HEGINS — After his team had suffered back-to-back losses, Tri-Valley head coach Jeff Sampson was hoping the Bulldogs would have a solid week of practice and play well against Panther Valley on Friday night.

Consider the challenge answered.

The Bulldogs came out and throttled the Panthers 49-7 in a Schuylkill League Division III game as Cole Gemberling and Parker Hatter each scored two touchdowns for Tri-Valley.

“Well, we got that touchdown on the opening kickoff and it settled us down right out of the gate,” Sampson said. “Those were two tough losses for our kids and I was hoping for, and we got, a good week of practice coming into the game.”

The Dawgs wasted no time, as sophomore Doyle Flory returned the opening kickoff 64 yards for a touchdown and Tri-Valley got a huge spark 11 seconds into the first quarter.

Six minutes later, Gemberling (8 carries, 90 yards) took a handoff right and scampered 16 yards to pay dirt as Tri-Valley built a 14-0 lead with five minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Panthers, whose runs gave the Dawgs some fits in the first quarter, were able to get Brennan Kunkel (23 carries, 106 yards) into open space. Unfortunately for the Panthers, their first offensive series stalled on a fourth-and-2 at the Tri-Valley 36.

Their second series was just as effective until the Panthers were forced to punt from midfield.

That’s when sophomore Trey Porter dazzled the homecoming crowd with an 84-yard punt return for touchdown, and the Dawgs led 21-0 with 31 seconds remaining in the quarter.

“I thought in the beginning of the game we were giving (Panther Valley) too much on the edge,” Sampson said of the Panthers’ early offensive success. “We knew coming into the game they were mostly a run-oriented team, so I thought we did well closing that down.”

Hatter, who is just a freshman, scored his first touchdown of the game four minutes after the punt return when he busted off a 14-yard TD run with 8:06 left in the second quarter.

Panther Valley went three and out and was forced to punt again.

The Dawgs began the drive at the Panthers’ 42 with 6:30 to play in the half.

Tri-Valley put together a six-play drive that was finalized by Gemberling’s second TD run of the game. The 5-foot-11 junior took a handoff right, made some moves on the sidelines and blazed his way into the end zone on a 43-yard run.

The Dawgs extended their lead to 35-0 with 3:27 to play until halftime.

Things only seemed to get worse for PV on its next offensive series.

The Panthers, forced to punt from their own 10, had the ball come off the punter’s foot into a Panther Valley blocker, and the pigskin was downed at the Panthers’ 9.

With 18.2 seconds left in the half, Tri-Valley’s Hatter zipped into the end zone on the very next play for a 42-0 lead at the break.

“We’re right where we want to be at this point,” Sampson said of his team’s 4-2 overall record. “We played two very tough football games in the last two weeks and the season is not over.”

With a running clock to the start the second half, neither team was able to secure any points in the third quarter.

Panther Valley got on the board with 10:21 to play in the game when senior Frank Shubeck ripped off a 31-yard touchdown run. It capped an 11-play, 78-yard drive to make it 42-7.

Tri-Valley senior running back Shawn Singh scored the game’s final touchdown three minutes later.

Singh went 60 yards to the Panthers’ 3, then followed with a 3-yard run to up the Dawgs’ lead to 49-7 with 7:31 left in the game.

The win, which came after losses to Nativity and Williams Valley in Weeks 4 and 5, was something that Sampson felt was important.

“We needed to get this win tonight,” Sampson said. “We’ve got some big games coming up, and we’ve got to keep moving forward and keep climbing that ladder to get to the top.”

Tri-Valley 49, Panther Vy. 7

Panther Valley 0 0 0 7 - 7

Tri-Valley 21 21 0 7 - 49

TV - Flory 64 kickoff return (Hillard kick)

TV - Gemberling 16 run (Hillard kick)

TV - Porter 84 punt return (Hillard kick)

TV - Hatter 14 run (Hillard kick)

TV - Gemberling 43 run (Hillard kick)

TV - Hatter 9 run (Hillard kick)

PV - Shubeck 31 run (Shepherd kick)

TV - Singh 3 run (Hillard kick)