<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3JmtOd_0wOCkEGz00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3JmtOd_0wOCkEGz00" width="1280" height="836" ><figcaption>Pen Argyl football hosts Bangor on Oct. 26, 2024</figcaption></figure><a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/school/upper-mount-bethel-township-bangor/football/season/2024-2025">The Bangor Area High School football team</a> entered Saturday afternoon with an 0-9 record and only scored more than seven points in two games this season. The Slaters' side of the scoreboard was once again stuck on zero in the fourth quarter against <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/school/pen-argyl-pen-argyl/football/season/2024-2025">Pen Argyl</a> on Saturday. But after a couple of interceptions led to a pair of quick touchdowns, Bangor took a lead in its final quarter of its season. Then, the Slaters stopped the Green Knights on a two-point conversion attempt with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter to secure a 14-13 road victory. It gave Bangor its fourth consecutive win in the rivalry, which was played for the 105th time. The importance of the victory could be seen on the players' and coaches' faces as the Slaters' joyous celebration pushed the team’s previous nine games in the distant past. “I think it’s everything. This was our Super Bowl,” Bangor first-year head coach Vinnie Andrews said. “We‘re starting workouts December 2. I’m hoping to ride this off into the offseason. Just watching our kids after the game and the emotion and how much it meant to them means all the world to me. I mean 0-9 and coming out and battling like they did. They see life lessons, you get out of it what you put into it. They put their heart and soul into this week and I’m glad to see it pay off for them.” “We‘re 1-9 throughout the season, just end it like this in the rivalry game, it‘s probably the greatest feeling in the entire world,” said Slaters junior wide receiver/defensive end <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/jacob-hillis/football/season/2024-2025">Jacob Hillis</a>, who won the Bangor MVP award and Sampson award. “I‘ve never felt anything like it. It’s the best.” “We went through a ton of adversity in the season, but we came out on top,” Slaters junior running back/linebacker <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/riley-waldron/football/season/2024-2025">Riley Waldron</a> said. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We locked in. We did it for the seniors and we pulled through.” Pen Argyl junior Caiden Faust ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 21 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to cut Bangor’s lead to one point. The Green Knights decided to go for the two-point conversion and the victory instead of taking the game into overtime. Faust got another direct snap on the two-point attempt, but was met by a group of Slaters and was just stopped just short of the goal line. “We were going for two there,” Pen Argyl coach Brady Mutton said. “We lost by a point to Palisades. I beat myself up for it for two weeks. Kids were rolling. Kids wanted to do it. I agreed with them. Whether he was in or not, I don‘t know. But it was the right decision. We tried to punch it in and gave everything we had to put it in there. We had to do it. I didn’t want to go to overtime.” “Definitely. And if we were in the same situation, we had planned to do the same thing,” Andrews said. “You want to talk about (Bangor defensive coordinator) Paul Reduzzi, dialing up that defense. We‘re in this game because of Paul Reduzzi and the scheme that he dialed up. Man, you wouldn’t ask for a better way, possibly end his career on a stand like that. You can’t ask for anything better than that.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Bangor (<a href="https://twitter.com/SlaterAthletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SlaterAthletics</a>) stops Pen Argyl on a 2-point run with 0:21 left in the 4th quarter. Slaters still lead 14-13. <a href="https://twitter.com/BSlatersFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BSlatersFB</a><a href="https://t.co/2SIOMVTIWZ">pic.twitter.com/2SIOMVTIWZ</a>— Josh Folck (@JoshFolck) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshFolck/status/1850257553776627728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>Waldron recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Slaters took a knee to run out the clock and set off the celebration. Hillis tipped a pass to himself and hauled in an incredible interception and returned it 32 yards to the Pen Argyl 11-yard line with 7:12 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied 7-7. “It was just a spur of the moment,” Hillis said of his first varsity interception. “I put my hand up, I blocked it and I was able to get it. It’s awesome.” “He‘s a heck of an athlete,” Andrews said of Hillis. “He‘s a kid who hasn’t really played a complete season in his high school career due to injuries. What he‘s been able to do this year, I‘m excited for him and his future. That was just an incredible play. (Bangor athletic director) Mr. (Steve) Panczer said that was one of the all-time plays in the Bangor-Pen Argyl rivalry. We’re really, really fortunate that he made that play.” Then, Waldron broke a few tackles and spun away for a 17-yard touchdown run 54 seconds after the Hillis interception to put the Slaters in front 14-7. “It was trap left. My