EasternPAFootball.com

Austin Miorelli

  • Two Teams, One Town, No Love

    austinweek102013TAMAQUA – Both Tamaqua Area and Marian Catholic high schools share a consensus that their season is one game long and begins and ends in week 10. It is also said across Schuylkill and Carbon counties that there are two kinds of people: “People from Marian and everybody else,” so needless to say, fans on hand were in store for an emotionally heated contest.

    The Blue Raiders kicked off to start off the game, and Marian wasted no time as seven plays later, Marian QB K.J. Snerr slipped by would-be tacklers for a 37 yard score to put his Colts up 7-0. Tamaqua struggled to move the ball down the field. It appeared as though, the Blue Raider offensive line had over-looked the undersized Marian front seven. The Colts were playing with a fire and purpose they had not shown in their first few opening games that resulted in their 0-3 start. With just over a minute to play, Tamaqua was held inside their own 30 yard line and forced to punt. Marian senior Lukas Damian blocked the kick and recoverd inside the Blue Raider 15. From there, Bailey Becker recorded a 20 yard field goal to increase the lead to 10.

    The home crowd was shocked. A Blue Raider squad coming off a three game win streak with all games on the road against AFL competition, comes home and trails Marian 10-0? Marian had played the first half with an enthusiasm and attitude that the Raiders had used throughout the season to battle through hardships, but it remained absent in the first half of play.

    That, however, was about to change. From the minute the Blue Raiders tore through the banner until those 15 seniors had played their final play in Raider blue, they dominated with the swagger that propelled a 10-0 season a year ago. On the opening drive, Tamaqua drove 56 yards and capped it off with a Nate Edmonds pass to Adam Frantz. A highly criticized Tamaqua defense suffocated the Colts in the second half, allowing 15 yards on only nine plays. The third quarter was winding down and the visitors still held a 10-8 advantage. Then, junior standout Tyler Skripko blocked a Marian punt to set up Tyler Hope for the go ahead score. Tamaqua now had the lead 16-10 and never looked back. After another score, this time, a 12 yard run by Edmonds, Mike Kelly put the game away with an interception of Marian QB Dean Richards, and then Tyler Hope delivered the first down that was all the Blue Raiders needed to put the game away.

    The victory marked the first time Tamaqua defeated Marian three years running and also continued the Blue Raider control of the rivalry as they had won five of the last six. Edmonds had finished off his mark on Tamaqua football by setting the career record for touchdown passes.

    Despite a 7-3 record, the Blue Raiders are on the outside looking in on the playoff picture making this the final game of their seniors’ careers. In hindsight, there might not be a better note to end on then a come-from-behind win over your biggest rival in front of your home crowd. Marian, however, is moving on to the Eastern Conference playoffs. Their first contest is still to be determined.

    Congratulations to the Blue Raiders on a fantastic season, to the seniors for bringing a winning atmosphere to the town of Tamaqua, and good luck to the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen who need to keep it going for years to come.

     

  • Record Setting Performance Sparks Upset

    austinweek72013SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – In August, preseason hype surrounded the little town of Schuylkill Haven and its Hurricanes football program. A big, physical line on both sides of the ball and domination of the run game were the two factors that made the Hurricanes preseason AFL favorite. Injuries had hampered the success of the team, but all injured players returned for the showdown with the defending league champion Tamaqua Blue Raiders.

    Tamaqua showed early on that they were not intimidated and after back to back punts, drove down on 11 plays as senior QB Nate Edmonds took the option keep for a 13 yard score. Haven answered driving 10 plays and capped off by a two yard score by senior tailback William Casella. Schuylkill Haven’s 7-6 lead would be there last of the game. After a solid kick return by Zach Zucatti, senior Tyler Hope bolted 55 yards for a score to return the lead to the visitors, 12-7. The Tamaqua O-Line was out to prove it deserved all the praise, if not more, that Haven received. Play after play, the Hurricanes had no answer as Hope tacked on three more scores from 2, 79, and 91 yards.

