Saucon Valley 34, Notre Dame 21 — Rapid Recap
The Saucon Valley football stormed out to a 21-0 halftime lead and went on to post a 34-21 home win over Notre Dame on Friday night.
The Panthers snapped their two-game losing streak and broke up the Crusaders’ three-game winning streak.
Turning points: After Notre Dame quickly scored to start the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass from senior Andrew Darno to senior Christian Greggo to cut the Panthers’ lead to 21-7, the Crusaders looked like they could have a defensive stop on the ensuing possession. But the Panthers converted a fourth down on a roughing the punter penalty.
Saucon Valley then drove down the field following and Panthers senior Braydyn Lugardo scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 27-7 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
The Crusaders answered once again to trim the Panthers’ advantage to 27-14 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter. But Saucon Valley pushed the lead to 20 points with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Lugardo.
Top performers: Lugardo ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries on the Panthers’ Senior Night.
Saucon Valley sophomore quarterback Dante Mahaffey rushed for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries. He had touchdown runs of 50 and 39 yards in the first quarter.
Darno completed 8 of 15 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame. He also rushed for 90 yards and a score.
What it means: The Panthers improved to 6-3 on the season. They have already clinched a spot in the District 11 Class 4A playoffs. Saucon Valley will finish the regular season at Palisades next Friday night.
The Crusaders fell to 6-3 on the year. They will host Wilson next Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale and will need a victory to clinch a spot in the district 3A playoffs.
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.