Warnke draws on late father’s memory to lift Panthers
Nick Warnke has no idea why he had his right wrist taped before Friday night’s game, but he knew he had to make sure his late father John’s initials were on it.
The elder Warnke, who passed away 15 months ago, provides inspiration for the Saucon Valley senior defensive tackle.
“He’s the one who taught me how to play football,” Warnke said.
With the game at Northern Lehigh hanging in the balance, Warnke used what his dad taught him to make a request before the decisive play with 1 minute, 8 seconds left and Saucon Valley clinging to a seven-point lead.
“I went to coach [Brad Trembler] and said, ‘Coach, slant me and I will make this play,’ ” Warnke said. “‘Slant me inside and I don’t care what you do with everybody else. I’ll make this play.’
“He made the play call. I slanted inside. I saw the read. I made the stop.”
Warnke stopped Bulldogs bull
dozer Matt Frame on fourthand-3 for the Panthers 19.
Saucon Valley ran out the clock on its fourth consecutive victory, 21-14 at Bulldog Community Stadium.
“It was a lot of adrenaline,” Warnke said. “I also had my dad looking over me. I think he gave me the motivation and strength to hit that play.”
Saucon Valley led 14-0 early in the second quarter and 21-14 after Damian Garcia’s 12-yard touchdown run with 11:13 left in the game, but Northern Lehigh battled to the end thanks to shiftiness of Mike Repsher, Joe Abidelli and Zach Moyer, plus Frame’s straight-ahead, bulldozing style.
From their 11, the Bulldogs drove 12 plays (11 on the ground) to the Panthers’ 19 in the closing moments. Frame’s 26-yard rumble — in which he broke several tackles — really got the Homecoming crowd roaring.
That’s when Warnke stepped up, but he was quick to credit teammates and the coaches for allowing him to make the big stop.
“Our kids knew it was on the line,” Trembler said, “and they just compete and have fun. We didn’t draw anything else up for that final play. I wanted to give Nick a chance to make a play and he did.
“I’m happy we were challenged in this nature and we grew up a lot. We found the resolve. When it was 14-14, it could have gone either way, but they bounced back.”
Game notes: Garcia had his fifth consecutive 100-yard game with 154 on 22 carries. Sixty-five of those yards came on the game-winning drive that he capped off on the second play of the fourth quarter. … Saucon Valley converted a pair of fourth downs on the game’s first series before Dante Mahaffey finished it off with a 2-yard TD run. … Two-way skill player Trevor One Month Free promotional offer:
Amorim suffered a left leg injury in the first half and didn’t return for Northern Lehigh. … The Bulldogs had a first down at the Panthers’ 6 on the opening drive of the second half, but a couple of botched plays and an incompletion on fourth down kept the Panthers in the lead. … Northern Lehigh then stuffed Saucon on fourth-and-1 from the Panthers’ 21 before tying the score five plays later on Frame’s 4-yard TD run.
Sack happy: Northern Lehigh senior defensive end Carter
Smith had 2.5 sacks in the first half, including one on the nextto-last play before the break.
Smith, who had 18 tackles and a blocked field goal in the Bulldogs’ first four games, also had one tackle for loss in the first half.
Two shining moments: Senior running back/linebacker Dale
Wanamaker had a memorable few minutes in the middle of the game. He sacked Saucon’s Mahaffey on the final play of the first half, then was named Homecoming King during the halftime ceremony.
I’ll take that: Saucon Valley sophomore cornerback Anthony Orlemann won the 50-50 ball at the goal line against Northern Lehigh receiver Evan Zambo for an interception with 9
minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half.
Orlemann also intercepted Moyer’s next pass to stop another drive with 7:03 remaining.
They were Orlemann’s first two interceptions this season. He had one fumble recovery in the first four games.
Honored: More than 20 members from the 1969 Slatington team that was 10-0 and Lehigh Valley League champion were honored at halftime. The Bulldogs were coached by Paul
Turner, who was in his first year in charge in 1969. It was the first time in school history that its football team was unbeaten.
Turner had the phrase, “10-0, here we go!” printed on T-shirts in the preseason, letting everyone know what Slatington’s one goal was.
Slatington was 9-1 and LVL champion the year before.
Up next: Saucon Valley (4-1) hosts Bangor (2-3) on Friday night. Northern Lehigh (3-2) entertains Southern Lehigh (5-0), the Colonial League’s lone unbeaten team, also Friday.