Two Teams, One Town, No Love
TAMAQUA – 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 […]
Record Setting Performance Sparks Upset
SCHUYLKILL 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 […]
North Schuylkill Survives Raider Rally
TAMAQUA – 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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″, […]
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 […]
