The feeling in the stadium .. on CV’s side of the field at least .. when the Indians tied the game with 3:46 on the clock was that CV had likely just forced overtime. They’d arguably been the better squad the entire second half, had all of the momentum and cut down on the turnovers that plagued them in the first half when they went down 14-0.

Starting with a good kickoff return by Luke Kreger that set NPM up at their own 35 yard line, Dominick opened the drive with what looked to be a nice gain on a pass to Cooper Shaw, but CV’s Levi Stahli made an exceptional play to break the pass up.

Dominick found Wagner for an eight-yard gain on second down, followed by a five-yard gain by George Perry that turned into a first-and-10 at the 31 yard line due to a facemask call against CV.

Three completions by Dominick to three different players .. Shaw, Wagner and Kreger .. eventually left the Panthers with a fourth-and-2 at CV’s four-yard line. 

Wagner’s defender on the fourth-down attempt fell down, leaving the speedy tailback all alone in the end zone when Dominick hit him for the game-winner with :29.1 seconds left in the game.

Dominick would complete 10 of his 22 pass attempts in the game, including five in the final drive, and finish with 96 yards and two touchdowns. 

Wagner carried the ball 21 times for NPM and gained 120 yards with a score and added four catches for 28 yards and the game-winner.

The Panthers took advantage of a couple CV turnovers in the first half to take their 14-0 lead.

The first score of the game was actually set up by a NPM turnover on downs at CV’s 15-yard line. The Indians gained eight yards on a pair of Dave Hess carries and faced a fourth-and-2. They’d get stuffed and  Wagner would eventually take it in from 15 yards out. Dominick’s kick was just right and the Panthers led 6-0 with 10:57 left in the half. 

On the ensuing return, Dave Hess set the Indians up in NPM territory at the Panther 47-yard line, but CV would fumble the ball away on the first play. After a pass interference call on CV gave NPM a first down and 10 at the Indians’ 35, Dominick threw a perfect over-the-shoulder pass to Kreger and the junior hauled it in for the score. 

Dominick’s pass on the two-point attempt was deflected, but ended up in the hands of Wagner to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead with 9:52 left before the break.

The Panthers took the second half kickoff and after stalling out on a drive at CV’s 33, Dominick pinned the Indians deep .. at their own two .. but CV drove the length of the field and completed the 98-yard drive on a 12-yard Graham Hess touchdown run with just 13 seconds left in the third quarter. Graham Hess would keep it on the two-point try and CV trailed 14-8.

Quarterback Graham Hess finished with 58 yards and a score on nine carries and was 6-of-10 for 80 yards passing with a pick. Dave Hess had 17 carries and gained 61 yards and scored CV’s final touchdown.

NPM would again turn over the ball on downs inside the red zone and CV took over at their own 16 with just over seven minutes left. After a couple short gains by Dave Hess and Fletcher Good, Graham Hess found Levi Stahli for a big gain out to midfield.

A targeting call on NPM set CV up with a first-and-10 at the Panther 13, and after Graham Hess took a draw to the NPM one, brother Dave covered the last yard and tied the game at 14-all with 3:46 left, setting up the Panthers’ game-winning drive.

For North Penn-Mansfield, the win improves their season record to 2-4, with four very winnable games remaining. They’ll start with a visit to 1-5 Athens next Friday night. Cowanesque Valley drops back to .500 with the loss at 3-3. They’ll take on 1-4 CMVT next Saturday in Bloomsbury at 1 p.m.

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