High School Game of the Week: A Win for the Wallkill Panthers

Opening night of the 2014 high school football season started off with a bang for the Wallkill Panthers, and in the end they were able to hold on for a hard-fought 31-21 victory against the tenacious Marlboro Dukes.

A packed crowd jammed into Robert J. Robinson field in Wallkill for Opening Day greetings and festivities.  Moments later, Panthers sophomore quarterback AJ Dembroski brought them to their feet by connecting with senior Nick Gomez on a 79-yard touchdown strike.

“It was awesome,” Dembroski said of the touchdown on the game’s second play from scrimmage. “I saw Gomez open, that was an amazing feeling!”

Another TD pass of 23 yards to Gabe Hernandez, along with a 47-yard TD scamper by Zach Slater, gave the Panthers a commanding 18-0 lead at the end of one quarter.  They seemed fully in control.

The big advantage wouldn’t last, however, as Marlboro got on the board when senior Alain Dumas zipped in from 34 yards out.  Wallkill’s Dembroski came right back and hit Gomez for another touchdown, this time for 55 yards, increasing Wallkill’s lead to 24-7.

The Dukes chipped away again as senior quarterback Ray Pacella ducked in for a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the Panther lead to 24-13.  The lead may have been cut further on Marlboro’s next drive, as Pacella and his Dukes threatened deep in Wallkill territory with a minute remaining in the half.  The rally was halted, however, when Panthers senior defensive back Will Ryder picked off Pacella for the second time in the game.

Marlboro opened the second half with a methodical, 60-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Dukes junior Tanner Harshberger.  The 2-point conversion cut the Wallkill lead to 24-21.

Unlike their first-half air attack, Wallkill then changed their approach and began to focus on the ground game.

“We just wanted to make sure that we were going to do whatever it took to win,” first-year Panthers head coach Rory Boice explained. “So if we saw something that was working we were going to stick with it for a little bit, until something else opened up.”

While the Panthers offense turned to the running game, the defense seemed to turn it up a notch as well.

“More hyped, more tackles,” Dembroski said of his teams’ second-half intensity. “Every time there was a tackle, to get around him and pump him up.”

Wallkill withstood another late Marlboro threat mid-way through the fourth quarter, before tacking on another score when Slater rushed for his second touchdown, this one from 12 yards out.

“It’s always important to get a big win,” Boice said of his team’s 31-21 victory. “These guys have worked hard.  They did a great job all night long.  We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on, definitely, but we’ll watch the film and get better from it.”

Opening games can often set the tone for a team’s season, as the Panthers displayed their character for their first-year head coach.

“We’ve got a lot of heart, they play hard and they play with passion,” Boice reflected after the game. “We’ve got to temper it a little bit.  I’ve got to temper it a little bit, and we’re a work in progress right now.”

With one game under their belt, the Panthers have aimed their season in the right direction.