Raiders rout Colts

Tamaqua already clinched a District 11 playoff berth prior to Week 10, but the Raiders were searching for much needed momentum.

Well, they found some.

After a few heart-breaking losses, the Raiders seemed to take out their frustration against Marian on Friday night. The offense clicked, the defense was stout, and Tamaqua rolled by backyard rival Marian on senior night, 49-0.

“Our kids came out and played an excellent first quarter,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “Casey (Rother) made some big catches early in some third-and-longs, which enabled us to score and put it out of reach.”

Things snowballed quickly for Marian.

On the game’s first drive, a bad snap went over the punter’s head, and Tamaqua took over with a short field on Marian’s 20. The Raiders’ confidence built rapidly on the immediate drive, as Thad Zuber found Rother for nine yards on a fourth-and-two. Next, Nate Boyle scored with an eight-yard plunge on a reverse at the 8:58 mark of the opening frame.

The snowball turned into an avalanche, as Tamaqua’s Matt Kistler picked off Keith McCall on Marian’s ensuing possession, and the Raiders took over around midfield. Brayden Knobaluch hooked up with Rother for gains of 21 and 12 on that drive, and then he rewarded Kistler with a 10-yard score to make it a quick 14-0 advantage.

“It’s an awesome time,” Rother said. “We were all highly emotional before the game. It was awesome that we were on the same page out there. They’re a big time rival and we love playing them. We had this game circled since the beginning of the season. Being at home for the last senior game was a lot of fun.”

Marian had a chance to take momentum back on the ensuing drive, when the Colts almost pulled off a well-executed trick play. Seth Paluck took a pitch, and decided to look downfield and throw to a wide open receiver—with no Raider in sight. His pass landed right in the bread basket, but it was dropped. The Colts punted and then Nick Breiner stormed for a 65-yard touchdown run on the next drive. Momentum was on the Raiders’ side to stay.

“We had three real tough weeks against three really good teams,” Bonner said. “We were pretty much full tilt. It was nice to come out tonight, have our kids perform, and get a big win.”

McCall was intercepted again, this time by Knoblauch on the first play of the second quarter. Breiner then scored three more before halftime on runs of 11, 78, and 1, which put Tamaqua up 41-0 and assured a running clock in the second half.

“It’s a big rivalry; Marian is always one of those question marks,” said Bonner. “We thought we might have had them outmatched a little bit personnel wise, but it’s a rival, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Tamaqua’s Nate Curvey ripped off a 34-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to wrap things up. “Anytime you pitch a shutout its’ a good thing,” Bonner added. “Our defense is getting a little confidence each week and hopefully that carries over into the playoffs.”

PLAYING CATCH WITH MY FRIEND ... It was senior night and Zuber wanted to get his fellow 2018 graduate going early. “It’s senior night, you know I’m looking for the big guy. I got to get him involved,” he said. “We knew that Marian would come in hot. It’s always a game every single year. But to shut them out two years in a row is pretty sweet; 49-0. A great team win, everyone played their hearts out—play their guts outs, it was just a great team win.”

BOOMING ... Paluck had three booming punts of 40, 42, and 48.

D11 OUTLOOK ... Tentatively, according to the District 11 website, it looks like Marian will take on No. 1 seed Williams Valley in 1A, and sixth-seeded Tamaqua will likely have a rematch with No. 3 Jim Thorpe in 3A.

ONE, TWO , THREE ... Breiner’s scoring runs of 65, 11, and 78 were on three consecutive touches. He racked up 182 rushing yards on 13 carries.