WHITEHALL — Panther Valley has seen some proficient defenses throughout the season.

But nothing could compare with what the Panthers faced Friday night against Allentown Central Catholic in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class 4A playoffs.

Blessed with size and athleticism, the Vikings used a suffocating pressure defense against PV in the second quarter to force numerous turnovers and gain transition baskets to turn a manageable game into a rout.

The 69-35 victory by Central moves it into the semifinal round, while the loss ends the Panthers’ season.

“Obviously, that run that they had in the second quarter was a killer,” said Panther Valley head coach Pat Crampsie. “Their pressure defense is something we can’t replicate. Their length across the board is something we haven’t seen all year. We play some very good team in the Schuylkill League. You look at a Minersville, a Mahanoy Area, a Pottsville and those teams, but it’s another level when you have that many athletes and that much length.

“It was hard for us to find passing lanes, and it kind of snowballed there and they went on a big run. We knew they were going to make runs, and we wanted to try to kind of limit them, and use fouls if necessary, to prevent transition points. But with a team that good, it can get away from you quick, and that’s what happened.”

Leading 17-9 after the first quarter, the Vikings unleashed their pressure defense to start the second and it gave PV fits.

Central forced nine turnovers and allowed just four shots in the period and outscored the seventh-seeded Panthers by a 21-2 margin to extend the advantage to 38-11 and put the game out of reach early.

“We knew coming in they had some guys that can catch and shoot, and they got a couple looks early and got into a little bit of a rhythm,” said ACC mentor Dennis Csensits. “I thought in the second quarter, when we were able to extend our defense and force them to play off the dribble a little bit more, we were able to force some mistakes and get out in transition.

“All season long when I’ve watched them, they’ve been really good on the offensive glass, and obviously if you can’t get shots you can’t get offensive rebounds. So I thought our guys did a good job with our ball pressure throughout.”

Like Csensits mentioned, Panther Valley was in a good groove early. Brady Jones and Brody Breiner both knocked down three-pointers in the first half of the opening quarter to force an 8-8 tie.

But Central closed the frame on a 9-1 run, getting a trey from Jared Ford and a pair of baskets from Yariel Gonzalez.

“Obviously we knew we had our work cut out for us, and we knew we were playing one of the best teams, regardless of class, in PA,” said Crampsie. “We had to come in with the mindset that we we’re here to compete. It’s not a situation where we’re just happy to be here. We wanted to come out and we wanted to compete, and I thought we did that.

“Their length and athleticism was very difficult, especially across the board it was pretty much a height mismatch at every position, so at times that’s tough to overcome. I thought we absorbed their initial blow and thought we came out ready to play. We had the right mindset, and I was happy because the kids played their butts off the whole game. They didn’t quit. They continued to make plays.”

Despite being down by 27 at the half, the Panthers battled in the third and managed to put up 16 points, including eight from Logan Fisher. Unfortunately for PV, Central had built the lead to 30 at one point to bring into play the mercy rule and a running clock.

“It was a very enjoyable year,” added Crampsie. “This team was a lot of fun to coach. We have a real nice mix of seniors that we’re going to miss but also a lot of underclassmen that are coming back. I’m happy the program’s at a point where we not only expect this at the varsity level, but we’re seeing the benefits of our booster program, and our junior high, freshman, and JV teams are very competitive as well.

“Our goal now is to take the next step where we can compete with teams at this level.”

LEADING SCORERS ... Gonzalez, at 6-5, was a thorn in PV’s side. He scored 19 points and had seven rebounds. Lucas Mushrush, a solid 6-2 guard, was the game’s high scorer with 21. Fisher topped the Panthers with 11 points, while Jones ended with eight.

UP NEXT ... Central, the No. 2 seed, faces third-seeded Saucon Valley in the semis on Tuesday. The Panthers edged Salisbury by a 43-41 score.

PANTHER VALLEY

Krynock 0-0-0-0, Fisher 4-3-5-11, Penberth 1-0-0-3, Jones 3-0-0-8, Breiner 1-1-2-4, Neziri 0-0-2-0, Wehr 1-0-0-3, Baneravage 1-0-0-2, Gjoca 0-0-0-0, McArdle 0-1-2-1, Thomas 0-0-0-0, Caffery 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 12-5-11-35.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC

Isbell 0-0-0-0, Gonzalez 6-6-9-19, Leak 1-0-0-2, Villegas 2-0-0-6, Schmell 1-0-0-2, Hosak 1-0-0-2, Ford 1-0-0-3, Roth 2-0-0-4, Vigo 3-0-0-7, Eddinger 0-0-0-0, Mushrush 8-2-2-21, Rader 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 26-8-11-69.

Panther Valley 9 2 16 8 - 35

Central Catholic 17 21 16 15 - 69

Three-pointers: Panther Valley - Jones 2, Breiner 1, Wehr 1, Penberth 1, Caffery 1; Central Catholci - Mushrush 3, Villegas 2, Gonzalez 1, Ford 1, Vigo 1, Rader 1.

Records: Panther Valley (12-11); Central Catholic (20-4).