What Sam Bonner saw last year was a Tamaqua football team full of potential.

What the Blue Raiders have shown their coach this offseason is a team dedicated and determined to turn that promise into even more success.

“Especially a couple of our upperclassmen as well as a lot of our younger guys, I think they’re taking a lot more responsibility, showing up in the summertime, working hard throughout practices,” Bonner said. “We had about 15 or 16 kids that made our 90% club and came to the majority of our summer workouts. And we probably had another 15, 16 kids that made 80% of the summer workouts. That being said, we probably had 40 to 45 just (at) summer workouts, not even offseason workouts.

“So the kids showing up for that, you can tell the kids that worked hard in the summer, and they’ve all been progressing.”

Tamaqua will be looking to take another step forward from a season that ended with a 4-7 record and a spot in the District 11 playoffs.

With just six seniors on the roster, the Blue Raiders will be looking to underclassmen to play key roles this fall.

“We’re going to be young upfront,” Bonner said. “Right now, we have one senior offensive lineman that’s playing. But I feel like the last week they’ve been working hard. We have a lot of young guys that are going to be contributing, on both sides of the football. We don’t have a real big senior class, so a lot of our young guys are really contributing right now.

“We had six or seven sophomores start for us last year. Guys like Jacob Hehn (RB/DE), Bradley Whalen (RB/DL), Luke Kane (QB/LB), Declan Coleman (TE/DE). Those guys are really coming around and they’re starting to show that experience they got last year.”

Offensively, Tamaqua averaged 237.8 yards per game last season and 23.9 points per game. Kane was fifth in the area, throwing for 1,016 yards (53-of-135) and 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

Whalen rushed for 279 yards and four scores, while Coleman had eight catches for 143 yards.

“We’ve got some pretty good receivers going right now. Luke Kane’s throwing the ball well,” Bonner said. “Luke was probably here 98% of the time over the summer. He’s got a lot of repetitions in over the summer. He threw for over 1,000 yards last year and we’ve got some of his targets back. Declan Coleman (6-4, 210) had a great offseason and he’s a big target for him. Brady McCabe (6-0, 186), is only a sophomore, but he’s another big target for him. And the two Sell boys (Damon and Devin, both flankers and defensive backs) have worked their tails off. I think they made 100% of the practices in the offseason, and that’s going to show.”

On defense, Tamaqua will look to improve a unit that allowed 314 yards and 29 points per game in 2022.

John Klein led the team with 72 total tackles (six TFLs) last year, while Vincent Schlosser was second with 58 and also graduated. Senior Michael Styka returns and was third on the team with 54 total tackles and a team-high 18 TFLs, while Damon Sell (53 total tackles), Whalen (52, 11 TFLs), and Hehn (52) all return after registering more than 50 tackles.

Bonner saw some of that growth and development on both sides of the ball throughout the year, and much of it has carried over into the offseason.

“I definitely thought that we showed improvement as the year went on,” Bonner said. “One of our goals was to be more productive on defense. The defensive line I thought did a great job of making a lot of TFLs (tackles for loss), making sacks, pressuring the quarterback. That’s something we really wanted to improve on from the year before. So we’re fortunate that we have three or four of those guys back upfront, so we’re looking for those guys to kind of anchor that defense to start off.

“And offensively, we’re looking to progress. We were a little bit more balanced last year, and we want to continue doing that. It’s still early, but I have a feeling our quarterback is going to be a big part of our offense, I think throwing and running the ball. And we have a lot of guys that are solid kids. Right now, we don’t have that one guy that we’re going to say, ‘He’s going to run the ball 50 times a game.’ But we have four or five guys that are going to be in the mix and will be seeing a lot of touches. We like to spread the ball around.”

The Blue Raiders appear to be putting the pieces in place to make their presence felt this fall.

POSITION BREAKDOWN

QUARTERBACKS

Luke Kane, who is listed at 6-2, 201 pounds, returns after throwing for over 1,000 yards (1,016) and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore. Sophomore Chase Serfass, who head coach Sam Bonner noted is taking a number of snaps at the position, is Kane’s backup.

RUNNING BACKS

Juniors Bradley Whalen, Jacob Hehn, Victor Schlosser and senior Damon Sell are all in the mix in the backfield and figure to see time carrying the ball. Freshman CJ Walker is also in the fold and will likely get carries as well.

WIDE RECEIVERS

It will be a lot of familiar faces, with many of Tamaqua’s running backs interchangeable with its flanker position. But Declan Coleman, who is listed at 6-4, 214 pounds, creates a matchup nightmare for defenses split out wide. Sophomore Brady McCabe, who is pushing 6-1, is another big target for Kane when the Blue Raiders look to go to the air.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Sophomore Malachi Stewart is a player Bonner noted might be one of the stronger players on the team – listed at 5-5, 206 pounds – and is in the mix at guard. Seniors Michael Styka and Matthew Welsh will also anchor the offensive line. Sophomore Luke Fronheiser played at center last year, and junior Tyler Koch will be a fullback/guard.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Four players return with significant experience on the line. Juniors Declan Coleman figures to play more tackle than end this season, while Jacob Hehn returns after also starting at the end spot last season and leading the team with four sacks. Senior Michael Styka (54 total tackles, team-leading 18 tackles for loss, three sacks) also started at defensive end a year ago while junior Bradley Whalen (52 total tackles, 11 TFLs) returns after starting at nose guard.

LINEBACKERS

Luke Kane stepped in and started playing both ways near the end of last season and will again be one of the team’s linebackers this fall. Junior Tyler Koch and sophomore Luke Fronheiser will be in the middle, while Brady McCabe will also be on the unit.

SECONDARY

Seniors Damon (two interceptions) and Devin Sell along with junior Victor Schlosser (three sacks, one interception) return as an experienced group in the defensive secondary. Sophomore Shawn Chen is also in the mix at safety.