In Week 8 of the high school football season, Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua played in what was deemed by many an instant classic in the Schuylkill League Football ranks. There were back and forth momentum-changing scores throughout the second half, a furious comeback from the Raiders, and of course a 37-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to win the game for the Olympians as time expired.

So, it’s only fitting that after such a great game the first time around these two league rivals will now meet just three weeks later in the opening round of the District 11 3A playoffs. The anticipation, rivalry, and the skill level of both Times News area squads in this matchup made it a no-brainer to be chosen for the playoff edition Game of the Week.

The Olympians (9-1) and the Raiders (6-4) are at two different ends of the momentum spectrum entering this contest. Jim Thorpe is coming off a disappointing multi-touchdown loss to its backrival Lehighton where it lost both the Schuylkill League Division 1 Championship and its chance at an undefeated regular season.

The Raiders, on the other hand, were able to finally bounce back after four straight losses, including three consecutive tough losses to division opponents, by defeating rival Marian 49-0.

The postseason provides players and coaches the opportunity to start fresh, and that’s what both teams will be looking to do when they face off at 7 p.m. Saturday in Jim Thorpe.

“No doubt last week was a tough loss, we were outplayed and outworked. There were plays that we had the opportunity to make, especially defensively on jump balls and tackles that we didn’t make and that can’t happen this week,” said Olympians head coach Mark Rosenberger. “Our kids have taken that loss and learned from it though, I can say that, and they’ve been focused and determined all week at practice to avenge that performance.”

In the Week 8 battle, it was a tale of two halves for the Raiders. In the first half, they punted six times and couldn’t get much of anything going offensively, scoring just six points, which came off a score right before the end of the second quarter. However, in the second half they scored 20 points, forcing three Olympians’ turnovers, cashing in on all three.

This time around, Raiders head coach Sam Bonner wants to see a more consistent performance from the offense, especially early on.

“First off, we’re going to have our tight end Casey Rother (6-4, 220-pounds) for this game, he missed the last one against them and he’s a big part of what we do offensively, so I think that should help us out having him back. But we need to be able to establish drives and move the football in the first half,” said Bonner. “We started a lot of our drives deep in our own territory too, which hurt, just overall we have to be better offensively. We can’t depend on turnovers to give us good field position, because they might not always be there.”

Last week against the Indians, the Jim Thorpe defense struggled, allowing Lehighton to put the game away with big plays from its premier athletes. The Olympians gave up 43 points to the Tribe, which was by far their highest points allowed on the season, entering the game surrendering just 5.7 points per game with six shutouts.

This week, Thorpe’s defense against the big play is definitely something it will need to shore up with the Raiders boasting some of the most dynamic players in the Schuylkill League. It’s no secret that Tamaqua showcases one of the best one-two punches at running back with junior Nick Breiner and sophomore Nate Boyle. Breiner has rushed for 1,314 yards and 18 touchdowns, while Boyle has added 625 yards and 10 scores. Both backs have broken off several long scoring plays throughout the season – just one missed tackle, one missed assignment, or open running lane could spell trouble for any opposing defense.

“We didn’t play to our ability last week defensively. Missing tackles is not part of what we do on the defensive side of the football and this week we’ve been working hard to correct that,” said Rosenberger. “We need to get back to doing what we do, which is playing physical fundamental football and controlling the line of scrimmage. They have outstanding running backs and quarterbacks, we know that, we just need to get back to playing our brand of football.”

The Raiders big-play defense held up solid against the Olympians in the ground game in the Week 8 matchup, but Thorpe was able to use its passing game to keep Tamaqua off-balance. The Olympians had scoring plays through the air of 56 and 50 yards, and the eventual game-winner was a 37-yard strike. Jim Thorpe quarterback Nick Rosahac threw for over 250 yards and four touchdowns.

“I thought we did a good job of not letting them run for the big play with (Justin) St. Hill and (C.J.) Selby the last time, but we obviously gave up some big plays in the passing game, with one of them winning the game for them,” said Bonner. “That’s something we need to be better at this week, we need to get some more pressure on the quarterback when they’re in passing situations and keep their receivers in front of us, and then finish when we have the opportunity to make a play.”