left closed up, had to cut right,” Waldron said of the go-ahead score. “I thought I was getting tackled. I slipped out of it and worked my way back in.” The first touchdown for the road team was set up by another interception just minutes before. Bangor senior linebacker Tim McLain tipped a pass and then Waldron came down with an interception at the Pen Argyl 23-yard line with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter.Then, seven seconds later, the Slaters scored when freshman quarterback <a href="https://highschoolsports.lehighvalleylive.com/player/eziah-cartagena/football/season/2024-2025">Eziah Cartagena</a> connected with Hillis for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Senior Jace LaBar kicked the extra point to tie the game 7-7. “He’s only a freshman, but he stepped up today,” Hillis said of the quarterback. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. After Jaxson went down, the whole team was down a little bit. But that play brought us back.” The Green Knights broke the scoreless battle with a 5-yard touchdown run by Faust on a direct snap with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter. Hillis caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown for the Slaters. Waldron finished with 57 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Cartagena, who entered the game in the second half for injured sophomore starting quarterback Jaxson Kreider, completed 6 of 9 passes for 46 yards to go with a touchdown and an interception. “We were down at halftime knowing that Jaxson got injured,” Andrews said. “Basically, we were rehearsing how we‘d call plays in the second half because our freshman was not confident in calling a no-huddle offense. We were rehearsing calling plays in the locker room. Came out, we had some bobbles there.” “I‘m proud of Eziah and the way he stepped in there in the big moment,” the Slaters coach continued. “You have a freshman coming in of the second half of a 0-0 ball game in a Pen Argyl-Bangor game. You couldn’t ask for a more pressure-packed moment than that.” Green Knights MVP Faust racked up 92 yards and two touchdowns on 26 rushes. Junior quarterback Mason Soos ran for 56 yards on 13 carries. He also finished 11-for-18 passing for 122 yards to go along with a pair of interceptions. Senior wide receiver Lucas Lerch recorded four receptions for 68 yards for Pen Argyl, which holds a 52-49-4 lead in the rivalry’s history. “It was two mistakes. Our effort was there all day,” Mutton said. “We put a lot of time into this game. We did what we were supposed to do. They had a great game plan both sides of the ball. We just made poor decisions. It happens, we moved on from them. We just had two picks. The second one was an incredible play by No. 6 (Jacob Hillis). We could‘ve ran that 99 times and it wasn’t going to pick that off again. Just awesome play from him. He made it happen.” The Green Knights ended the regular season with a 4-6 record and will likely travel to Northern Lehigh for a District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal on Saturday. “That‘s the important part,” Mutton said of the playoffs. “This is going to hurt. Usually we let it hurt for a day. It‘s probably going to hurt for a few more than that. When we get back, we just got to get rolling. We‘re going to have Northern Lehigh. We had them 14-0 (in a 26-14 loss on Sept. 7). It‘s an opponent we can play with. So, we’re going to see what happens.” For the Slaters, they continued their winning streak in the rivalry and also forgot about a season filled with disappointment by earning the most important victory. “We‘re focusing on this,” Waldron said. “Everything‘s in the past. This is the game that matters to us. We’re going to come back next season and hit double as hard.” “Those seniors, they‘ve meant everything,” Hillis said. “Last year, we had so many guys go away for this upcoming season. And they stepped up. They really put in the work for this game today. I couldn’t possibly be more proud of them.” “Ten weeks of emotion. Ten weeks of emotion,” Andrews said. “It‘s tough to keep kids coming back day after day when you don’t win a game and you‘re 0-9 coming in here. But give the credit to these coaches and these kids. I think it speaks to the character that these kids have and they show up.” “It‘s a blue-collar effort every day,” the Bangor coach continued. “All the intangibles that we talk about. The lessons that they‘ve learned will definitely carry on throughout their adult life. They‘ll be better husbands and fathers for it. I can’t thank them enough for sticking by me through this rough stretch. Very, very proud of their effort today.” Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.Josh Folck may be reached at <a href="mailto:jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com">jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com</a>.</div></body>

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Bangor football makes final quarter of forgettable season unforgettable in win at Pen Argyl

The Bangor Area High School football team entered Saturday afternoon with an 0-9 record and only scored more than seven points in two games this season. The Slaters' side of the scoreboard was once again stuck on zero in the fourth quarter against Pen Argyl on Saturday. But after a...

Bangor football makes final quarter of forgettable season unforgettable in win at Pen Argyl

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