It was a good, old fashioned barnburner Friday night at Pioneer Valley High School.

The Panthers were hosting their first-ever Los Padres League home game - with the St. Joseph Knights coming across town.

This see-saw battle went to the Knights - who pulled out a 23-17 victory in their Los Padres League opener.

“This was a great high school football game,” said St. Joseph head coach Mike Hartman. “There were two very good football teams on the field tonight. This is what happens when two good teams meet.”

“This was a good football game,” said Pioneer Valley head coach Greg Dickinson. “We're really proud of these kids. They played very hard. They held their own against a tough opponent.”

This one went back and forth all night - with the lead changing hands six times before the outcome was decided.

The Knights (2-2, 1-0 LPL) were led by running back Thomas Sua. He piled up 180 yards on 32 carries with two touchdowns. Sua also hauled in three Chase Sanders passes for another 20 yards.

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St. Joseph quarterback Sanders ran for just seven yards on two carries - but one of those was a one-yard touchdown run that gave the Knights one of their three leads on the evening. Sanders also completed nine of 15 passes for 65 yards with one interception.

Wide receiver Scott Cathcart caught three passes for 19 yards and picked up another 29 yards on end around running plays.

Tight end John Gregory (one catch, 13 yards) and wide receiver Patrick Cusack (one catch, 14 yards) also contributed big plays to the offense.

The Panthers' (3-2, 1-1 LPL) attack was led by running back Josiah Morales with 29 yards on eight carries and Frank Tovar with 20 yards on seven carries.

PVHS quarterback Bryan Beyers completed six of 14 passes for 72 yards and one interception late in the game.

Wide receiver Diego DeMiranda hauled down three of those receptions, including a 33-yard touchdown strike.

“Diego had a good game. He caught some important balls early and caught the late touchdown that put us back in the lead,” said Dickinson.

This was one of those ‘last man standing' games with two equally matched teams battling in the trenches from the opening kickoff until the final play.

After St. Joseph opened the game by going three-and-out, Pioneer Valley started their first drive from their own 28 yard line. From there, the Panthers marched down to the St. Joseph 16-yard line when the drive stalled.

Andres Montiel came in, kicked a 33-yard field goal, and the Panthers were up 3-0 with 5:24 left in the first quarter.

St. Joseph then got the ball at their own 31 yard line. The Knights quickly marched the remaining 69 yards on six plays - five Sua runs and an incomplete pass.

On the first play of the drive, Sua ran for 10 yards. On the last play of the drive, Sua ran for 47 yards and a touchdown. John Wood's extra point put the Knights up 7-3 with 2:37 left in the first quarter.

Back came the Panthers.

PVHS put together an 11-play, 60-yard drive with Frank Tovar scoring on a 2-yard run with 8:47 remaining in the first half. Montiel's extra point put the Panthers back on top 10-7.

St. Joe's came right back, putting together their own 11-play 58-yard drive - capped off by Sanders' one-yard quarterback sneak at the 3:08 mark. Wood's PAT put the Knights back on top 14-10 (lead change number four).

“Defensively, we played very well,” said Dickinson. “Justin Buchan did a great job on the interior line. (Twin brothers) Josh and Shane Vogt played extremely well.”

At this point, you had the sense that whoever had the ball last in this game would pull out the victory.

“At halftime, we told the team that the team that handled adversity the best would win,” said Hartman. “Thus was a big game for us - a big second half - because the kids stepped up and made the plays.”

On the Knights' first second half possession, the Panthers' Shane Vogt intercepted a Sanders pass and returned it to the St. Joseph 33 yard line.

On the next play, Beyers hit DeMiranda with a perfect strike that was good for a 33-yard touchdown. Montiel's extra point put the Panthers back on top 17-14 midway through the third quarter (lead change number five).

“I thought when we took the 17-14 lead that we were in a good position. We had them off balance,” said Dickinson. “But they made that drive at the end that proved to be the difference.”

With six minutes remaining in the game, the Knights got the ball on their own 36-yard line. 10 plays later, Sua powered into the endzone from the six yard line. With Woods' PAT, the Knights were back on top 21-17 with 44.3-seconds left in the game (lead change number six).

“We challenged the seniors to step up and be the leaders we know they can be,” said Hartman. “Thomas Sua, safety Joey Baldacchino, linebacker Tyler Kirchhof, safety Patrick Cusack, tight end John Gregory. They're all seniors on this squad. These were seniors stepping up for us tonight.”

But there was still a lot of football left to be played in those final 44.3-seconds.

With Pioneer Valley backed up to their own one-yard line, St. Joseph's Shawn Winters sacked the Panthers' Beyers in the back of the endzone. St. Joe was up 23-17.

The Panthers then tried an on-side kick and recovered the ball at their own 34-yard line. Beyers tried two long passes in the final 14.1 seconds. The first was batted down by St. Joe's Shawn Philipps. The second was intercepted by Travis English as time expired.

“I thought we played well enough to get a win,” said Dickinson. “We just didn't get it done. But we're a young team and our future looks bright.”

“It was a fantastic start,” said Hartman. “You always want to win your league opener. We'll be facing another good team in another big game next week.”

The LPL season continues for both squads next Friday night (kickoffs at 7:30) with Santa Maria visiting St. Joseph and Nipomo visiting Pioneer Valley.

Sept. 30, 2006