    Schuylkill Haven would respond briefly with another score from Casella, but the Raiders were the stars of the night and cruised to a dominating 32-14 victory. Hope finished the night with 350 yards and broke his own uncle’s school record for rushing yards in a game. As a whole, the Blue Raiders blew up the Hurricane defense for a staggering 438 yards of total offense.

    The victorious Blue Raiders improve to 4-3 and with the loss by North Schuylkill, find themselves as the front runners for an Eastern Conference berth and back in the hunt for a District 11 berth. Next week, Tamaqua travels to Lansford for a rivalry showdown with Panther Valley.  The Hurricanes fall back to 4-3 on the year and are in trouble of missing the district playoffs after being considered as a state championship contender in preseason. Next week, the Hurricanes are matched up with the Jim Thorpe Olympians who are a perfect 6-0 in AFL play.

  • North Schuylkill Survives Raider Rally

    austinweek62013TAMAQUA – The clock ticked down in the fourth quarter. The “Pink-Out” crowd started to fade, and it looked as though North Schuylkill was headed for a comfortable 21-6 victory over the Tamaqua Blue Raiders on the road. Until, with 4:22 remaining, Tamaqua senior Tyler Hope took a swing pass 24 yards for a score with an extraordinary combination of speed and power to outmuscle and outrun defenders. Tamaqua was re-energized. The shockwave went through not only the starters, but the sideline, the crowd, and even the marching band was fired up.

    Tamaqua, however, had been battling throughout the entire game, but without the spark of intensity they roared out with in the second half, North Schuylkill was able to jump out to an early lead on runs by Austin Hummel and Bobby Grigas. The Blue Raiders struggled on offense throughout the first half with three dropped passes and a fumble inside the 10 yard line, but it looked like they’d survive the half only down by one touchdown. With 36 seconds left, Spartan QB Grigas rolled to his right and hooked up with his big target, the 6’5″ Tevin Murray, for a 30 yard score.

    Despite the deficit and low offensive production, Tamaqua came down the hill from the locker room hooting and hollering. The ecstatic and inspired Tamaqua squad battled like there was no tomorrow, turning away North Schuylkill four straight times in the redzone before Hope’s touchdown.  The Blue Raiders quickly forced a North Schuylkill punt, but could not get the offense restarted and had to punt deep in there own territory. Junior punter Jake Humes put the visiting Spartans back across the 50 and set up Tamaqua’s defense to make one final stand. For two plays, North Schuylkill backs, Grigas and freshman fullback Major Jordan, were stopped for little to no gain, but on third down, Hummel raced into Blue Raider territory and allowed the Spartans to run the clock out and escape with a hard fought win.

    The win sets the Raiders back at 3-3 and 1-3 in the AFL and on the outside track for the postseason. Upcoming for Tamaqua is preseason AFL favorite Schuylkill Haven who is coming off a 48-7 shellacking of the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils. North Schuylkill improves to 4-2 (4-2 AFL) and will take on Mount Carmel Area next week at the Silver Bowl in Mount Carmel.

    NOTES – The Thursday before the game against Schuylkill Haven, the Blue Raiders will be hosting there second annual Community Pep Rally at the Southward Playground on the 300 block of Penn Street in Tamaqua.

  • Raiders Overcome Adversity to Rally Past Dutchmen

    TAMAQUA- After a pregame moment of silence to remember supporter, booster, and former player and former school board member Daniel Miorelli, the Blue Raiders came out blazing by forcing two straight three and outs and a six yard touchdown run by Ernie Shilko. Tamaqua was on their way to another three and out until Paxson Hayes took off on fake punt down to the Blue Raider 23 yard line. Two plays later, Quinton Hall finishes the drive for Annville-Cleona, but the PAT misses wide right and the home team keeps the lead 7-6.

    Late in the first half, both teams battled hard to a 14-14 tie when misfortune struck first against Tamaqua. Tyler Hope was able to close the half on a good note with a five yard touchdown run to give his team the lead at the break 21-14.

