After two games on the road, Blue Mountain is heading back home. They will take on The Saucon Valley Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Blue Mountain is not getting complacent, as they come into the match much higher ranked than Saucon Valley in Pennsylvania (Blue Mountain is ranked 120th, while Saucon Valley is ranked 275th).
Last Saturday, Blue Mountain got themselves on the board against Wilson Area, but Wilson Area never followed suit. They really took it to the Warriors for the full four quarters, racking up a 48-0 victory on the road. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Blue Mountain had established a 35 point advantage.
Blue Mountain haved a senior duo take command as Tyler Miller rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries and Payton Fasnacht rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries.
Meanwhile, Saucon Valley fell victim to Southern Lehigh's stalwart defense on Friday and couldn't make it onto the board. They were outmatched by the Spartans at home and fell 47-0. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Saucon Valley in their matchups with Southern Lehigh: they've now lost three in a row.
Blue Mountain's victory was their fifth straight on the road (dating back to last season), which bumped their overall record up to 5-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 29.8 points per game. As for Saucon Valley, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Blue Mountain has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 226.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Saucon Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 168.6 per game. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Blue Mountain couldn't quite finish off Saucon Valley when the teams last played back in October of 2022 and fell 24-21. Thankfully for Blue Mountain, Travis Riefenstahl (who threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
