The Schuylkill Valley Panthers had already won seven in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 20 points), and they went ahead and made it eight on Friday. They pulled ahead with a 14-13 photo finish over Annville-Cleona. This was payback for Schuylkill Valley, who suffered a 42-10 loss the last time these two teams met.
Annville-Cleona's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performance. Perhaps the best among them was Cael Harter, who rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown. Harter is on a roll when it comes to rushing yards, as he's now rushed for 100 or more in the last three games he's played.
Schuylkill Valley's victory was their third straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 8-1. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 2-7 Columbia and 2-7 Kutztown (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 37% over those games). As for Annville-Cleona, their defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-3.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Schuylkill Valley will challenge Lancaster Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Pennsylvania (Lancaster Catholic is ranked 275th, while Schuylkill Valley is ranked 280th). As for Annville-Cleona, they will head out on the road to face off against Northern Lebanon at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