    Tamaqua was clinging to a 21-20 lead midway through the third quarter when Dutchmen QB Zach Southall ran 32 yards to take the lead away from the Raiders on Homecoming. Several injuries to starters left the Blue Raiders in need of a spark. That spark would come swiftly in the form of a 55 yard screen pass to Tyler Skripko. Hope would haul in a pass from Nate Edmonds to cap the drive off, but an injury to the Raiders placekicker would force them to go for two. The try failed and they still trailed 28-27. A defensive stand would return the ball to a re-energized Blue Raider team bent on a come from behind victory. Hope and Skripko would tack on two more scoring runs to finish off the upset-minded Little Dutchmen. Troy Alexander of Annville-Cleona cut the Blue Raider lead but was not enough. The final count, 43-34, Tamaqua.

    NOTES – The night also held homecoming festivities for Tamaqua as Hope and left guard/defensive tackle Cody Houser were nominated for king and team manager Jessica Thomas was nominated for queen.

    The Blue Raiders improve to the 3-2 on the year and return to AFL play next week against the North Schuylkill Spartans who also sit at 3-2. The  game will be a “Pink-Out” in support of breast cancer research and sponsored by Saint Luke’s Memorial Hospital. Annville falls to 0-5 but proved to be much better than there record shows. The Little Dutchmen will search for their elusive first win against Garden Spot in L-L Section 3 play.

  • Raiders Rebound vs. Canaries

    ALLENTOWN- Following a difficult to explain loss against Jim Thorpe on opening night, Tamaqua Area answers critics with a hard-fought 21-0 victory over the William Allen Canaries. The game marked the return of Dustin Vandermartin to the Blue Raider offense. The senior standout recorded two catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Including a 75 yard bomb to put the game away with just over six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

    The Canaries would not take a beating lying down. With four minutes to go in the first quarter, Tamaqua QB, Nate Edmonds, threw an interception to Allen’s Courtney Watson who returned it down inside the 10-yard line of the visitors. A stout defense answered the call on the goal line as junior safety Ernie Shilko came up with a pick in the endzone to take the ball away from the threatening Canaries. The junior was forced to take over a quarterback for the Raiders on the next drive. However, Tamaqua couldn’t get the drive going and Watson was able to come up with his second interception at midfield. Mistakes haunted both teams throughout the night. Unitl, Tamaqua’s hard-nosed running duo of Shilko and sophomore, Collin “Bud” Moyer took their team into the redzone for the first time of the game. Edmonds wasted no time in finding Vandermartin for a 20 yard strike to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead at the break.

    The Canaries were starting to look fatigued as the Blue Raiders came out of the half on fire by forcing a fast 3-and-out and their big offensive line of Dylan VanBuskirk (6’6″ 255lbs.), Nick Coccio (5’9″ 205lbs.), Devon Murphy (5’9″ 257lbs.), Cody Houser (6’0″ 370lbs.), and Tyler Andrews (5’11” 263lbs.) from left to right, pounded the ball down the throats of their opponent to open a hole for Shilko’s 33-yard TD run.

    The Blue Raiders conditioning showed tonight as they were able to hold onto the ball to run the clock out against the fatigued Canaries. It was certainly not a picture perfect victory as turnovers are the eye-catcher of the stat sheet. Victorious Tamaqua tossed up two interceptions and coughed up four fumbles; The Canaries, had three interceptions with three fumbles, for a grand total of 12 turnovers.

    The win gives the Blue Raiders a 1-1 record, but still sit 0-1 in the AFL after this non-league victory. Next week, they will return home to face the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils in their return to Anthracite Football League play. The Canaries drop to 0-2. This Friday, they open their Mountain Valley Conference schedule against the Timberwolves of East Stroudsburg North.

    In next week’s game, Blue Raider Head Coach Sam Bonner will be trying for his 40th victory as head coach at Tamaqua. Also, it will mark another Hall of Fame induction atop Stadium Hill.

  • Tamaqua Defense Like an Open Book

    TAMAQUA – Jim Thorpe, coming off back to back 1-9 campaigns, came out with a bang against an inexperienced Blue Raider team. The Olympians had the luxury of having 10 of the 11 offensive starters having at least 5 games of varsity experience over their careers. On the other side, graduation and preseason injuries had left the Raiders with only three on defense and six on offense.

