Was Panther Valley's impressive win on Saturday afternoon an oasis or just a mirage?

Impressive playing by both the offense and defense led to the Panther easily handling Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, 36-7.Was it a sign that there finally exists relief from the thirst the loyal PV fans are having for a winning season?Or was it just a false glimmer of hope like last year when the Panthers opened its season by manhandling CMVT, 40-18, then went through the rest of the season winning only one more game?Of course only time will tell.Panther Valley's new coach Scott Price has optimism. "This is a much better Columbia-Montour team this year than last year's team," he said. "They're bigger and stronger with more veterans."One thing that was obvious on Saturday is that Panther Valley has the weapons to inflict harm on its opponents.Most notable is wide receiver Derrick Beckham, a 6-1 junior, who had two superb touchdown catches, both of them leaping above Ram defenders with the same doggedness of namesake Odell Beckham Jr., the outstanding receiver for the New York Giants.His first catch was in the second quarter when he reached over double coverage to pull in a pass from quarterback Hunter Kennedy who hurled it from 25 yards away.Then, with only eight seconds left in the half, he made a leaping catch in the corner of the end zone while behind his defender to help the Panther take a 30-0 lead into the break.He caught every pass tossed to him - eight total - for an impressive 166 yards.Not to be overlooked was Kennedy, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 210 yards. He also showed flexibility by running the ball 10 times, nine of them resulting in gains totaling 50 yards. He was also sacked once for a loss of 10 yards.Hunter's brother, Tanner, adds momentum to the capable backfield, carrying the ball 15 times for 65 yards.Assessing the performance after the game, coach Price said, "Derrick really stepped up when we needed him. He is a freak athlete and a freak of nature and he showed that today. Any ball that goes up, he's going to bring it down."He said although the Panthers had a glowing opener, it has a tough schedule ahead. The next three games are all home and all promise to be tough, said Price.DOMINANT HALF ... In the first half, Panther Valley scored on five of its six possessions.LONG HOME STRETCH ... The Panthers play their next three games at home. On Friday, they host Hamburg. Schuylkill League Division 1 members Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua will follow the next two weeks.GOOD TURNOUT BY LOCALS ... Although Panther Valley traveled about 45 miles to play CMVT, there were about as many PV fans, possibly more, witnessing the game.BALL CONTROL ... Panther Valley kept the ball almost the entire fourth quarter with the Rams limited to just two plays from scrimmage.