HELLERTOWN - Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine knew Pen Argyl’s playmakers would be dangerous in the open field.

The Green Knights found room to run against the Panthers, hitting on several long scoring plays en route to a 42-7 victory on Saturday at Saucon Valley High School.

The Green Knights’ first four touchdowns covered 56, 38, 34 and 68 yards.

Kris Kessler finished with 145 yards rushing and two touchdowns for Pen Argyl and also caught a 68-yard receiving touchdown. Brad Rissmiller threw for 163 yards and also ran for 88 yards and two scores. Damian Tyminski added 78 yards receiving and a score. Pen Argyl finished with 459 yards of total offense and 20 first downs.

“It’s very tough to defend, because those kids on the outside, if you give them any space, they’re very good at making someone miss,” said Lavine. “They’re very very good. And they do a nice job schematically getting those guys in space - and that kind of comes back to us.

“We have to be able to tackle better, we have to turn a five yard into a five yard gain, and not a long gain. And that’s what we did today, we didn’t tackle well.”

Panther Valley was still within striking distance at halftime. But the Green Knights controlled the final two quarters of play to dispel any comeback hopes the Panthers had.

Pen Argyl struck for a 68-yard touchdown on a screen pass when Rissmiller hit Kessler, who was able to stay in bounds and avoid defenders on his way to the end zone to give the Green Knights a 28-7 lead with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

The score came after a holding penalty forced the Green Knights into a third and long situation.

After forcing a three and out on the Panthers’ next drive, the Green Knights (4-5) punched in another score, with Kessler getting his second rushing touchdown of the day - this time from six yards out - to extend the lead to 35-7 with 9:00 to play in the fourth quarter.

Chase Kennedy, who ended the next Panther Valley (2-7) drive with an interception, capped the Green Knights’ ensuing possession with a 17-yard score with 0:40 to play to make it 42-7.

The Green Knights defense limited PV’s offense to 20 yards and one first down in the second half. The Panthers finished with 122 yards and six first downs.

“We were never able to get the running game going,” said Lavine. “I’m not sure why. We’ll watch the tape. But we were never able to get the running game going, to that’s a tribute to them (Pen Argyl) up front.

“That was disappointing to see, because win or lose, we’ve been able to run the football this year.”

Pen Argyl got a couple of big plays in the first quarter to set the tone for the game.

The first play was turned in by the Green Knight defense when it came up with a fourth down stop to end a promising opening drive by the Panthers. Pen Argyl then needed just three plays to find the end zone, with Kessler racing 56 yards for a score with 4:20 to play in the first quarter.

Panther Valley responded with a methodical 12-play drive that covered 60 yards and ended with Michael Pascoe hitting Brody Breiner for a 32-yard touchdown. Jah Bushati’s extra point tied it at 7-7 with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter.

Pascoe had 15 carries for 44 yards and also threw for 54 yards in the first half.

Pen Argyl answered with a 66-yard drive, highlighted by a 22-yard completion from Rissmiller to Tyminski on third and four before Rissmiller raced 38 yards for a touchdown on the next play to push the lead to 14-7 with 8:28 to play in the first half.

“It’s awesome, and we’ve gotten a lot better in the last few weeks, and it’s showing. Even two weeks ago in a loss to Palisades, we thought we improved,” said Green Knights’ coach Brady Mutton. “When you can do things like that, and they (Panther Valley) had a great game plan, running the clock, just run, run run, that’s the way to stop an explosive offense.

“But when we get those big plays, that puts the pressure on them and takes it off us real quick, because then they’re playing catch up, and you saw that today.”

After forcing a three-and-out, the Green Knights hit pair of big plays on their next scoring drive, with Rissmiller and Tyminski connecting for 21 yards before Rissmiller ran 34 yards for another touchdown with 1:30 to play in the first half to make it 21-7.

HADLEY RECOVERY ... Panther Valley forced a fumble on Pen Argyl’s opening series of the second half, which was recovered by Austin Hadley. But PV went three and out on its ensuing possession, and Kessler scored the 68-yard touchdown on the next drive.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME ... The game was played at Saucon Valley High School because a track surfacing at that time made Pen Argyl’s stadium unavailable.

WEEK 10 ... Panther Valley travels to Tamaqua for its regular season finale, while Pen Argyl hosts rival Bangor.