    The teams battled strong throughout the first quarter until sophomore defensive end, Aaron Rega, recovered a bad snap to give Tamaqua the ball and derail an Olympian drive in which they were closing in on the redzone. The Blue Raiders, however, could not capitalize as back to back passes bounced off the hands of Tamaqua wide receivers. Jim Thorpe came back to capitalize on Blue Raider mistakes by pounding the Raiders with constant read option plays as senior quarterback, Ryan Saunders, sparked his team by escaping multiple Tamaqua tacklers to bring the ball to the nine yard line of the defending Anthracite Football League champions. Deonte St. Hill was able to cap the drive off with a nine-yard touchdown run. On a broken extra point play, the Olympians were able to escape the Blue Raider defense to go up 8-0.

    Tamaqua answered right back with a 25-yard strike from Nate Edmonds to Zach Zucatti to tie the ball game, 8-8. Jim Thorpe was not rattled as St. Hill returned the ensuing kickoff to the Blue Raider 28 yard line. Saunders punched it in from the one on a QB sneak. The heavily favored Raiders found themselves trailing at the break, 15-8.

    In the past, Head Coach Sam Bonner had done a fantastic job of keeping his players conditioned enough to outlast opponents through the second half. This looked to be the case early in the third quarter as Jim Thorpe did not appear to have the intensity they should in the first half. As the clock ticked away in the third, Robert Heller found a hole on the read option and outran the Tamaqua defense for a 45-yard score.

    Tamaqua’s conditioning never showed up as the Raiders lackadaisical performance late in the game allowed the Olympians to wrap things up with two quick scores on the read option to amount a 34-8 lead. Ernie Shilko was able to record one more touchdown, but Tamaqua came up very short on opening night, 34-14.

    The Blue Raiders were plagued by constant mistakes including 10 dropped passes, 4 balls knocked down at the line, and undisciplined defense which led to big gain after big gain on the read option. Injuries also appeared to hurt the Raiders as they missed key players such as the explosive duo of Tyler Hope (TB/FS) and Dustin Vandermartin (WR/CB), as well as the emotional and hard hitting Dylan Van Buskirk (OT/DE).

    The Raiders fall to 0-1 (0-1 AFL) and the Olympians start 1-0 (1-0 AFL). Tamaqua will try to bounce back in non-league action against William Allen.  Tamaqua won last year’s meeting 33-7 at home, but its a different ball game against the Canaries at J. Birney Crum Stadium as they look much improved from years passed. Jim Thorpe matches up against Blue Mountain who fell 48-20 against Conrad Weiser.

  • Tamaqua over Marian Catholic

    TAMAQUA – The banner said it all. “TAMAQUA RAIDERS: ANTRHACITE LEAGUE CHAMPS,” Tamaqua had completed the perfect season and defeated its arch rival, Marian Catholic, in the process. All year, newspapers talked up Marian’s suffocating defense that was allowing 9.1 points per game. The Colts took a back seat Saturday night as they were shutout by Tamaqua 12-0. The win gives the Blue Raiders their first ever league championship and completes the first 10-0 season in team history without a tie.

    When the night began, fans knew they were going to witness a classic. Both defenses played ‘bend don’t break’ and stopped their opponent’s inside the redzone. Tamaqua had broken a few good, long runs but could not get the ball into the endzone. Marian could beat the Raiders for the short ball but couldn’t get around them once they ran out of space.

    After a short, scoreless first quarter, Tamaqua’s record-breaking, junior quarterback, Nate Edmonds, hooked up with his biggest target in Tyler Krell for a 24-yard score to put the Blue Raiders ahead 6-0 after a failed two-point conversion attempt.

    Tamaqua’s defense continued to contain and shut down the Marian offense and keep them off the scoreboard. Although, the offense was having problems. Receivers were dropping passes and one particular pass was an assured touchdown, but Edmonds had overthrown the receiver by less than a yard.

    The visiting Raiders added to their lead when Edmonds hit other wideout Dustin Vandermartin for a four-yard tally to put their team ahead 12-0 after another missed extra point. Tamaqua’s defense finished the game strong. With three minutes remaining, the Raiders came up with a big fourth down stop. On the following drive, Marian was forced to punt from their own one yard line after senior Derek Vandermartin recorded two big sacks. The final declaration of Tamaqua’s victory was when junior Austin Miorelli proudly planted a Tamaqua Blue Raiders flag on the field at Men of Marian Stadium.

