Tamaqua faces WA in 3A semis

Raider (noun) ­— a person who attacks an enemy in the enemy’s territory; a marauder.

The definition of Tamaqua’s mascot has defined what it has done to the opposition during an historic run this postseason.

The Raiders (12-2) will look to once again navigate the dangerous seas of the PIAA state tournament when they take on Wyoming Area in the Class 3A semis on Friday night at Wyoming Valley West for a chance to play for a state championship.

Tamaqua has seen all types of different playing styles and schemes since it embarked on its postseason voyage. The Raiders have seen spread teams with speed that like to throw the football in Notre Dame Green Pond and Pope John Paull II, and they’ve also seen physical teams with power rushing attacks in North Schuylkill and the former No. 1 ranked Class 3A team in the state, Wyomissing.

This week, Tamaqua will face a new challenge in the Warriors (12-1) — the District 2 champions out of Exeter whose only loss on the season came at the hands of powerhouse Southern Columbia.

The difference this week in preparing for Wyoming Area won’t be anything scheme-wise that the Raiders haven’t seen before this postseason. The difference will be the Warriors’ size, as Wyoming boasts exceptional size across the board on both the offensive and defensive line and will be the biggest team Tamaqua has seen this season.

Wyoming has size all over, but its size and strength on defense has been the key to its success. The Warriors have held their opponents to 14 points or less in 10 of their 13 games this season. Wyoming is led by 6-3, 215-pound defensive end Derek Ambrosino, who has 62 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Samuel Solomon, at 6-4 298 pounds has been a matchup difficulty for teams as he’s compiled 16 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks on the season, while strong safety Dominic DeLuca (6-1, 175) has patrolled the secondary for the Warriors with 65 tackles.

“We don’t have the biggest guys up front; I think we have two guys who are six-foot and the rest are under that, but what we do have is speed and strength,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “On both the offensive and defensive line we’re very strong; we’ve been able to beat people off the ball and also push them off the ball.

“We know their size will be tough, but our guys have played tough here all season long and they are really playing well.”

Wyoming also has size on the offensive side of the ball with Solomon and Nicholas Elko (6-3, 290) anchoring the line. Running back Darren Rodney (6-0, 175) has had a solid year with 871 rushing yards and 16 scores, while wide receiver Brian Williams (6-1, 190) has caught 30 balls for 687 yards and 10 touchdowns.

But the Warriors offense goes as quarterback Dominic DeLuca goes. DeLuca has thrown for 1,409 yards and 18 scores with just four interceptions. He has also rushed for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns. DeLuca is quick and decisive, and has had success getting to the edge of defenses this season, leading a Wyoming rushing attack that averages 228.5 yards per game.

On paper, there is no doubt Wyoming has a size edge over the Raiders’ defensive front; however, Tamaqua has been mostly undersized up front throughout the playoffs and has still bested the competition, allowing less than 100 yards rushing per game over its last four. The Raiders showed their ability to stop the run last week, holding Wyomissing’s vaunted running back Max Hurleman (1,192 yards rushing) to just 43 yards on the ground and the Wyomissing offense to just 166 total yards.

“It’s important for us to make sure we contain the quarterback; he’s quick and he makes good decisions. We have to do what we did a few weeks ago against Pope John Paul and its mobile quarterback — make sure we fly to the football and make plays,” said Bonner. “We know they have size up front, we know we have to be quick off the ball. We’ve been able to really limit teams of late on early downs, and that will once again be our goal this week.”

Offensive execution has been one of the keys to the Raiders run this postseason. Tamaqua running back Nate Boyle has been remarkable during the Raiders playoff campaign, rushing for 930 yards and 13 touchdowns over his last four games (232.5 rushing yards per game).

But it’s been Tamaqua’s ability to keep teams off-balance and not let them simply key on the run game that has been a distinct difference-maker.

Quarterback Brayden Knoblauch, wide receiver Matt Kistler and the rest of the Raiders’ receiving group has been the perfect compliment to Boyle’s running. Knoblauch has put up nice numbers this postseason, throwing for 487 yards with four touchdowns and most importantly zero interceptions. Kistler has hauled in 19 balls for 287 yards and three scores.

Defenses simply cannot just line up and focus on Boyle, as the Raiders’ offense has proved that this postseason.

“We’ve been really good in the passing game. Credit Brayden and Matt and the rest of those guys for doing such a good job, especially early on when teams have really stacked the box on us,” said Bonner. “Our passing game and running game have really worked hand, in hand and have opened things up for each other.

“If a team is going to walk guys up the whole game, I have all the confidence in the world in Brayden to make plays for us, and we’ll call those plays. We’ll pass even on early downs if we see something we like.”