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JIM THORPE- Friday night’s matchup in Schuylkill 1 League certainly lived up to all expectations. This was a closely contested, hard fought game produced by both teams. Blue Mountain capped off a late fourth quarter drive to pull out a 17-14 victory over host Jim Thorpe on a soggy evening in Carbon County.
The Blue Eagles managed to get on the scoreboard first, after holding the Olympians to a three and out on the opening possession. Blue Mountain took over near midfield and drove the ball to the JT nine, where drive stalled. A 26-yard field goal by Jonathon Benner gave his team a 3-0 lead. Jim Thorpe struggled to gain any momentum, as they didn’t earn a first down till early in the second quarter.
The visitors extended their lead to 10-0 with about four minutes left until half. They capped a 57-yard, nine-play drive with an eight-yard run off the left side by Ben Kramer. Jim Thorpe did manage to sustain a drive after taking over at their own 40. The drive ended in disappointment as it reached the 18. Jack Mickivigan picked off a pass at the goal-line to end the half.
Blue Mountain took the second half kickoff and drove it to the JT 15, but a fourth down pass went incomplete and the Olympians took over. An 18-play drive would ensue for the home team, but again the Blue Eagle defense stepped up and a bad snap on a fourth and one at the Eagles 15 ended the threat.
On the first play for BM, a tipped pass was intercepted setting up JT deep in Eagles territory. Justin St Hill scored on the first play of the fourth quarter with a three-yard burst to cut the lead to 10-7. JT would benefit from another miscue, as on the first play of the ensuing drive, the Blue Eagles fumbled and the Olympians were set up again in great field possession. St. Hill again got the call from a yard out giving his team their first lead at 14-10 with ten minutes left to play.
After back-to-back punts by each team, Blue Mountain took possession at JT 44 with about five minutes remaining in the contest. Kramer again got the call from three yards out with 2:44 left on the clock. The key play was a fourth and 12 completion at the JT 20. The Olympians’ subsequent drive starting at their 32 ended in disappointment as an errant pass in the flat was intercepted by Blue Mountain at their 33, sealing the deal for the visitors.
“We found a way to win,” said ecstatic Blue Mountain coach Cory Mabry. “Things got a little sloppy for us at the beginning of the second half and their offensive sets threw us off somewhat. That is a very good team over there(Jim Thorpe). Our resilience won it for us tonight.”
Blue Mountain (5-1) travels to Pottsville (5-1). Pottsville was a 19-7 winner over Tamaqua Friday. Jim Thorpe (4-2) will be at North Schuylkill (4-2) who had a tough fought 7-0 upset over Lehighton.