    As stated above, the win capped off the first 10-0 undefeated untied season since 1927 for the Raiders. The win also sets up the first time in school history Tamaqua will host a district playoff game. The Class AA game will be played Saturday against the Green Knights of Pen Argyl Area. Marian Catholic falls to 8-2 but return to the playoffs after an 4 year drought. Next week, the Colts travel to Hegins to take on the 9-1 Tri-Valley Bulldogs in the Class A bracket.

  • Big First Half Leads to Big Raider Victory

    TAMAQUA – With 75 seconds remaining in the first half, Tamaqua’s kicker, Dustin Vandermartin, watched his extra point go through the uprights. This kick gave Tamaqua a 35-0 lead and activated the mercy rule before halftime.  The Blue Raiders are now 9-0 for the first time since 1927 and were out to make a statement as a talented group of seniors played their last game on “The Hill.”

    It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the home team on Friday night, however. The Battlin’ Miners of Minersville hung tough throughout the first quarter and managed to contain Tamaqua’s explosive offense and stay even at the line of scrimmage. Minersville’s early aggressiveness was used against him as Tamaqua’s Tyler Hope took a screen pass 52 yards to open the scoring midway through the first quarter. On the extra point, Dustin Vandermartin took a direct snap fake to make it 8-0.

    The Blue Raiders put it all together in the second half. In just 15 plays, Tamaqua managed to put up 27 points on four scores. It started with 39-yard run by Hope, a 56-yard pass from junior Nate Edmonds to Vandermartin, and two runs from proven playmaker Dalton Nunemacher from 38 and seven yards.  On top of the assault, Edmonds’ second touchdown pass of the night had broken the school record for touchown passes in a single season with15.

    After the Blue Raider offense put the game out of reach, the defense continued to keep Minersville down. Tyler Krell recorded a 55-yard interception return to put Tamaqua ahead 42-0. Another score was set up when senior noseguard, Nick Hollenbach, who set the record for sacks in a season last week, got his first career interception. On the next play, senior Jake Love raced 30 yards to put his team further ahead 49-0.

    Tamaqua’s Nate Edmonds played another perfect game going 5-5 with 133 yards and two touchdowns. The Blue Raider defense cracked down holding Minersville to less than 3 yards per carry and forcing quarterback Nick McBreen to go 0-9 with two interceptions. This win improves Tamaqua’s record to 9-0 with a 7-0 record in the Anthracite League. Minersville drops to 3-6 with a 2-5 league record. The Raiders’ undefeated record sets up a most interesting situation. Next week, Tamaqua travels to Marian Catholic. The Colts are the Raiders biggest rival and the game takes on an even bigger role because whoever wins gets to be the first team in either schools’ history to be the sole winner of the Anthracite Football League.* Minersville closes out their season against 3-6 Panther Valley next week.

    *Marian Catholic won a share of the AFL title in 2008 in a three way tie with Jim Thorpe and Shenandoah Valley.

  • Blue Raiders Keep on Rolling to 7-0

    TAMAQUA – After last weeks statement win over North Schuylkill, some questioned if undefeated Tamaqua could avoid a letdown against upset-minded Schuylkill Haven. The Blue Raiders’ all-around threat Dalton Nunemacher wasn’t about to let that happen as he took the Hurricanes first punt 41 yards to open the scoring at 7-0. The quick score was only the beginning of a long night for the visiting team.

    Both teams loved to pound the ball up the middle, but Tamaqua has proven that they can really throw the ball. Following a blocked punt, junior quarterback Nate Edmonds hooked up with his big 6’3″ senior receiver Tyler Krell for a 24 yard score to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Tamaqua’s defense played lights out throughout the first half and kept the young Schuylkill Haven offense out of the endzone. Offensively, the Raiders finished the first half on a high note when Nunemacher ran a reverse 40 yards for a score to put his team up 20-0 going into halftime. Tamaqua’s ability to control the line of scrimmage was truly impressive because center, Devon Murphy, was out with an injury and right guard, Brandon Fogel was unable to play due to illness. Seniors Austin Resch and Luke Matsago stepped in at guard and center respectively and fullback, Trevor Skripko was moved to tackle.

