The Panthers’ were unable to get much going on the ground .. as QB Cooper Shaw had all 46 yards of North Penn-Mansfield’s rushing yards on 17 carries, but did find success through the air as the senior completed 13 of his 21 attempts for 162 yards and a score to junior Luke Kreger.

Defensively, NP-Mansfield couldn’t contain Towanda QB Riley Vanderpool, who was seeing his first action of the ’24 season and ran for 159 yards and a touchdown and added 63 yards passing.

Vanderpool opened the night’s scoring on Towanda’s first possession, breaking numerous tackles during a 28-yard scamper with 9:11 left in the first quarter. 

The Panthers would punt away their initial possession and Towanda took advantage of a short field and would score on a 4-yard Tashon Gardner run with just over two minutes left in the opening frame. 

NP-Mansfield put together a drive on their next possession, which took the game into the second quarter, but they stalled out at Towanda’s 35 and chose to punt, giving Towanda the ball at their own 18.

The Black Knights drove into the Panthers’ red zone quickly and got a 7-yard TD run from Rylee Sluyter with 4:40 left in the half. Kicker Jack Wheaton’s third extra point attempt was good and Towanda led 21-0. 

The Panthers returned the ensuing kickoff back out to their own 30 and after a pair of short completions to Kreger, Shaw found his favorite target on a slant and the junior receiver broke several tackles and found the end zone from 62 yards out. The extra point attempt failed and the Towanda lead stood at 21-6 with 2:39 remaining before the break. 

Coming out of the locker rooms, NPM would end up punting away their first possession of the second half but then forced a Towanda turnover-on-downs and took over at their own 23. 

A 16-yard completion from Shaw to Colton Pellet on 3rd-and-26 took the game into the final quarter, where the Panthers once again had to punt the ball back to the Black Knights. 

Towanda reached the NPM 28 yard line on their next drive, but the Panther defense forced a 4th-and-13 incompletion and had the ball with 5:38 left in the game.

Mansfield drove into Towanda territory but faced a 4th-and-6 at the Black Knight’s 38. An incomplete pass handed the ball back to Towanda and the Knights were able to run out the clock to seal the win. 

Defensively, Shaw led the Panthers with 10 solo tackles while assisting on two others, while freshman safety Sudan Benner had seven solo stops. 

The Panthers (1-2) will look to rebound next Friday night when they host the Canton Warriors at Island Park in Blossburg.

Rushing

Riley Vanderpool — 19 carries, 159 yards, TD

Caden Delamater — 13 carries, 86 yards

Tahshon Garner — 2 carries, 8 yards, TD

Rylee Sluyter — 2 carries, 7 yards, TD

Gage Evans  — 3 carries, 30 yards

Reese Sluyter — 1 carry, -5 yards

Passing 

Vanderpool — 3-10, 63 yards

Re. Sluyter — 0-1

Receiving 

Garner — 1 catch, 27 yards

Ry. Sluyter — 2 catch, 36 yards

Rushing

Cooper Shaw — 17 carries, 46 yards

George Perry — 2 carries, 0 yards

Luke Kreger — 1 carry, -1 yards

Passing

Shaw — 13-21, 162 yards, TD

Receiving

Kreger — 9 catch, 131 yards, TD

Riley Oakes — 1 catch, 1 yard

Colton Pellett — 3 catches, 36 yards

Team — -6 yards on backwards pass

T — Riley Vanderpool 28-yard TD run (Wheaton kick), 7-0 9:11 first quarter

T — Tahshon Garner 4-yard TD run (Wheaton kick) 14-0 2:04 first quarter

T — Rylee Sluyter 7-yard TD run (Wheaton kick) 21-0 4:40 second quarter

N — Luke Kreger 62-yard TD reception from Cooper Shaw (Kick failed) 21-6 2:39 second quarter

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