BLOOMSBURG — A defensive struggle turned into a fourth-quarter scoring brawl between Panther Valley and Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech on Saturday.

The Panthers might have gotten the upper hand if it hadn’t been for Jake Shotwell.

Shotwell, a 5-10, 190-pound junior running back for CMVT, carried for 104 of his 118 total rushing yards in that last period, including two long touchdown jaunts.

He also caught the two-point conversion pass. The result was a 14-12 Rams victory.

“They just took it to us, and we’ve got to get more physical,” said first-year Panther Valley coach Rick Jones. “We’ve tot to get better, and we’ve got to get a little more disciplined.”

Jones credited his team with “playing hard,” but added, “We’ve just got to get better.”

The two teams took a scoreless tie into the final quarter. The scoring then went wild, with PV taking the lead with only 2:14 left to play.

Penalties played a major role in the loss for PV, including setting up the go-ahead Rams touchdown.

After the late TD by the Panthers, a 15-yard penalty moved the kickoff back, and the Rams got the ball on the PV 46.

Shotwell then came into action. Twice he ran outside, first getting to the 23, then to the end zone to make it 14-12.

A third-quarter penalty also factored into the loss, as it looked like the Panthers would score when Blake White recovered a fumble and dashed 62 yards untouched for what seemed like a sure six points. But, an illegal block call moved the ball back to the Rams 47, and PV was unable to capitalize.

CMVT then scored early in the fourth, when Shotwell plowed through right tackle and rumbled for 50 yards and a touchdown. QB Caleb Dawson then passed to Shotell in the end zone for the points after.

The Panthers came right back as Jaden Shubeck recovered an onside kick on the PV 42. A few plays later, quarterback Ethan Reis threw to White on a hook route, and White found smooth sailing down the right sideline, scoring with 8:30 left. A pass for the extra points fell incomplete.

PV had the Rams backed deep into their territory. The Rams decided to go for a first – and run the clock out – on a fourth and one. But the running back dropped the ball and senior Shawn Hoben picked it up and dashed into the end zone. For Hoban, it was probably the biggest play of his career, as it put his team up 12-8 very late in the game.

CMVT coach Mark Varner was unapologetic for the play call on going for first down so deep and so late. “I feel our offense can get half a yard at any time,” he said.

Varner said the key to victory was, “We just didn’t give up. We thought we could run the clock out on fourth down.”

“What happened was a fumble,” he said. “But the kids didn’t hang their heads. We took the ball down and you know we made a couple of really nice plays.”

For Panther Valley and Jones, the loss is part of the rebuilding experience.

“We’re not doing things as efficiently as I’d like us to do,” Jones said. “It’s a new system. I’m their third head coach in four years. We have to find balance.We’re not there yet. We got a lot of work ahead of us.”

FINAL MEETING? ... This is the fourth straight year that PV has opened its season against CMVT, winning the first three outings. “I believe this ends and it’s a shame,” Varner said. “I would hope we could keep it. Panther Valley is moving to a new conference next year and I don’t know if there’s room for us.”

A WORK IN PROGRESS ... Jones said after the game, “we made some nice plays. We’re very, very inexperienced up front. We switched our defensive front from the scrimmages and it took a little while to adjust. I don’t know if we really did adjust. We just gotta keep battling. I knew when I took this job it’s a challenge.”

THREE ON SIDE KICKS ... At the start of the second half, and after both their touchdowns, CMVT tried onside kicks. The first one was recovered by the Rams’ Cole Wynings. Jaden Shubeck and freshman Michael Pascoe jumped on the other two for PV.