    The home team’s high-octane offensive started to cool down in the second half, but not before Edmonds hooked up with Nunemacher for a 55 yard bomb and Dustin Vandermartin’s extra point made it 27-0 in the third quarter. Late in third quarter to early in the fourth, Schuylkill Haven was able to put together a 12-play, 71-yard drive that ate up seven minutes of clock to finally get on the board and cut the Raider lead to 27-6. After a valiant defensive stand by the battered Hurricanes were able to regain possession and get back into scoring territory before being forced to turn the ball over on downs. With the ball late in the fourth, Tamaqua was able to grind out the clock and come away with the win.

    The Raiders are off to their best start since 1956 and only the fourth 7-0 start in school history. Talk has begun in Tamaqua of the Raiders finishing 10-0. If the team was to accomplish the feat, it would be the second undefeated, untied ever in the little coal town and the first since 1927. Before 10-0, however, the Blue Raiders will have to make it 8-0 as they take on rival Panther Valley on homecoming night. Schuylkill Haven falls to 3-4 on the year with a 3-3 record in the Anthracite Football League. Next week, the Hurricanes return home to face the Olympians of Jim Thorpe.

  • Raiders Hold Off Former Champions to stay Undefeated

    FOUNTAIN SPRINGS – “We’re for real!” “6-0! 6-0!” were the chants and cheers of Tamaqua fans, players, and cheerleaders as the Blue Raider football team left the field with a 24-10 win over the North Schuylkill Spartans.  The loss for the Spartans was their first home defeat since 2008, and it was Tamaqua’s first win over the Spartans  since 2007.

    In football, its the team that makes the least mistakes that usually wins. That was the story of the game tonight. With time ticking away in the first half and both teams out of time outs, North Schuylkill hoped to head into the break on homecoming night 6-3. The game was starting to look like a tight, defensive battle, but senior tailback Ethan Motsney lost the ball and the Raiders recovered inside the Spartan ten yard line. On the ensuing drive quarterback Nate Edmonds rushed in on a scramble to put Tamaqua up by nine after the missed two point try. This was when Tamaqua started to take over.

    The defenses continued to control the game as the third quarter went by scoreless. Tamaqua’s senior nose guard Nick Hollenbach wreaked havoc in the backfield throughout the night. Hollenbach sacked the Spartans’ quarterback, Bobby Grigas, three times and shut down North Schuylkill’s star backfield. The Raider defense held the hometown team to 92 yards rushing.  Scoring started to resume in the fourth quarter as Dustin Vandermartin took a double reverse 48 yards for a score but another missed extra point left the score at 18-3.  On the next drive, Dalton Nunemacher drove the dagger through the Spartans’ coffin with another touchdown to put his team ahead 24-3 late in the fourth. North Schuylkill tried to make a last ditch comeback when Motsney punched it in very late in the game.

    The win puts the undefeated Raiders in the driver’s seat of the Anthracite Football League. Tamaqua improves to a perfect 6-0 with a 4-0 league record. This loss is North Schuylkill’s second of the season as they fall to 4-2 with a 4-2 record in the AFL. The road does not get much easier for either team as the Spartans are home again next week to take on the mighty Red Tornadoes of Mount Carmel Area. Tamaqua will be at home as well to butt heads with the Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were the team that knocked off North Schuylkill first and snapped their 33 regular season game winning streak.

    Box Score

    TAHS – 0 – 12 – 0 – 12 -24

    NS – 3 – 0 – 0 – 7 – 10

  • Offensive Explosion Leads to Tamaqua Blowout

    ANNVILLE – “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships,” Despite the old saying, the Blue Raiders were perfectly fine with just winning the game on Friday night.  The poor Annville-Cleona defense had no chance of stopping Tamaqua on what became a sad Football Alumni Night. In a mercy rule effort the Raiders recorded 566 yards of total offense as they rolled dominating 54-21 victory.

