Panther Valley is rebuilding.

The Panthers showed some glimpses Friday night that the rebuild is headed in the right direction in their match-up against an always-tough Tri-Valley squad. However, three first quarter turnovers by PV proved too much for it to overcome as the Bulldogs were able to come away with a 42-12 victory.

One of those flashes from the Panthers came on their first possession of the game, as they put together a seven-play drive that got them inside the TV 35-yard line. The drive was headlined by an opening play double pass that went for 24 yards to a wide-open Brady Jones. However, on Panther Valley’s eighth play of the possession a fumble would give Tri-Valley the ball at the 46 yard line, and just one play later, dynamic Bulldog running back Noah Porter would go 54 yards to the house.

Two more first quarter turnovers by PV - a second fumble lost and an interception - would help Tri-Valley lead 14-0 after one.

“We were down a bunch (28-0) at one point and some teams in the past that deficit would have quickly turned into 54-0,” said Panther Valley head coach Mark Levine. “In the second quarter, we were a play away from making it a 28-14 game at the half. That’s a tribute to these kids and what we’re building.

“They battled. Tri-Valley is a good football team. They don’t rebuild, they reload, and credit to them. They came out and controlled the line of scrimmage, and we’re just not there yet. We’re going to keep working, but I am proud that our kids showed no quit tonight.”

Tri-Valley looked to put the game away early in the second quarter, scoring two more touchdowns on a five-yard slant from quarterback Blake Schwartz to Layne Yoder and a hard-charging 12-yard touchdown run from Kash Tobin that made it 28-0 with 7:40 remaining in the half.

That’s when the Panthers would go to the air. On Panther Valley’s ensuing possession, it would go 69 yards in seven plays with all of those yards coming through the air from sophomore quarterback Brody Breiner. The drive culminated in a nice hookup from Breiner to his favorite target in Brady Jones from 17 yards out that put PV on the board.

The Panthers would then get the ball back with 1:30 remaining in the half after a huge defensive stop forced the Bulldogs to turn it over on downs at the Tr-Valley 45. The Panthers once again using the pass were able to drive all the way down to the five, but a false start penalty on fourth and goal would move them back to the 10-yard line and they were not able to cash in before the half.

The Tri-Valley defense shut down the Panthers in the third quarter, while its offense added an insurance score off a 52-yard scamper from sophomore Cole Gramberling to take a 35-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

“I think we played pretty well in the first half, but I think we got a little complacent there in that second quarter and credit to PV, they made some plays in the passing game,” said Tri-Valley head coach Jeff Sampson. “Defensively, we came out and played much better in third quarter. Really, all night I was happy with our defensive line and our linebackers. We were quick off the ball, and we didn’t give up much against their run game.”

DOMINANT DEFENSIVE FRONT ... The Bulldogs gave up just 28 yards on the ground on 28 PV rushing attempts. TV was also good up front on the offensive side of the ball as it rushed for 270 yards at 8.4 yards per carry.

THE RECORDS ... Tri-Valley improves to 1-1 and will head to Line Mountain next week. The Panthers fall to 1-1 and they will go on the road to Mahanoy Area for week three.

BRADY BUNCH ... Brady Jones caught a bunch of balls for the Panthers against Tri-Valley, hauling in eight catches for 128 yards and a score.