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Black Knights host Panthers tonight in Silver Creek

SILVER CREEK — The Black Knights and Panthers both suffered disappointing defeats this past week, bringing both their records to (2-3). As both teams fight to secure a playoff spot in the highly competitive Class C North division, there will certainly be a lot on the line Friday night.

Each team has a pair of convincing wins from earlier in the season, but have struggled to get the offense clicking in recent weeks. Silver Creek/Forestville is coming in off a disappointing showing against Cleveland Hill, where they were shut out 30-0 and saw both their leading rusher, Angel Caraballo, and leading receiver, Macadam Gadewoltz, exit early due to injury. Similarly, Gowanda/Pine Valley has suffered low scoring losses in their past two games, only being able to get a single touchdown in each contest.

Gowanda/Pine Valley coach Sean Gabel mentioned how their team would need a different attitude about scoring heading into today’s game.

“We have to move North and South. North when we have the ball and South when on defense,” said Gabel. “Our kids have a lot of heart and that is something we can build on.”

With both teams looking to punch their ticket to the playoffs, a lot is riding on the game.

“The game is utmost of importance. This is the season in many ways, and you have to take advantage of the opportunity in front of you. This is a league game and it comes down to this,” said Silver Creek/Forestville coach Sean Helmer.

After both teams had promising starts, winning two of their first three games of the season, they find themselves in a tough predicament needing to win.

“This is not the road we chose in August, but it’s the road we have now. We just have to get off that bus with the right attitude and it’s in the kids hands,” said Gabel.

Each team has been gearing up all week, preparing for one another through some tough practices. Both sides battled through some tough weather and had a focus on getting everyone healthy for the game. Some positive news for the Black Knights is the return of Gadewoltz and Caraballo tonight.

“With the return of Angel and Macadam, we will have improvement on offense. In practice we focused on what we are and what our weaknesses are,” stated Helmer.

The outcome on today is going to come down to which team does all the little things right and makes fewer mistakes.

“We have to take care of the ball, it has been an issue for us all year. You need to do the basics, if you don’t do those things you don’t win,” said Helmer.

Similarly coach Gabel stated, “We have to move the ball and put points on the board. And when we are on defense we need to tackle more. We also have to have fun, because that’s what football is all about.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Silver Creek High School.

Look for photos with the final score in Saturday’s OBSERVER, with a complete game story in the SUNDAY OBSERVER.

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