    On the first play from scrimmage, Jake Love broke free on a toss and got Tamaqua down to the two. The senior capped off the drive two plays later to give Tamaqua an early lead, but a missed extra point made it 6-0. The Little Dutchmen had no intention of giving up to the undefeated Raiders and quickly struck back in six plays that ended on a 24-yard touchdown pass. The visiting team continued to give the Lancaster-Lebanon team a lesson in Coal Region football with a tough, groundin’-n-poundin’ drive ending with a Dalton Nunemacher touchdown run. Tamaqua put a two-point conversion on the board to extend their lead to 14-7. Annville-Cleona answered yet again to tie the game at the end of the quarter with a 7 yard QB keeper.

    The early evidence of a shootout quickly disappeared as Tamaqua pulled away with40 unanswered points and piled an insurmountable 54-14 lead. Senior tailback Jake Love posted his third 100 yard game with 146 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Tamaqua quarterback, Nate Edmonds put up a perfect night by going 3-3 with 128 yards and three touchdowns. Even in a losing effort, Annville-Cleona quarterback, Mitch Rodkey, had a good game on the option by carrying for 138 yards on 20 carries.

    Next week, the Blue Raiders travel to Fountain Springs to take on the mighty North Schuylkill Spartans in an Anthracite Football League game. This game is very important for both teams because it could very well be the deciding factor over who wins the AFL with the Raiders coming in 5-0 and the Spartans at 4-1 with a win over undefeated Marian Catholic Friday Night. Annville will have to rebound next week to take on the undefeated Garden Spot Spartans in a L-L Section 3 game. The Dutchmen are much better than there record indicates. All of their losses have come against undefeated teams and Garden Spot will be the fourth undefeated team they will play.

    TAM 14 20 20 0

    A-C 14 0 0 7

  • Blue Raider Line Demolishes Devils

    SHENANDOAH – On Friday morning, the headline of the Republican Herald’s “Football Friday” special said: “Game will be Won in the Trenches.” Tamaqua’s offensive and defensive lines came up big against a tough Blue Devil front. Senior noseguard Nick Hollenbach entered tonight’s game without a sack. The senior left the field with four. The 5’8″, 166lbs. defensive linemen wreaked havoc in the Shenandoah backfield all night, and he turned it up late by throwing QB Chris Palubinsky down twice on Shenandoah’s final drive.

    Tamaqua traveled to Shenandoah Valley on a hot, September night to take on the rival Blue Devils in an Anthracite Football League game. Tamaqua received the opening kickoff but saw their drive end on an interception by Chris Palubinsky on the Blue Devil 38 yard-line. Shenandoah picked up some momentum and was looking to take an early lead before Junior WR Kayin Herb put the ball on the turf and Tyler Krell came up with it for Tamaqua. Anyone who criticized Tamaqua’s passing game was immediately silenced as Nate Edmonds hooked up with Dustin Vandermartin for an 83 yard catch and run to open the scoring and give the Blue Raiders a 7-0 lead early in first quarter. Shenandoah answered as Palubinsky drove his offense down the field on a 14-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped off with a touchdown pass to senior Nick Merva on a 4th and 18, but the snap was fumbled on the PAT and Tamaqua was clinging to a 7-6 lead heading into the second quarter.

    Tamaqua’s offensive line continued to wear down the Devil defense, but the skill positions seemed to get through the second level so scoring was tough to come by. Shenandoah’s receivers did not have trouble getting open, but the visiting team’s relentless pass rush was not allowing Palubinsky to set up and fire. Despite both teams’ struggles, Tamaqua’s offense hit a groove late in the half and standout Dalton Nunemacher hauled in a 16-yard pass to extend their lead to 14-6 with just six seconds to go before halftime.

    The Raiders had confidence and momentum heading into the break but Shenandoah Valley had been trailing at the half against Tamaqua for the past two seasons and had comeback to win both meetings. Shenandoah cut the Raiders lead to two by Kevin Karpovich finishing off the drive from the one-yard line. Tamaqua stopped the two-point conversion attempt, but their fortunes continued to turn sour when Dalton Nunemacher dropped the kickoff that rolled back to the five yard line. The senior didn’t get rattled. He picked it up, weaved through waves of defenders and ran it all the way back for a 95 yard return to put Tamaqua back out 20-12 after Vandermartin pushed the PAT wide left.

