ALLENTOWN - Sometimes Michael Pascoe runs the ball from under center. Other times he takes a hand-off from a teammate. But just about every time he grinds out a chunk of yardage.

Pascoe barreled through the Salisbury defense for a career-high 203 yards and three touchdowns to lead Panther Valley to a 20-13 opening night win over the Falcons. It was the Panthers first win since 2020 - they were 0-8 last year.

“We knew we were going to hang our hat on a couple of guys,” said first-year Panther head coach Mark Lavine. “We have a lot of offensive linemen back but we’ve got Michael (Pascoe) and Austin (Hadley) in that backfield and that’s who were going to hang our hat on this year.”

Pascoe, a 240-pound senior quarterback/linebacker, and the veteran line in front of him were too much for an over-matched Salisbury defense.

“We know we’re going to wear teams down and have a chance to win in the fourth quarter,” Pascoe said. “It’s big props to my line and my fullbacks. We’re a hard, physical team all game.”

Salisbury scored first and held the lead twice in the first half before the Panthers took over in the second half, allowing just two first downs after halftime and sustaining four long drives, two of them for touchdowns and one that ran out the game clock.

Senior Trey McAndrew had a pair of second-half interceptions. One set up a touchdown drive at the Falcon 20-yard line and the second got the Panthers the ball for good with 5:14 left to play.

“I’m so proud of our seniors,” Lavine said. “They’ve been through a lot with this program. For Trey to get two picks, he’s a program guy. He’s all in. He does anything we ask him to do. We put him all over the place because he’s a smart kid. I’m so proud of him.”

Salisbury took the early lead in the game on a 53-yard Josh Brook run with 8:30 left in the first quarter. The Panthers answered with an 80-yard drive capped by Pascoe’s 35-yard touchdown to take a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter.

Salisbury got the lead back when Lucas Graver picked off one of Pascoe’s three passes in the game and ran it back 57 yards for a touchdown and a 13-7 lead with under two minutes left in the first half.

The Panthers wasted retook the lead in the second half. They forced a Salisbury three-and-out then marched 40 yards in six plays with Pascoe rumbling seven yards for the score and the 14-13 lead with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

McAndrew’s interception at the Salisbury 25-yard line set up the Panthers’ last score, a 4-yard Pascoe run with 7:47 left in the game.

“Panther Valley football is back,” McAndrew said. “We’re better. We’re looking to change the outlook on our program. We expect to win. We expect to do better things this year.”

SKID BUSTED ... Panther Valley broke a 10-game losing streak with the win. The Panthers’ last victory was Oct. 24, 2020 when the beat Shenadoah Valley 34-6.

VERTICALLY CHALLENGED ... It was a tough night for passers as both quarterbacks combined to throw more interceptions than completions. Pascoe’s only pass that didn’t hit the ground was caught by Brooks, while the Falcons’ Nick Beck had two completions and two interceptions.

STOP RIGHT THERE...The Panther defense allowed just five first downs in the game and gave up just 133 total yards to the Falcons. Much of that came on one 53-yard play touchdown run.