You could call him Panther Valley’s Swiss Army knife.

Senior Brennan Kunkel has done a little bit of everything for the Panthers this season, in part because of his versatility, but also because of injuries the team has suffered.

Last Friday against Shenandoah Valley, Kunkel lined up in the backfield and collected 140 yards rushing on 21 carries in the first half alone. He scored the only touchdown, and added a two-point conversion to give PV an 8-0 halftime lead.

Despite that success, the Panthers felt the team would benefit if Kunkel moved to the quarterback position.

So, without uttering a word of resistance, he went behind center. Despite not running the ball at all over the final two quarters, Kunkel ran the show exceptionally well and guided the Panthers to three scoring drives. One of those drives ended with him throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass as PV completed a 32-0 victory.

For his performance, Kunkel was named the Times News Football Player of the Week.

“Brennan had a big first half for us, running for 140 yards,” said head coach Mark Lavine. “Our line did a great job ... we were having issues and asked Brennan to go to quarterback in the second half. He is such a selfless kid that he didn’t think twice about it. I think he even used the line about spreading the love, getting other guys carries.

“Since (starting quarterback) Brody Breiner went down (he’s been getting snaps at quarterback). The thing with Brennan is he hurt his MCL in Week 2 versus Haven, so he’s not had that burst. He looked good versus Williams Valley, and he’s starting to get that burst back. But he didn’t have it (before that). That’s why we moved Benny (Ben Baneravage) to quarterback, to save Brennan because we knew he couldn’t have all the carries on that knee. But now the knee seems to be feeling better. But we still have to watch his carries, and watch that he doesn’t take too many shots on that knee.”

Simple math shows that if Kunkel would have duplicated his first-half numbers, he would have ended with over 40 carries and close to 300 yards.

But numbers don’t matter to the senior, nor does the position he plays.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me (where I play), as long as I’m just playing,” said Kunkel. “It’s my last year, so I honestly don’t care where I’m at on the field as long as I get to play.

“We desperately needed a win. We were playing really good teams in the middle of our schedule. We weren’t doing horribly, but we just had some mistakes we had to fix, and I feel like we capitalized and fixed those mistakes at Shenandoah.”

With the game still in the balance, leading 16-0 in the fourth quarter, Kunkel tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Phelps to help the seal the decision.

It was his first TD throw of the year.

“It felt good, just because I’m not a quarterback,” said Kunkel. “Just to finally get that touchdown pass. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it worked.”

“That was nice,” said Lavine. “It was a fourth down and we originally had a different call in, and our offensive coordinator looked down and changed the play late. It was open. Our line blocked it really well. It was nice for him to be able to throw one, and for Jeremy to catch one. Everything we’ve asked Brennan to do, he’s done. He’s a true team player, and he’s a great kid to coach.”

Lavine actually admits that Kunkel’s natural position on offense would be as a receiver, but the team needs him to perform in other roles. The same holds true on defense.

Probably better suited to be a cornerback, the coaching staff has used him primarily as a safety.

“He’s been a staple for us on defense,” said Lavine. “He probably should be a corner because he’s a good cover kid, but we’ve asked him to play safety. He’s a real good tackler, and he gets us lined up and does a lot of things for us. He’s good about protecting us from the home run stuff.”

Kunkel is more than just a two-way player, as his skills are also displayed on special teams, hence the Swiss Army knife reference.

“He’s a very athletic kid,” said Lavine. “He’s a good kick returner and punt returner for us, and he’s actually turned into a very good punter for us this year. We changed up our punt to kind of a more line drive to let it roll, and he’s been doing a great job with field position for us this year.

“He kind of does everything for us.”

For Kunkel, though, awards and stats are irrelevant. His focus is merely to play to the best of his ability — no matter where that is on the field.

“I just want to keep on working, fixing the little mistakes,” said Kunkel. “I fumbled a snap during the game, so I just want to fix the mistakes ... and keep on pushing forward.

“Hopefully we can keep up the energy and get a couple more wins.”