SHENANDOAH – Brennan Kunkel couldn’t wait to board the Panther Valley team bus and head to Veterans Memorial Field Friday evening.

Kunkel has an affinity for playing against Shenandoah Valley.

The superb all-around athlete is a do-it-all for his Panthers, and he did it most of the night slashing, gashing and chewing up the Blue Devils (0-8) defense in helping his team to a 32-0 win.

For nearly all of the first half, Kunkel was driving the opposition dizzy the way he did last fall on the same field when Kunkel torched Shenandoah Valley for a school record six touchdowns and rushed for 324 yards.

He didn’t do that type of damage this time around, but he was extremely effective in the first two quarters.

Kunkel rushed for 128 yards on 20 carries in the opening half, including a 17-yard jaunt to the end zone that put his team up in the first quarter.

“He is such a team player, he doesn’t care where he plays,” said Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

Panther Valley has been scrambling to find a quarterback since Week 4 when Brody Breiner suffered a season-ending injury. Kunkel got the call, and looked every bit as good under center.

“I had decent first half,” Kunkel said. “We just want to spread the love.”

It was evident with scatback Brady Jones piling on 64 yards, while adding two PATs rushing. There was Troy Nunez getting his number called 12 times for 47 yards.

The shared love found Marcus Rodriguez hitting the end zone on a 1-yard run. Tight end Jeremy Phelps hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Kunkel before Frank Schubeck scored on a 4-yard run that was setup when Marco Tessitore recovered a fumble at the Shenandoah Valley 4-yard line on a botched punt attempt.

“Marco has been an absolute beast,” said Lavine. “He tore his ACL on the ninth play of the season, and he has been playing with it (ever since). He’s been a heck of a player for us… he’s the heart and soul of our defensive line.”

That defense was paramount all night, giving Shenandoah Valley fits. All the Blue Devils could muster was a grand total of one yard of offense. Panther Valley completely shutdown the Blue Devils run game, containing speedy sophomore Joel Nunez, the go-to running back for his team.

The Panthers got the first half kickoff and mounted a picture-perfect 10-play drive engineered by Kunkel.

The Panthers kept hitting the belly of the Shenandoah Valley defense, Kunkel getting eight of the 10 snaps before he blurted into the end zone on a 17-yard dash, He raced into the end zone for the bonus points and an 8-0 lead with just 5:53 left to play in the quarter.

“We were a little disappointed that we didn’t (score) more in that first half,” Lavine said. “We missed so many chances in the red zone in that first half. That was a concern because we were worried that they could pop a big one.”

But that was never happening because the Panther defense was dominating. Shenandoah Valley ran only 15 total plays in the first half, and only 16 offensive plays in the second half. The biggest tale of the tape – one first down that came in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Panther Valley roared down the field on its first possession of the second half as Rodriguez slashed into the end zone from a yard out, capping off a 9-play drive. Jones added the deuce for a 16-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Panthers hit the end zone two more times. They caught the Blue Devils napping on a fourth down play from the 10-yard line. Kunkel floated back, found Phelps free in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and Nunez’s run for the two-point conversion made it 24-0. ‘

Soon after, the PV defense forced another Devils punt that never got off the ground at the 2-yard line. The Panthers never wasted a second calling on Schubeck to saunter into the end zone on a 4-yard run with 4:27 to play and Jones added the two-point try with a run to set the final count.

QUOTEBLE… “We had one heck of a run (with) Nativity, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley. If we stay together over the next two weeks we can finish strong,” Lavine on the Panthers after eight weeks of play.

JUST ONE TIME… Panther Valley had to punt but once. Shenandoah Valley ran punter Sam Mentusky six times. Mentusky is borrowed off the Blue Devils’ powerhouse soccer team. He averaged over 42 yards a boot.

HE SAID IT… “Offensively, we didn’t block. We can’t run the ball. We can’t pass the ball.” Dave Bench, the first-year Shenandoah Valley coach.

Panther Vy. 32, Shenandoah 0

Panther Valley 8 0 8 16 - 32

Shenandoah Valley 0 0 0 0 - 0

PV - Kunkel 17 run (Kunkel run)

PV - Rodriguez 1 run (Jones run)

PV - Phelps 10 pass from Kunkel (Nunez run)

PV - Schubeck 4 run (Jones run)