    As the clock went under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Shenandoah looked down and out and the sacks were starting to pile up for the Blue Raiders. Palubinsky avoided the pass rush and found his favorite target, Merva, for a 21 yard score to cut the lead back to two with the conversion coming up. The senior QB could not find a man open and his pass fell incomplete and Tamaqua retained the lead with just over three minutes remaining. Vandermartin hauled in another big pass, this time from 50 yards, to put Tamaqua’s lead back to eight, but had his kick blocked. So it remained a one possession game with just over two minutes to go. With the Blue Devils driving and looking to tie the ball game, senior safety Tyler Krell came up with the interception, and Tamaqua’s run game pounded it down Shenandoah’s throat to give the Raiders a 26-18 win.

    The Blue Raiders win improves their record to 3-0 with an equally perfect 2-0 mark in the Anthracite Football League. Tamaqua will look to stay perfect as they now face the Golden Bears of Mahanoy Area on Hall of Fame night. “Shendo” Valley falls to 1-2 and 1-1 in the AFL. Next week they’ll butt heads with the Minersville Battlin’ Miners.

  • Tamaqua Rushes Through Allen

    TAMAQUA – Last week, Dalton Nunemacher emerged as the Raiders top playmaker by amassing over 100 yards rushing with a touchdown, 63 yard receiving and another touchdown, a punt return for touchdown that was called back, and two interceptions, one for a 96 yard touchdown return. This week, he continued to dominate the field by scoring all five of Tamaqua’s touchdowns in a 33-6 thrashing of the William Allen Canaries on Friday night.

    Nunemacher returned the opening kickoff to the Raiders 44 yard line and capped off the drive with a 36 yard TD run. The explosive playmaker wasn’t finished. On the next possession, he hauled in a trick play pass form tailback Jake Love to give Tamaqua a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.  Tamaqua’s defense came up big in the first quarter stopping the Canaries twice inside the red zone with outside linebacker Dylan Houser falling on a fumble and intercepting a pass inside the five yard line.

    The Blue Raider defense bent but did not break down the stretch. The Canaries moved the chains 17 times and compiled over 250 yards of offense but could not find the endzone at all in the first half. Tamaqua’s offense, however, was firing on all cylinders and gave Allen no time at all to catch their breath. The Raiders closed out the half with Nunemacher again running it in. This time it was from eight yards out. Trailing 21-0 with six seconds in the half, Allen took a shot at the endzone and nearly closed the gap, but Lara’s pass went in and out of the hands of a wide open receiver Jaleel Ennis. As time expired, The “Boys in Blue” were comfortably ahead 21-0.

    Tamaqua came out of the break fired up and quickly stopped the Canaries to a 3-and-out. After a long run by Love, Nunemacher again scored, this time on a 1 yard run. Allen’s offense continued to struggle as they failed to convert a fourth down and had to give the ball back to the Raiders. Nunemacher put up one more touchdown to cap off a 7-play, 69-yard drive to finish off the Canaries and put Tamaqua ahead 33-0. In the fourth quarter, William Allen finally got on the board with a 13 yard pass from Lara to Armando Castillo to make it 33-6 which would turn out to be the final tally. A total of 36 yards, rushed for another 136 yards on 13 touches, and also scored all five Blue Raider touchdowns.

    Dalton Nunemacher was again the offensive standout for Tamaqua. The senior caught four passes.Tamaqua improves to 2-0 with a 1-0 record in the Anthracite Football League with last week’s victory over Jim Thorpe. The Raiders travel to Shenandoah next week to face the Blue Devils of Shenandoah Valley.

    William Allen falls to 0-2 on the season but have lost to two very good opponents in Tamaqua and Allentown Central Catholic. The Canaries head north to face East Stroudsburg North. This will be Allen’s first league game as a member of the Mountain Valley Conference.