The Saints hung around, then the Panthers ran - and ran and ran - away.

In the first-ever Los Padres League meeting between the Pioneer Valley Panthers and the Santa Maria Saints Friday night at Santa Maria's Dave Boyd Field, the Saints hung tough through the first half before falling 56-7 to the Panthers.

The victory assures the Panthers (5-2 LPL, 7-3 overall) of a playoff spot from the LPL in the first year of league competition. The loss drops the Saints to 0-6 in the league and 2-7 overall.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first half,” said Santa Maria coach Barney Eames. “Then we just ran out of gas in the second half.”

The Panthers started their onslaught through the air with starting quarterback Bryan Byers hitting wide receiver Diego DiMiranda with a 12-yard touchdown pass. Not to be outdone, backup quarterback Peter Renteria hit DiMiranda with a 15 yard touchdown pass for the Panthers' second score.

Then Pioneer Valley unleashed its ground attack - 13 different runners carried the ball for a total of 458 yards and six touchdowns with a different ball carrier running for each of those TDs.

Santa Maria used 10 different running backs on their offensive attack but could manage just 112 yards on 52 carries as the Pioneer defense rose to the Saints' challenge.

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“Everybody got to play,” said Eames. “All our sophomores got into the game and got some big game experience.”

For the Panthers, Buddy Garcia carried the heaviest load, carrying the ball 11 times for 79 yards. Josiah Morales had 81 yards on six carries including one 51 yard romp and a 15 yard touchdown run. Frank Tovar matched Morales 81 yards on five carries. Tovar also had a 51 yard run and an eight yard touchdown run. Shane Vogt had just two carries - but they were good for 31 yards and a 45 yard TD run. Jaime Cardenas carried the ball just once, but it was good for a 6 yard touchdown. Chris Etheridge had two carries - the second a 12 yard touchdown and Vincent Guzman had 88 yards on four carries that included a 55 yard run and a six yard touchdown.

“The biggest thing is to get the kids behind the idea that we don't have one star running back. We have a whole team of them,” said Pioneer Valley coach Greg Dickinson. “We had 13 different guys carry the ball, two quarterbacks, five different guys had catches. That wears down the defense.“

The Panthers scored on their opening drive. Starting at their own 10 yard line, Pioneer Valley marched 90 yards on eight plays - capped off with Byers' 12-yard pass to DeMiranda. Andres Montiel kicked the point after for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Pioneer Valley's defense held Santa Maria to a three-and-out on the Saints' next possession. Facing a fourth-and-eight, the Saints were forced to punt. Quarterback Gauna also handles Santa Maria's punting duties and the snap to him was high. He got the punt off late and it was blocked - the ball bouncing forward, where Gauna scooped it up, eluded several tacklers, picking up nine yards and as first down.

“ When you block a punt and they end up getting a first down - well, that's kind of bad luck on our part,” said Dickinson. “They moved the ball well in the first quarter. We had to adjust to that to slow them down.”

That not only kept the drive alive, but also seemed to breath new life into the Saints offense.

Santa Maria marched down to the Pioneer Valley 10 yard line. Facing a fourth-and-two, coach Eames called a time out.

Pioneer Valley packed the line of scrimmage, ready to stop the run - but Gauna went up top. Throwing a 10-yard strike to Jacob Zarate. Edson Martinez's point after tied the score at 7-7 as the first quarter came to an end.

“Daniel had a big night - a really good night,” said Eames. “He played hard - in fact, all our guys played hard. The offensive line did a good job - Brady Cooke, Ronnie Bohannan, Dillon Ochoa, Juan Mendez and the rest of the line have been doing a real nice job all year and they really stepped it up tonight.”

Peter Renteria came in at quarterback on the Panthers' next offensive series. He led the team on a 9 play, 73 yard drive - capped off with the 15 yard pass to DeMiranda - and a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Back came the Saints.

Gauna led Santa Maria down the field - 12 plays, starting at their own 30 yard line. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the Pioneer Valley five, the Saints brought Martinez in to try a field goal. The snap was high. Gauna, the holder, tried to scramble into the endzone but was chased back and sacked for a big loss.

The Saints came away with no points and the momentum shifted to Pioneer Valley.

The Panthers came right back with a 6 play, 79 yard drive - Morales scored on his 15 yard run - and PVHS was up 21-7 at the half.

They kept right on running through the second half - Tovar scored on the Panthers' first possession of the second half. Then, in quick succession, Vogt, Cardenas, Etheridge and Guzman.

“We were able to play all 60 of the kids on our roster,” said Dickinson. “We're fortunate that we've got depth. We don't have one or two stars - we have 22 different starters on offense and defense.”

Our kids never quit,” said Eames. The Zarate twins (Jacob and Vincent) and Ryan Duran - guys like that play with a lot of heart. I think this is going to be the start of a real good rivalry.”

The Panthers have now completed their regular season schedule. They'll have next week off before beginning the CIF playoffs.

“We're excited about the playoffs,” said Dickinson. “Our goal was to compete for the league championship but to make the playoffs in our first year in the Los Padres League - well, I'm quite proud of these kids and what they've accomplished.”

The Saints wrap up their season next Friday night at Templeton.

SLO 29, Paso Robles 12

Conner Reese ran for two touchdowns and threw for one more in leading the Tigers to a PAC-7 road victory over the Bearcats at War Memorial Field.

Reese threw for 204 yards in the victory, connecting with top receiver Kevin Martin six times for 97 yards, and adding a nine-yard scoring pass to Andrew Acosta in the third quarter.

J.R. Felgenhauer ran for 137 yards and a touchown in the loss for the Bearcats, while Kevin Draper threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Brett Wise in the second quarter.

Cuyama 54, VCA 6

NEW CUYAMA - Jonathan La Farr rushed for 108 yards, but the Lions were plagued by turnovers in a Coast Valley League loss, called at halftime due to the 45-point mercy rule.

Daniel Ballew scored the Lions' lone touchdown on a one-yard plunge two minutes into the game.

The Lions finish the regular season with a 2-2 CVL record and a 2-6 overall record, hoping to gain an at-large berth in the Eight-Man playoffs.

Nov. 4, 2006