Coming off their first-ever Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5 title, Schuylkill Valley kept the momentum going into the District 3 Class 3A quarterfinals.
The Panthers defeated the Littlestown Thunderbolts 55-13 Friday at Leesport.
“We were cooking our all cylinders tonight. Offense, defense, and special teams. It was great,” Panthers coach Bruce Harbach said.
No. 3 Schuylkill Valley (9-2) came out the gate swinging for the fences.
It only took five plays on their opening series to get into the endzone.
Facing a fourth-and-one, Logan Cammauf took a dive play up the middle 31 yards to strike first.
Without their quarterback, Brody Bittle, No. 6 Littlestown’s (6-5) offense struggled to get the ball rolling most of the game.
On the Thunderbolts’ first possession, they kept the ball on the ground for 10 straight plays as they got into Panthers’ territory.
On fourth-and-five, Colton Kabrick rolled to his right and found a wide-open Nate Albert for a 20-yard touchdown.
However, an ineligible man downfield penalty erased the score.
Deciding to go for it on fourth-and-ten from the 25-yard line, Littlestown dialed up the same exact play that led to a Lucas Spotts interception.
“That was our goal (to generate takeaways),” Harbach said. “They worked hard this week. We just played well. They were focused this week.”
The Panthers did not take long to capitalize on their takeaway.
On the second play from scrimmage, John Kowalski went in jet motion and took a Logan Nawrocki touch pass 85 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.
At the end of the first quarter, the Panthers led 14-0.
After a shanked punt from Kabrick, Schuylkill Valley took over at the opposing 47-yard line.
On first down, Nawrocki connected with Kowen Gerner on a curl route for a 13-yard gain.
That reception made Gerner Schuylkill Valley’s all-time leader in receiving yards.
The senior ended the night with three receptions for 67 yards.
“They deserve it,” Harbach said of Gerner and Nawrocki’s record-breaking game. “They’re great kids. They busted their tails for four years. These seniors have got this program to where it’s at right now. They deserve all the credit.”
Two plays later Nawrocki hit Cooper Hohenadel on a seam route for a 26-yard score.
“The coaches made the game plan and we execute it,” Nawrocki said of the offensive game plan. “That’s all it really is. We start with some plays and they see more and we just go off of it. Like you said, if six different guys can score a touchdown, we got a lot of weapons.”
With 10:06 remaining in the half, the Panthers weren’t close to done.
Their defense forced a three-and-out before another bad punt from Littlestown.
This time, Nawrocki connected with Spotts on a corner route for a 14-yard score to extend their lead to 28-0.
Littlestown made a quarterback change on their next drive but Brody Clabaugh had the same luck.
Punting after three plays, the Thunderbolts looked defeated.
On second-and-six, Nawrocki threw a over-the-shoulder dime to Gerner as stepped out of bounds at the two-yard line.
That pass broke Schuylkill Valley’s single-season passing record. Nawrocki now holds the top spot with 2,428 yards and can add to that with potentially two games remaining.
“It’s really cool, Kowen (Gerner) broke the all-time receiving record so that’s a little better but the single-season is still cool,” Nawrocki said.
One play later, the senior threw his fourth touchdown of the half to Dillon Lackner to take a 35-0 lead with 5:40 remaining.
Littlestown was able to pick up a first down on a seven-yard reception from Clabaugh to Kabrick.
However, the offense stalled as they turned the ball over on downs.
With less than three minutes remaining, the Panthers continued to try and get the ball into the endzone.
Completions of 11 and 26 yards to Spotts got Schuylkill Valley into the red zone quickly.
This time Hohenadel scored his second touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run off tackle to the left side.
The Schuylkill Valley defense held Littlestown to 59 total yards and only four first downs in the half.
“This whole season, our defense has kept us in games,” Nawrocki said. “Last week they gave us a little scare against Lancaster Catholic but they’ve always kept us in games. It’s really just overall, we’ve been a great team. Special teams have been playing big roles, offensive line, just everyone’s been doing good.”
The Panthers totaled 349 yards in the first half.
Leading 42-0, the running clock would be applied for the remaining 24 minutes.
In the third, Littlestown got on the scoreboard in their opening series.
Capping off a 10-play 80-yard drive, Lucas Bacher scored from five yards out.
Then the Panthers’ special teams decided to join in the scoring explosion on the chilly Friday night.
Kowalski caught the ball at the 28-yard line as he changed directions across the field and was off to the races for a 72-yard touchdown, his second of the night.
Each team got into the endzone once more late in the fourth quarter.
Alexander Aletras kept a read option for a 22 yard score to cap off a 55-point scoring night for the Panthers.
With 21 seconds left, Connor Dillon fought through defenders on the ground for a nine-yard touchdown.
“We’re going to celebrate this one. Obviously, it’s a big playoff win, but we’re going to watch how we did. Watch some film and look forward to next week.”
For the Panthers, Hohenadel finished with 68 total yards and two touchdowns on six touches. Spotts had 87 yards and one score on six receptions.
For the Thunderbolts, Dillon had 174 yards on nine carries.
Next Friday at 7 p.m. the Panthers will travel to Camp Hill to take on No. 2 Trinity (8-2) in the Class 3A semifinals.
The Shamrocks are led by senior running back Christian Joy. He has rushed for 1,366 yards and 19 touchdowns on 131 carries this season.
“We know we have a tough week, and a tough challenge next week, and going to Trinity is going to be a lot tougher,” Harbach said. “But you know what, these kids are peaking at the right time, the last couple of weeks, and that’s what, as a coach, you hope for.”
