PEN ARGYL — Never panicked.

That’s exactly what Tamaqua quarterback Luke Kane was when pressured by Pen Argyl on Saturday.

It’s also what the Blue Raiders were after a sluggish start that saw them facing an early deficit.

Kane’s ability to buy time and make plays — both with his arm and his legs — contributed to a pair of touchdowns, while the entire team’s knack to rebound from a rough opening quarter resulted in an eventual 38-7 victory in their season opener.

“I coached here (at away games) when I was at Northern Lehigh, and Saturday afternoon is always a challenge getting off that bus and coming out ready to play,” said Raider head coach Sam Bonner. “And I thought we kind of started off slow. We gave up a long drive, we went three-and-out on offense. But I thought our kids did a great job overcoming on the road on a Saturday.

“Some of those plays (by Luke) were a little bit improvised. But he did a great job buying time. He hit on some big passes.”

After the Green Knights took their opening drive and took it to the end zone for a 7-0 lead, Tamaqua put together a long march but failed to produce as an interception in the end zone kept the host team ahead.

But from the middle of the second quarter to the final whistle, the Raiders flipped the script.

“Getting out here and winning this game is amazing for us,” said Kane, who threw for 177 yards. “Our team, we’ve all battled together so that pick at the beginning of the game didn’t really hurt us. We knew we’d settle back in and come back.”

The comeback started with 7:06 left until halftime when Victor Schlosser broke loose down the sideline for a 68-yard touchdown run that tied the score.

After a defensive stop, Tamaqua had the ball again and some Kane magic set up the go-ahead tally.

Buying time by scrambling and avoiding would-be tacklers, the Raider signal-caller let loose to an open Jacob Hahn for a 51-yard gain. Moments later, with help from a Pen Argyl penalty on a fourth down, Kane again was on the move before spotting Declan Coleman in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown and a 14-7 advantage with 1:35 until the break.

“I always feel my line gives me a lot of time,” said Kane. “They give me space, but I have guys out there that make plays ... They’re all going to find openings, even if I’m scrambling.”

Tamaqua’s QB displayed his agility early in the second half to help widen the gap.

Kane and the defense thwarted the Knights’ drive to start the third quarter, coming up with a key stop in the red zone. The ensuing possession once again displayed why opposing defenses will have fits trying to contain the senior playmaker.

Forced out of the pocket on a third down, he picked up enough yardage for a first down. Three plays later, he again danced away from pressure. When it looked like he had an opening to run, he instead spotted an open Schlosser deep down field for a 66-yard completion. That led to a 2-yard Tyler Koch TD run and a 21-7 lead.

“I know he’s going to hit me,” said Schlosser of his QB. “I know if he sees me, he’s got the arm to throw it. So that’s good to know, so I’ll just keep running.

“I expect us to have a lot of big plays coming from almost anybody on the team. We have a lot of great guys, a lot of experienced guys, and hopefully we just keep going.”

Before the quarter ended, Schlosser came up with another of those big plays — his third of the game. The senior running back got loose for a 55-yard run that set up Bradley Whalen’s 4-yard scoring run that gave the Raiders full control.

The impact of big plays wasn’t lost on Coach Bonner.

“We kind of preach that defensively,” said Bonner of big plays. “We don’t want to play tough for two downs and then give up a big play. They hit one big one on us, and I got upset over that even though it got called back (due to a penalty). That’s the kind of stuff that kills you. That deflates a football team, and I thought we did a good job of being on the opposite end of that today making those big plays.”

The Raiders closed out the scoring in the final frame as Nicholas Barron booted a 22-yard field goal and Ace Schickram reached the end zone on a 4-yard run.

STREAK ENDS ... Tamaqua had lost three straight years in its season openers, last winning in 2020 against Shenandoah Valley.

STAT LEADERS ... Schlosser ran for 147 yards on just nine carries, and caught three passes for 78 yards. He also had an interception on defense. Whalen collected 74 yards on 17 attempts, while Coleman hauled in three passes for 48 yards. Defensively, Koch had 10 tackles, two for loss. Luke Frohnheiser ended with nine stops.

Tamaqua 38, Pen Argyl 7

Tamaqua 0 14 14 10 - 38

Pen Argyl 7 0 0 0 - 7

PA - Soos 5 run (Kotulka kick)

T - Schlosser 68 run (Barron kick)

T - D. Coleman 6 pass from Kane (Barron kick)

T - Koch 2 run (Barron kick)

T - Whalen 4 run (Barron kick)

T - Barron 22 FG

T - Schickram 4 run (Barron kick)