Schuylkill Haven, PA — Dunmore read all week about the impressive numbers Williams Valley’s Alex Achenbach put up this season. The Bucks’ Danny Pigga decided to put up some impressive numbers of his own. The senior scored five touchdowns and rushed for 234 yards as the Bucks rolled past the Vikings, 41-21, in a PIAA Class 2A first-round game Friday night at Rotary Field. Pigga scored four rushing touchdowns and one receiving as District 2 champion Dunmore (11-2) advanced to play District 3 champion Camp Hill, a 32-26 winner over West Catholic, in next week’s state quarterfinals. It’s the Bucks’ first state playoff victory since 2017. “We wanted to come in here and make a statement,” Pigga said. “We knew (Achenbach) had 6,000 yards and we wanted to prove that it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. We were going to tackle him.” Achenbach entered the game with 2,867 yards rushing on the season and 6,828 for his career and for the most part the Dunmore defense contained him. The Vikings’ standout was never able to break off the big plays that spearheaded Williams Valley’s District 11 championship victory over Schuylkill Haven. Achenbach finished the game with 187 yards rushing on 31 carries, scoring on a pair of 2-yard runs in the fourth quarter after Dunmore had taken a 34-0 lead. He ended the season with 3,054 yards and 37 touchdowns, compiling 7,015 yards and 76 touchdowns for his career. “Our plan was to keep it away from him as much as we could,” Dunmore coach Kevin McHale said. “I thought we tackled tremendously well tonight. I thought we did a pretty good job on Alex tonight. “He got a few around the edge, but I thought we boxed him in pretty well. We played assignment football.” Dunmore dominated the game from start to finish, riding the efforts of its big offensive line to rush for 330 yards. The Bucks took control from the outset, taking the opening kickoff and driving 76 yards in 12 plays. Fullback Jake Hickey’s 19-yard run put Dunmore up 7-0. A key play in the game followed. Dunmore kicker Eric Reesey booted the ensuing kickoff deep into Williams Valley territory, where the Vikings’ return man let it hit the turf. The ball bounced back toward the Bucks, with Dunmore recovering at the Williams Valley 17. On the next play, Pigga burst through the line and scored, putting the Bucks up 14-0 with 6:29 left in the first quarter. “If you can take a possession away from them, and take a possession away from (Achenbach), that’s a really big thing,” McHale said. Williams Valley (10-3) had its chances, driving deep into Dunmore territory twice in the first half. The Vikings reached the Dunmore 9 on their first possession before a pair of incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs. Right before the half, Williams Valley reached the Dunmore 22 before Achenbach came up short on a fourth-and-14 run to the Bucks’ 11. “We picked the worst possible time to play our worst game of the year. We came out flat,” Williams Valley coach Stephen Sedesse said. “Credit goes to them. They did a good job stopping our running game tonight. “We moved the ball up and down the field, we just didn’t come away with what we wanted. We had our opportunities.” In between those two drives, Dunmore scored again, controlled the ball and the clock on a 19-play, 91-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard run by Pigga. The Bucks rushed for 202 yards in the first half, taking a 20-0 lead into intermission. After forcing a punt to open the second half, Dunmore made it 27-0 on a Pigga 19-yard run. His fourth touchdown, a 12-yard pass from quarterback Thomas Bowen on a fourth-and-5 play, upped the lead to 34-0 early in the fourth quarter. The senior capped his night with a 39-yard touchdown run with 4:14 left that put Dunmore up 41-7. “It was a huge job by the offensive line,” Pigga said. “Huge credit to them. They were blocking all night, pounding them all night. It’s a big win for them too. They’re definitely getting dinner on me.” Williams Valley made the score respectable with a pair of touchdowns in the final minute. Achenbach, who scored the Vikings’ first touchdown on a 2-yard run, scored again from 2 yards out with 23.8 seconds remaining. The Vikings then recovered a pooch kickoff, with Brady Shomper finding Kian Krzyzanowski for a 20-yard score with 17.9 seconds left. On this night, however, it was Pigga’s numbers that decided the outcome. “Danny has been doing it all year for us,” McHale said. “Week in and week out he’s proven to be one of the elite players in the state. Five touchdowns tonight ...” (SOURCE: Leroy Boyer, The Scranton Times-Tribune)