2024 Football Preview: Panther Valley Panthers

Head Coach: Mark Lavine

Assistant Coaches:
Andrew Lynn
Paul McArdle
Joe Damiano
Shawn Hoben
Wally Breiner
Jon Williams
Tony Tessitore
Bill Maynard
Eric Seals

Team Name: Panther Valley Panthers

District: 11

Class: 3A

League: Colonial-Schuylkill League, Division C

2023 Record: 2-8

8/25 Salisbury (AA) 7:00 pm W 20-12
9/01 Tri-Valley (A) 7:00 pm L 12-42
9/08 @ Mahanoy Area (A) 7:00 pm L 0-40
9/15 @ Shenandoah Valley (AA) 7:00 pm W 39-21
9/21 Minersville Area* (A) 7:00 pm L 28-41
9/29 @ Palisades* (AA) 7:00 pm L 6-55
10/06 @ Schuylkill Haven* (AA) 7:00 pm L 8-73
10/13 @ Catasauqua* (AA) 7:00 pm L 6-55
10/20 Pen Argyl* (AA) 7:00 pm L 0-13
10/27 Tamaqua Area (AAA) 7:00 pm L 7-35

Key Starters Lost:
Brad Jones
Eli Maynard
Mergim Bushati
Brian Welser

Offensive Starters Returning:
Brody Breiner, Jr, QB, 5’10”, 170
Brennan Kunkel, Sr, TB, 6’0″, 180
Brady Jones, Sr, WR, 5’10”, 170
Marco Tessitore, JR, OL/DL, 6’2″ 315
Michael Williams, SR, OL, 5’10”, 215
Frank Shubeck, SR, WR, 5’11”, 160
Marcus Rodriguez, JR, FB, 5’10”, 215
Clinton Dyer, SR, OL, 5’10”, 240
Logan Fisher, SR, TE, 6’1″, 195
Zack Seifert, SR, OL, 6’0″, 215

Defensive Starters Returning:
Brody Breiner, Jr, DB, 5’10”, 170
Brennan Kunkel, Sr, TB, DB, 6’0″, 180
Brady Jones, Sr, DB, 5’10”, 170
Marco Tessitore, JR, DL, 6’2″ 315
Michael Williams, SR, DL, 5’10”, 215
Frank Shubeck, SR, DB, 5’11”, 160
Marcus Rodriguez, JR, FB/LB, 5’10”, 215
Clinton Dyer, SR, DL, 5’10”, 240
Logan Fisher, SR, LB, 6’1″, 195
Zack Seifert, SR, DL, 6’0″, 215

Special Team Starters Returning:
Brennan Kunkel, Sr, KR/PR, 6’0″, 180
Brady Jones, Sr, KR/PR, 5’11”, 170
Frank Shubeck, Sr, KR/PR, 5’11”, 160
Marcus Rodriguez, Jr, K, 5’10”, 215

Key Newcomers:
Gavin Yuricheck, Jr, WR/LB, 6’3″, 170
Ben Baneravage, Jr, WR/DB, 6’1″, 160
Peter Kurslicky, Jr, LB, 5’10”, 199
Jerry Harrison, So, OL/DL, 6’0″, 265
Spencer Black, So, OL/DL, 6’3″, 245
Carlos Maldanado, So, OL/DL, 6’1″, 250
Gino Williams, Jr, TE/DL, 6’1″, 220

2024 Returning Player Stats:
Brody Breiner, 682 yards passing, 4 TD’s, 495 rushing, 3 TD’s
Brennan Kunkel, 551 yards rushing, 10 TD’s
Brady Jones, 342 yards receiving 3 TD’s

2024 Offensive Outlook: We have several starters back and we also have some depth at a few positions which is a positive for us. We feel like we can be more balanced this year and throw the ball more than we have the last 2 years. That being said, we are excited about our offensive line and and returning backfield and feel like, to be successful, we want to run the ball and with that control the clock and time of possession. We have a lot of players with 2-3 years of starting experience that we will look to build upon and expect them to make plays for us.

2024 Defensive Outlook: We need to play better defense in order to be successful. Last year we did not tackle well and played very inconsistently on that side of the football and we can’t repeat that if we expect to be better. We feel like we had a great off-season in weight room and that will help in controlling the line of scrimmage and playing better team defense.

2024 Special Teams Outlook: We lost our kicker and punter and that is going to be a point of emphasis during camp. We have several players returning who returned punts or kicks last year so we feel like we are solid in that aspect.