Gowanda/Pine Valley defeated Silver Creek/Forestville 24-6 in a nonleague football game to open the season for each team.

Locked in a hard-hitting defensive battle through three quarters, the Panthers (1-0) found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter. Panthers quarterback Quentin Centner pushed his way over the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak. After a successful 2-point conversion, Gowanda/Pine Valley held a 10-point lead 16-6 just seconds into the final quarter.

Silver Creek/Forestville (0-1) needed to mount a comeback, but after three plays and a penalty, the Black Knights were forced to punt the ball away.

After that, the Panthers pounced. Gowanda/Pine Valley put the game away with an eight-play, 84-yard drive that took 5:06 off the clock.

Panthers running back Winter Rivera (28) fights off a tackle from Silver Creek/Forestville’s Jake Millar (54). OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

“They finished — that was the biggest thing,” Panthers head coach Brett Ebling said. “The conditioning we’ve been doing and preaching to these guys has definitely taken effect. They executed and made smart football plays.”

All eight plays of the game-sealing drive were runs, including three big ones from Winter Rivera of 25, 10 and 9 yards, the final one ending in a touchdown. A 2-point conversion made the score 24-6 Panthers.

“He’s a great kid. He’s only a sophomore and he’s stepping into a big role on varsity football,” Ebling said of Rivera. “He’s a smart kid — a high honor student, one of the top kids in his class. The kid comes in day in and day out and works his butt off. He’s a great athlete and the biggest reason why he is so good is because of his work ethic — and it shows. It really showed tonight.”

The game’s first score was a deep pass from Centner to Ryan Waterman for 23 yards. After a 2-point conversion, the Panthers held an 8-0 lead just seconds into the second quarter and never trailed in the game.

“We were working on it in practice and it was there,” Ebling said of the pass to Waterman. “We took our shot and came up with it.”

Silver Creek/Forestville’s Matt Woleben extends the ball toward the pylon during Friday’s game against Gowanda/Pine Valley in Gowanda. Woleben was marked short, but reached the end zone on the next play. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

Black Knights quarterback Matt Woleben accounted for the only touchdown for Silver Creek/Forestville — a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 7:30 left in the second quarter.

Shortly before Woleben’s touchdown, Black Knights running back Aiden Piccolo suffered an upper body injury and did not return. Piccolo was hit on a 16-yard carry for a first down and landed hard on his arm.

“An injury early in the game; that’s devastating. He’s one of our best players,” Silver Creek/Forestville head coach Sean Helmer said of Piccolo. “He’s the heart and soul of the team. You lose that; that’s emotional and it’s hard to replace.”

Gavannie Kuppel stepped in to fill the role vacated by Piccolo’s injury and finished with a team-high 54 yards rushing.

“Gavannie played really well. He’ll do better with more reps in practice,” Helmer said.

The Panthers out-gained the Black Knights 291-176 in total offense, including 197 rushing yards from the Panthers. Eighty-four of those 197 rushing yards came on the final scoring drive for Gowanda/Pine Valley. The game only featured one turnover, as Waterman intercepted a Woleben pass in the first quarter.

“I was proud of our kids. They fought, they really did,” said Helmer. “I thought we hit really hard and it’s been a few years since I’ve been able to say that.”

Friday’s Panthers’ victory came in Ebling’s first game as head coach after multiple years as an assistant.

“I’d like to thank all my staff and all the support from people in the community in giving me this opportunity,” Ebling said after the win, “most of all though, it’s because of the kids. They deserve this win and they did it themselves.”

The Panthers now will take on Cattaraugus-Little Valley next week on the road in hopes of continuing the success from Friday’s win.

“Moving forward, that definitely builds the morale. Now these kids have confidence, but at the same time, we have to build off that confidence,” said Ebling. “We can get better and we’re going to get better.”

The Black Knights hope for a better result in the home opener next week against Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton in Silver Creek.

Silver Creek/Forestville 0 6 0 0 — 6

Gowanda/Pine Valley 0 8 0 16 — 24

G/PV–Waterman 23 pass from Centner (Smith run)

SC/F–Woleben 1 run (pass failed)

G/PV–Centner 1 run (run good)

G/PV–Rivera 9 run (Ackley run)