SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - There was a possibility that tropical storm Philippe might impact Friday night’s football games.

The storm stayed well offshore and there was no rain during the games. But Panther Valley’s squad was impacted by a trio of on-shore Hurricanes named Carestia, Myers and Reber.

Those three Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes combined for nine running touchdowns against the Panthers during a 73-8 rout.

Quarterback Niko Carestia, a 5-10, 200 pound sophomore, Aiden Myers, a 6-foot, 205 pound running back and Colton Reber, a powerful second-string freshman, each gained more than 100 yards rushing.

Carestia rushed for four touchdowns and passed for two. Myers had three rushing TDs. Reber came in as a second-string runner in the third quarter and scored on runs of 60, 45 and seven yards.

By the half, Haven already had a 49-0 lead.

The only score for the Panthers didn’t happen until there was just a little over two minutes left to play when backup quarterback Matt Spino broke through the middle and ran for a 30-yard touchdown. Spino, a 5-8 sophomore, then found junior Brady Jones in the corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion.

Before that, the Panthers didn’t threaten.

A week ago, several Panthers got hurt against Palisades, losing two starting linemen for this week.

PV head coach Mark Lavine said, “We were down two linemen, so we had to move two fullbacks to the line, two who haven’t played line.”

He said, though, that its had little bearing on the outcome against the Hurricanes.

“But that happens to a lot of people this time of the season, especially small schools,” Lavine said.

He said you can’t use that as an excuse.

“They’re a very, very good football team,” he said. “They’re very physical up-front and their running backs are stacked with speed and size and very strong. And, we’re not a great tackling team right now. That’s what we have to get better at going forward.”

The Hurricanes focused on PV’s hard-nosed quarterback, sophomore Brody Breiner, keeping him contained in the pocket most of the game. Even speedster Brennan Kunkle was corralled, although he had some impressive kickoff returns taking the ball close to mid-field.

The Panthers didn’t get a first down until midway through the second quarter when Breiner hit Connor Penberth with a three-yard pass that put the ball on the 50 yard line. That was the deepest penetration the stingy defense of Schuylkill Haven allowed the Panthers to have until the fourth quarter when both teams had their back-ups playing.

IMPROVEMENT NEEDED ... Coach Lavine said he knew Schuylkill Haven would be a tough game but he also knows some improvements must be made. “I hope to get healthy for the next three games,” he said. “Also, we’ve got to tackle better, we’ve got to block better. We’ve got to do all the fundamentals much better.”

GOOD PV CROWD SUPPORT ... The win for Schuylkill Haven improves their record to 6-1. The Panthers are 2-5 overall. Despite the team struggling a little, the team has an impressive fan base. The visiting bleachers at the Schuylkill Haven High School stadium were at least 60 percent filled with PV fans.

NEXT UP ... Panther Valley concludes its trio of consecutive road games next Friday when it travels to Catasauqua. After that, there are two home games including a homecoming event against Pen Argyl on Oct. 20. Schuylkill Haven is also on the road next week, traveling to Pen Argyl for a Saturday afternoon contest.