SWIFTWATER - Pleasant Valley didn't have to look far for a little extra incentive heading into Saturday's game against Pocono Mountain East.

The annual clash for the Old Oaken Bucket between the two schools carried a bit more weight for the Bears, who entered on a five-game winning streak after starting the year 0-3.The turnaround had put Pleasant Valley in a position to take the final spot in the District 11 Class AAAA playoffs.But in order to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Bears first had to take care of business in a critical Eastern Pennsylvania Conference contest against the Cardinals.Pleasant Valley did just that, coming up with big plays when it mattered most to claim a 42-20 victory, its sixth consecutive triumph in the series."The Bucket that we play for is a great tradition for both schools," said Bears' quarterback Brandon Kuehner, who completed 10-of-14 passes for 241 yards. "It's been around for over 50 years, and records don't really matter for this one."It's a rivalry game, so they know us and we know them. We know that everyone's going to play their hearts out and try to bring that Bucket home."Kuehner did his part to spark the Pleasant Valley (6-3) offense early, tossing a 49-yard touchdown to Tanner Parascando on his first pass of the game."Brandon did a nice job with executing the play and throwing the ball right where it needed to be," said Pleasant Valley coach Dave Pacchioni. "Tanner made a great play and that really opened up the game for us."Big plays and critical third-down conversions were the order of the day for the Bears, especially in the first half.Pleasant Valley went seven-for-nine in third down situations during the game, and converted all five chances over the first two quarters."We have a young and inexperienced secondary," said Pocono Mountain East head coach Mike Culkin. "There are guys that haven't played the entire season that are starting in our secondary, so you're going to have that."It's going to take us some time to get those guys where we need them to be. Unfortunately for us, third down was huge for Pleasant Valley. They capitalized and we didn't."Despite being intercepted in the end zone by the Cardinals' (1-8) Joe Wittel on their second drive of the game, the Bears converted three third downs of five yards or longer while driving 77 yards to the PM East 19-yardline prior to the pick."That takes the sails out of the defense right there," Pacchioni said. "If you can't get off the field on third down, it's pretty tough to be successful."Pleasant Valley was also able to take advantage of several big plays on offense.Tailback Eric Marbury, filing in for an injured Austyn Borre, took a carry 70-yards for a score on the Bears' third possession of the game, and receiver Kevin Cruz hauled in Kuehner's second touchdown of the day on a 32-yard pass-and-catch late in the second quarter.Marbury, who finished with 93 yards rushing, notched his second score of the game on a three-yard run after the Cardinals' Luke Hohenstein was intercepted to give Pleasant Valley a 28-7 lead at the half.The third quarter started in similar fashion for PM East, with Hohenstein getting picked once again. But this time, Noah Bard took it 35-yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a commanding 35-7 lead.Pleasant Valley got its last score of the game when Kuehner hit Demetrius Green for a 52-yard strike, his third touchdown pass of the game.With what could have easily been a trap game against the Cardinals behind them, the Bears will now focus on a Week 10 showdown with undefeated Stroudsburg, where their postseason fate could be determined."We control our own destiny," Pacchioni said. "We've said from the beginning that every week was going to be a championship week, and this definitely is."Stroudsburg's 9-0 and they're playing great football right now. It's going to come down to who executes and who's disciplined. We need to have a great week of practice and we'll see how it goes from there."