The first Friday night of the high school football season in Schuylkill County is in the books with just one game still yet to be played between Shenandoah Valley and Columbia-Montour Vo Tech on Saturday afternoon.
Here’s how local teams performed Friday night.
Palmerton 34, Marian Catholic 33
Marian (0-1) led Palmerton (1-0) 20-6 at halftime but couldn’t hold on for a season-opening win Friday night in Hometown.
The Blue Bombers outscored the Colts 28-13 over the final two quarters including 16 points in the fourth quarter to win 34-33.
Gregory Tirpak had a strong night for Marian, completing 11-of-19 passing attempts for 254 yards and three touchdowns. However, the star of the night for the Colts was senior running back Tyler Price who totaled 115 rushing yards and 104 receiving yards in the loss plus three touchdowns.
Senior tight end Rocco Griguoli, who holds offers from Lehigh and Stonehill, had a terrific night as well with 168 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For Palmerton, the Blue Bombers totaled over 400 yards of offense on the evening, being led by quarterback T.K. Gursky, completing 13-of-20 passing attempts for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Michael Geary had 136 rushing yards as well.
Marian will look to bounce back next Friday night when it travels to Lansford to take on Panther Valley.
Panther Valley 34, Mahanoy Area 25
A week one matchup between two teams both looking to take a step forward in 2026 turned into a back-and-forth affair on Friday evening in Lansford.
After Mahanoy Area (0-1) led 7-0 after one, Panther Valley (1-0) scored twice in the second quarter to take a 14-13 lead into halftime after the Golden Bears missed an extra point on their second touchdown of the day.
The Panthers posted 14 more in the third quarter and led 28-19 after three quarters before putting the game away in the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown by Maynard.
It was Panther Valley’s rushing attack that led the Panthers to victory including 119 rushing yards from sophomore quarterback Cy Maynard. The sophomore, making his first career start, also completed 9-of-12 passing attempts for 92 yards.
Panther Valley will host Marian Catholic next Friday night while Mahanoy will be on the road for a second-straight week, traveling to Catasauqua.
Minersville 27, Halifax 7
The post-Dante Carr era of Minersville football got off to a fantastic start Friday night in Minersville as the Battlin’ Miners (1-0) defeated Halifax (0-1) 27-7.
The Miners led 7-0 after one quarter of play and 20-0 at halftime, never looking back in the second half.
New starting senior quarterback Derek Derenzo was 8-for-12 for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the win for Minersville. Senior receiver Jordan Bowers was on the receiving end of both touchdowns. Bowers totaled three receptions for 86 yards in the win. Senior Camden Rodgers had four receptions and 42 yards as well.
Derenzo was also strong on the ground for Minersville with nine carries for 114 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Sophomore tailback John Lutsky totaled 13 carries for 81 yards and a score on the ground.
Defensively, Derenzo and freshman Jose Farrell led the Miners with seven tackles.
The Battlin’ Miners will look to improve to 2-0 next week when they travel to Jim Thorpe.
Jersey Shore 49, North Schuylkill 34
North Schuylkill (0-1) led Jersey Shore (1-0) 20-14 at halftime but didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with the Bulldogs in the second half, falling 49-34.
Despite the loss, it was a promising debut for North Schuylkill sophomore quarterback Brock Holmes as the program’s starting quarterback.
Holmes was 9-of-13 through the air for 83 yards in the loss while also totaling 88 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Senior running back Angel Ortiz, taking over the lead back role in the offense, was spectacular as well with 144 yards across 18 carries. Daniel Brake also provided firepower out of the backfield with 73 rushing yards of his own.
Jersey Shore junior quarterback Nolen Pauling was 13-for-21 in the win for the Bulldogs with 266 yards and four passing touchdowns while totaling 124 yards and two scores on the ground.
Junior receiver Carter Rhinehart had a big night for Jersey Shore as well with seven receptions for 152 yards and a trio of scores.
The Spartans will have to regroup quickly after the loss as they’ll host defending District 11 Class 3A champion Notre Dame-Green Pond next Friday.
Lehighton 44, Tamaqua 20
A slow start for Tamaqua (0-1) was too much to overcome Friday night as Lehighton (1-0) used a 14-point first quarter and an early 23-0 lead to beat the Blue Raiders 44-20.
Lehighton running back Lukas Croizier ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the win for the Indians while Tamaqua’s Terrence McDowell struggled to find success of his own.
Blue Raiders quarterback Jaxon Faneck had two touchdown passes in the loss, one to Chance Makovec and one to Ayden Kovalchick.
Tamaqua will be back in action next Friday when it hosts the Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes.
Line Mountain 14, Tri-Valley 7
Tri-Valley (0-1) struck first on Friday night against Line Mountain (1-0) in Hegins but struggled to find enough offense to hold on for a victory.
After Donovan Keeth opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 5-yard touchdown, the Bulldogs failed to score again. The Bulldogs finished with under 150 yards of total offense in the loss.
Parker Hatter was Tri-Valley’s top offensive standout with 17 carries for 81 yards.
While the Tri-Valley defense did its best to keep Line Mountain at bay, the Eagles finally broke through in the fourth quarter on a touchdown by Luke Malfara.
His brother Henry Malfara added a 44-yard touchdown reception late in the quarter to give Line Mountain the lead and ultimately, the win.
The Bulldogs will be on the road next Friday as they travel to Halifax.
Williams Valley 15, Upper Dauphin 14
The Frank Gaffney era of Williams Valley (1-0) football got off to a good start on Friday night in Elizabethville as the Vikings defeated Upper Dauphin (0-1) 15-14 in overtime.
After both teams scored touchdowns in the first quarter, neither would find the endzone again until overtime.
Trailing 14-7 after Upper Dauphin took the lead on a two-yard touchdown by Christopher McClain, Fletcher Thompson scored the Vikings’ second touchdown of the night on a one-yard run. Opting to go for the win, the Vikings went back to the Thompson well again immediately afterwards for the two-point conversion.
Junior Fletcher Thompson led Williams Valley on the evening with 24 carries for 160 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback Cayden Witmer in his first career start was 3-for-7 for 89 yards and a touchdown, connecting with Mason Bowser for a 39-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Upper Dauphin’s lone touchdown in regulation did not come via the offense but instead on special teams as Dale Huhn returned a kickoff 90 yards to immediately tie the game back up following Bowser’s touchdown.
Williams Valley will now have its toughest test of the season next Saturday afternoon as it hosts defending Class 2A state champions the Southern Columbia Area Tigers.
Southern Columbia started its 2026 season Friday night with a 34-27 win over Wyomissing.
Northern Lebanon 41, Pine Grove 2
It was a tough night for the Pine Grove Cardinals (0-1) to start their 2026 season, as they fell to Northern Lebanon 41-2 (1-0)
The Vikings took a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter before finding the endzone twice more in the second quarter. Pine Grove was able to get on the board through a safety before halftime, but struggled to find anything offensively throughout the game.
Northern Lebanon tacked on 12 more points in the third quarter giving the game its final of 41-2.
Pine Grove will look to bounce back next Friday night when it hosts Shenandoah Valley.
Montrose 13, Nativity BVM 0
Montrose Area (1-0) shut out Nativity (0-1) on Friday night 13-0. No stats are available from the game.
Nativity will look to rebound from the loss next Friday when the Green Wave host Holy Redeemer.
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