North Schuylkill head coach Wally Hall talks to his team after Thursday's 53-27 win over Panther Valley in a District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal in Fountain Springs (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Caden Mengel’s game plan for Thursday night was simple.

Enjoy the last football game on his home field with his senior teammates, keep the North Schuylkill offense clicking and advance to the next round of the District 11 playoffs.

The Spartans’ senior quarterback executed that plan to perfection.

Mengel threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as North Schuylkill downed Panther Valley 53-27 in a Class 3A quarterfinal at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.

Fellow senior Luke Miller rushed for 170 yards and scored four total touchdowns as North Schuylkill won its fifth straight game.

The victory advances the third-seeded Spartans (8-3) to a semifinal date with defending District 11 and PIAA Class 3A state champion Northwestern Lehigh at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, in New Tripoli. The Tigers won their 27th straight game with a 42-0 rout of Palmerton on Thursday.

“It doesn’t feel real right now … not ever playing here again,” Mengel said. “I’m happy we had a really good game, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

“Tonight, it was just about enjoying it, having a good time the last time on this field and coming out with the win.”

Panther Valley (4-7) had no answer for the North Schuylkill offense, which needed just 33 plays to score touchdowns on its first seven possessions.

Miller scored on runs of 6, 45 and 31 yards and caught a 26-yard TD pass from Mengel. Mengel also connected with Julian Nelson for a 38-yard touchdown and gave North Schuylkill a 40-12 halftime lead with a weaving, 31-yard TD run with 48.8 seconds left in the second quarter.

Mengel, who committed to play college football at Lebanon Valley College earlier in the week, finished 6-of-9 passing for 94 yards and rushed the ball three times for 41 yards.

“On the offensive side of the ball, we had a great night,” Mengel said. “We were really balanced with the run game and the pass game. It was good getting me and Luke both involved in the run game. It was fun.

“One last time here at home, it was a really good way to go out.”

While North Schuylkill’s offense was lighting up the scoreboard, the Spartans defense gave head coach Wally Hall and his staff some consternation.

Panther Valley put up a strong fight, scoring a pair of first-half touchdowns to keep the game respectable before punching in two more scores in the fourth quarter against the North Schuylkill reserves.

Things started poorly for the Panthers as Brody Breiner was intercepted on Panther Valley’s first offensive play by Casey Rader, who returned it 40 yards for a pick-6 touchdown that put North Schuylkill up 14-0 just 2:08 into the game.

But Panther Valley answered with an 18-play, 78-yard scoring drive that took just over 6 minutes off the clock. The drive featured a 15-yard roughing the punter penalty and a 15-yard pass interference infraction.

The Panthers got into the end zone when Breiner’s pass on fourth-and-6 from the 18-yard line was tipped by a North Schuylkill defender and caught by Ben Baneravage in the end zone for a touchdown.

“Defensively, we should have done a little bit better,” said Hall, whose club was penalized 11 times for 100 yards in the game. “But we won and we’re moving on.

“I’m sure we’re not going to be the same defensively next week going against Northwestern Lehigh.”

After two Mengel TD passes made it 27-6, Panther Valley reached the end zone again on a 38-yard pass from Breiner to Gavin Yuricheck.

Breiner finished 13-of-27 passing for 110 yards and rushed 23 times for 86 yards as Panther Valley racked up 11 first-half first downs and totaled 15 for the game. Yuricheck hauled in five passes for 68 yards.

“We wanted to compete,” Panther Valley coach Mark Lavine said. “We didn’t want to come in, lay down and let them roll all over us. We knew they were really good, we knew they were really big, really fast, well-coached.

“Let’s take a step where we can compete with good teams. Early on, I think we did. Our kids didn’t back down, never quit on us.”

For Lavine, he couldn’t say enough about the way his 10 seniors have restored some credibility to the Panther Valley program.

That senior class — which includes Breiner, Yuricheck, Baneravage, linebacker Peter Kruslicky, fullback Marcus Rodriguez, linemen Marco Tessitore, Zack Zabroski, Bobby Campomizzi and Ja’saad Smith and tight end/defensive end Gino Williams — helped Panther Valley win four games for the first time since 2009.

“That’s a good group of kids. We’re going to miss them,” Lavine said. “I’m proud of these guys. They’re a great group of kids.

“This was our first class when we took over four years ago and they bought in to everything we did. They’re just a great representation of our program.”

For North Schuylkill, it’s another date with Northwestern Lehigh. The Tigers have been a thorn in the Spartans’ side during Hall’s tenure in Fountain Springs.

Northwestern Lehigh is 4-0 against North Schuylkill since 2022, beating the Spartans 34-14 in the 2022 district final, twice last season, including 36-7 in the Class 3A championship game, and 49-18 earlier this season Sept. 26.

“This is it. This has been the game that has been slowing us down the past couple of years,” Hall said. “Obviously, they’re the team … 27 straight wins. This is what it’s all about.”

Game Summary

North Schuylkill 53, Panther Valley 27

District 11 Class 3A Quarterfinal

PV (4-7)          6          6          7          8  —    27

NS (8-3)          21        19        13        0  —    53

NS — Miller 6 run (Urban kick)

NS — Rader 40 interception return (Urban kick)

PV — Baneravage 18 pass from Breiner (pass failed)

NS — Miller 26 pass from Mengel (Urban kick)

NS — Nelson 38 pass from Mengel (run failed)

PV — Yuricheck 38 pass from Breiner (pass failed)

NS — Miller 45 run (kick blocked)

NS — Mengel 31 run (Urban kick)

NS — Miller 31 run (Urban kick)

NS — Kile 12 run (kick failed)

PV — Breiner 10 run (G. Williams kick)

PV — Nunez 20 run (Nunez run)

Team Statistics

                                    PV                NS

First Downs                15                 17

Rushes-Yards              31-138          23-250

Passes                          13-27-1        6-14-1

Passing Yards             110               94

Total Yards                 248               344

Fumbles/Lost              1-0                0-0

Penalties                      7-55              11-100

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Panther Valley — Breiner 23-86, Nunez 3-23, M. Rodriguez 1-14, Jones 1-9, Ingrassia 2-4. North Schuylkill — Miller 12-170, Mengel 3-41, Kile 4-39, Lopez-Montz 2-3, Deeter 2-(-3)

PASSING: Panther Valley —- Breiner 13-27-1, 110. North Schuylkill —- Mengel 6-9-0, 94; Deeter 0-5-1, 0.

RECEIVING: Panther Valley — Yuricheck 5-68, Baneravage 4-31, McArdle 3-3, M. Rodriguez 1-8. North Schuylkill — Nelson 4-62, Miller 1-26, Souchak 1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS: Panther Valley — McArdle. North Schuylkill — C. Rader.