PINE GROVE — Tri-Valley head coach Jeff Sampson called it a sloppy start.
Some might argue that, but no matter.
With a 42-0 Schuylkill/Colonial Blue Division victory over Pine Grove on the road Friday night, Sampson’s Dawgs are off to a perfect 3-0 start and will ride that momentum into next week’s divisional matchup with Nativity.
“I think it’s huge,” said Sampson of his team’s three consecutive victories to open the season. “I don’t think anyone expected us to be 3-0 this year, but we are.  We have a huge game next week with Nativity, and there’s a lot of stuff on the line as far as playoffs.
“We’re enjoying things right now, and we just have to keep going and see where it takes us.”
As for the Dawgs’ start against Pine Grove, actually, it’s was pretty good, especially when Max Masser took the opening kickoff and raced 91 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.
Then, after forcing a three-and-out on the Cards’ first offensive series, they marched 68 yards in 11 plays, with Cole Gemberling going in from three yards out for the first of his three touchdowns on the game to make it 14-0.
Late in the second quarter, Gemberling added his second touchdown on another 3-yard run, making it 21-0 at the intermission.

Still, Sampson wasn’t satisfied and lit a fire under his team during the halftime break.
“I was disappointed with our play in the first half,” Sampson said. “I thought we could have played better on offense and on defense.
We came out flat, I knew it right from the start. I knew it was going to be a flat game and that’s what happened.
“We made some adjustments at halftime, gave them a little bit of a talking to and they responded well.”
The Dawgs’ response went beyond “well.”
Running a grand total of just two offensive plays in the third quarter, the Dawgs put the game out of reach, scoring three touchdowns to make it 42-0.
Gemberling scored the first on a 10-yard run that followed the first of Trey Porter’s two third-quarter interceptions.
The second came when Donovan Keeth recovered a Pine Grove fumble in the end zone, and the third came when Blake Schwartz followed Porter’s second interception with a 12-yard scoring run.

Porter set those scores up with returns of 20 and 53 yards on his picks.
Gemberling, who Sampson refers to as the Dawgs’ “workhorse” on the offensive side, ran the ball only 12 times for 44 yards, but was strong and effective when they were in the red zone.
“He’s our workhorse,” Sampson said. “He didn’t get to run the ball as much as I would have liked, but we won.
“He’s a leader, and I’m proud of him as a leader of this football team. He’ll get his carries.”
For Gemberling, a junior, the victory was big and all about the team.
“Offensively, I carry the ball a lot, but it’s a team effort,” Gemberling said. “Real great team effort today.
“It means a lot, 3-0. Last week against Marian, that was a tough game and we played great as a team. Great win for us, and now we come to Nativity, another great team.”
Pine Grove (0-3, 0-2 Blue) never got its offense started. The Cards managed only 80 total yards and four first downs. Their deepest penetration into Tri-Valley territory came on the final possession of the third quarter and that ended at the 36 when a fourth-and-7 pass fell incomplete.
Pine Grove will look to rebound next Friday night when the Cardinals travel to Panther Valley.