Leesport, PA — Bad omens surrounded the Schuylkill Valley football team. Coach Bruce Harbach said the Panthers had a few poor practices leading up to Friday night’s Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 game against Northern Lebanon. In addition, Homecoming festivities caused a few distractions. And, worst of all, Dominic Giuffre, who rushed for more than 1,500 yards and scored 29 touchdowns last season, missed his second straight game due to injury. But Cooper Hohenadel ran 39 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and Schuylkill Valley hung on for a much-tougher-than-anticipated 7-6 win over Northern Lebanon. “I knew we were going to be in for a battle,” Harbach said. “But you have games like this. That’s the mark of a good football team to overcome adversity and win.” The Panthers (3-0, 5-1) didn’t secure the win until the Vikings (1-2, 2-4) missed a 22-yard field goal in the final minute after driving to the Schuylkill Valley 5. Northern Lebanon also missed the extra point after its touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. “A win is a win,” Hochenadel said. “We’ll take it. Schuylkill Valley has never been known to win a lot of football games. That’s our coaching. They’ve changed the culture around here.” The Panthers defense was solid throughout a scoreless first half and came up with the key plays in the second to remain in contention for a District 3 Class 3A playoff berth. The Panthers limited the Vikings to 177 yards and eight first downs. “Our defense is really good,” said Hohenadel, a safety. “We practice hard, we watch film, we do everything we need to do to get the job done.” Hohenadel provided the big play on offense on Schuylkill Valley’s opening possession of the third quarter. After being bottled up most of the night by Northern Lebanon’s stingy defense, Hohenadel broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and rumbled 39 yards. Reese Wamsher tacked on the all-important extra point. “The linemen had a good push,” Hohenadel said. “I broke into the secondary and just took off.” The rest was up to the defense. Northern Lebanon, which enjoyed good field position for much of the game, finally took advantage. After a partially blocked punt gave the Vikings the ball at the Schuylkill Valley 31, it took just five plays for the Northern Lebanon to score on a 4-yard pass from Kael Erdman to Luke Shaffer with 11 minutes left. Aided by a 35-yard run by Eli Ostermayer on its next possession, the Vikings put together another scoring threat. But Logan Cammauf recovered a fumble at the Schuylkill Valley 22 to keep the Panthers in the lead. After Schuylkill Valley was unable to pick up a first down, Northern Lebanon was back in business with the ball at the Panthers’ 45 with 2:40 left. Moises Gonzalez ran 45 yards to the end zone on the Vikings’ second play, but it was called back due to a holding penalty. The Vikings worked the ball down to the Schuylkill Valley 5 in the final minute. On third down, Erdman overthrew a receiver that was open in the back of the end zone. On fourth down under a heavy rush, Garrett Bohn pulled a 22-yard field-goal attempt wide to the left, allowing Schuylkill Valley to escape with the victory. “A win is a win,” Harbach said. “We’re 5-1 and we couldn’t be happier. “Two wins without our All-State running back, that’s pretty good. That says a lot about the character of our football team.”