close first half with both teams going into halftime at 14 each but then the Panther ground machine got going and put Pottsgrove away.

This year Pottsgrove is 9-2.  Their last loss was back on September 30 when they lost a score fest to Spring-ford 49-35.  Their league (Pioneer Athletic Conference PAC) isn't the toughest but they easily put away their competition except for a couple of competitive scores. They rush for an average of 290 yards a game and, while they don't like to throw (average just over 30 yards a game) their quarterback, #5 Tory Hudgins, rarely misses when he does decide to throw (23 for 35 attempts). And he can run.  He has the most yards rushing (876) than all but one of his running backs.  

The Falcons have a very impressive front line both in speed and size.  Averaging over 200 pounds (that's good size for high school) and 61 kids on their roster. They've lost their key running back, Mark Dukes, but they have the horses to get it done.  Look for #12 Robby Curtin and #13 Danny Michaels to do most of the heavy lifting.

The Panthers formula for success?  More of the same.  Very few defenses have to defend against a litany of running backs.  The Panthers boast four, Griffin, Howie, DeCindis and Crawford. Add the newly found running abilities of Mohollen and it gives the Panthers some tremendous abilities between the tackles and out on the ends.  While the Panthers haven't needed it, Mohollen can throw the ball too so Strath Haven is starting to come into some balance.  The key will be for the Panther offensive line to move these big quick Falcon lineman off the ball and seal off their linebackers.  The Panther's running backs just need a little space to build up some steam and break a few loose. 

This could be a close, close game.  Whatever the problems were for the Panthers last week on extra points, it had better get solved quickly.  In a game like this an extra point may make the difference. 

Kick-off is at 7:00 PM at Pottsgrove High School.  If you can't make the game you can listen to it right here. Our broadcast begins at 6:45.  You can also stay updated on Twitter or Facebook. 

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