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Keystone and Union/A-C Valley Football Teams Ready to Battle Tonight

KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Another week, another game on a different day.

The Keystone football team has had quite an abnormal schedule so far this season. With a huge home showdown on tap Thursday at 7 p.m. against Union/A-C Valley as a part of the Autumn Leaf Festival celebration, the Panthers will have played a game on a Friday, Saturday and Thursday in the last three weeks.

(Photo by Shelly Atzeni)

“It feels like we’re playing an NFL promotional schedule,” quipped Keystone coach Ryan Smith.

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Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.

The Panthers are just happy to be playing. Before this three-game stretch, they had their game against Cameron County scrapped because of COVID-19 concerns.

“We really wish we could have played against Cameron County,” Smith said. “Against Bucktail when we came back, it took us awhile to get our legs back. It took us until the second half to play good football again.”

On Saturday against Sheffield in a 58-14 win, Keystone was back to being, well, Keystone, Smith said.

“We were able to execute,” Smith said. “We played smart, played well and also played hard.”

Bret Wingard had the hot hand against the Wolverines. The senior quarterback was 11 of 15 for 168 yards and three touchdowns through the air and also ran the ball three times for 74 yards and a score.

It was important to Smith to allow Wingard to throw the ball more Saturday than he had in the previous four games.

“We really wanted to work on trying to get Bret more completions,” Smith said. “When we can get him both running and throwing the ball, it makes it pretty tough for other teams against him.

Wingard has completed 32 of 74 for 477 yards and seven touchdowns to just two interceptions this season. He’s also rushed for 124 yards and five TDS.

Kyle Nellis has been the main cog, though, in the running game for the Panthers. The junior has gained 510 yards on the ground on 79 carries. He’s also scored four touchdowns.

As a team, Keystone (5-0) has rushed for 889 yards in five games this season.

“We want to continue to be disciplined and continue to do what we do best, which is run the football,” Smith said. “But, you know, we just want to play hard, have fun and just improve as a team.”

Keystone will face arguably its stiffest test since Week 1 against Redbank Valley when Union/A-C Valley comes to town.

After a Week 1 loss to Brockway, The Falcon Knights have rolled over every opponent since, outscoring their last four foes 201-8.

“They’re really talented at many different positions,” Smith said. “They have guys who can score, run, break tackles. They have a lot of playmakers.”

Union/A-C Valley has had 11 players score at least one touchdown this season.

“I’ve been saying this since day one, we have some playmakers and we try to spread the ball around,” Dittman said. “If you go back and look at our games, it’s a combination of guys, not only offensively, but defensively. It’s good to see that because we have a lot of selfless guys.”

Sophomore Dawson Camper has had a monster season so far and is coming off a huge night against Port Allegany last week.

The 6-foot-3, 207-pound Camper has rushed for 360 yards on just 30 carries this season. He has eight rushing touchdowns and 11 TDs total.

“He’s got all the tools,” Dittman said. “He’s an athlete. He has really good vision running the ball and the greatest thing about him is his motor. I mean, he’s tough to beat because he’s 100 mph all the time. It’s tough to not feed him the ball. We didn’t have him a few weeks ago — he was in quarantine — but he was back last week and we’re glad he’s back.”

It will be a challenge for Keystone’s defense, which has answered virtually every one so far.

The Panthers are giving up just 10 points in their last three games and also have 19 quarterback sacks as a team.

Keystone’s defense has also been extremely opportunistic with 12 interceptions, six fumble recoveries and two touchdowns.

Zander McHenry has been his usual force at his hybrid linebacker/safety position.

McHenry, a senior and all-state selection last season, has 27 tackles, two interceptions and a blocked punt already this year.

“They’re well-coached and they have athletes,” Dittman said of Keystone. “They’re physical and they blitz and attack you to try to create pressure and turnovers. It’s by far a tough task. We know that. The Keystone game every year is a big game for us and it ought to be a battle of two good football teams.”

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Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.