In its final home game of the season, Jim Thorpe unleashed a full array of offensive firepower Friday night to defeat Bangor by a score of 43-27.

Quarterback Cole Lazorick finished the game with two touchdown runs and two touchdown passes in a display of athleticism that pleased the hometown crowd on Senior Night. On their first possession after the opening kickoff, the junior signal caller drove the Olympians 79 yards on seven plays. On the drive, he ran for 26 yards and hit on 39-yard pass play to wideout Pierce Gothard before Lazorick bolted over from the one-yard line for a 7-0 lead with three minutes gone in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jacob Geiser squibbed the kick across midfield, where Thorpe recovered the ball on the Bangor 38 yard line. That possession had seven plays, and featured runs by Lazorick and all-purpose running back and receiver Joshua Louk, who sliced to pay dirt from a yard out.

Despite being down by two scores before they touched the ball, the Slaters (0-9) battled back with a three-minute, 59-yard scoring drive, culminating with a one-yard run by Lucas Hurd.

The Olympians increased their lead to 16-7 on a 32-yard field goal by Geiser with 8:18 to go in the second quarter.

Thorpe kept Bangor’s defense off balance all game long with misdirection plays, counter traps, quarterback draws, reverses and key passing plays that extended drives into the red zone.

“We took advantage of them setting up light in the box where we could run our trap and counter game, mixed in with some great throws from Lazorick,” said coach Mark Rosenberger. “We were able to find holes through the C gap.”

One of those misdirection plays was a two-yard TD run by Aaron Curran that finished off a 53-yard drive with 1:48 to go before the intermission.

The Red, White and Blue defense was solid in the first half by holding Bangor to just 91 yards total offense, which maintained JT’s 23-7 lead heading into the third quarter.

The Slaters climbed back into the game on their first possession of the second half with a 64-yard scoring drive. The big play was a 40-yard screen pass from quarterback Jaxson Kreider to 6-4, 220-pound senior Timothy McLain, who broke several tackles before he was hauled down at the JT nine-yard line. From there, Alex Farensbach crossed the goal line to put the Slaters down by 10 points at 23-13.

After a quiet first half, record-setting wide receiver Justin Yescavage put his mark on the game, beginning with a 38-yard catch and run to the Bangor nine-yard line. Three plays later, Lazorick passed to Louk on the right side of the end zone for a 29-13 Olympian advantage. Yescavage had another great game, with six catches for 113 yards to add to his totals in the record book for most receptions and yards gained in school history.

Down by 16 points, there was no quit in the winless Slaters. Kreider topped off a 50-yard drive late in the third quarter with a six-yard scamper to bring his team back to within 10 at 29-19.

Following a long drive that moved into the fourth quarter, resulting in no points, Bangor had a chance to close the scoring gap again, but on a fourth down from their own 11-yard line, Gavin Strohl blocked a punt and recovered the ball on the Slaters’ eight-yard line. On the next play, Lazorick took it in from eight yards out to lengthen JT’s lead to 36-19.

“That was a big play by Strohl,” said Rosenberger, “and we put it right in the end zone to give us a pretty good-sized cushion.”

The O’s defense came up big on Bangor’s next possession, stopping a fourth-and-one at midfield. That led to a 50-yard TD drive capped by a five-yard pass from Lazorick to Louk.

“Cole did a great job for us,” said Rosenberger. “He spread the ball around and made some big plays running and passing.”

In a season of ups and downs, the veteran coach praised his players for keeping their focus on the next game, especially after some lopsided losses.

“We are a young team,” he said, “but we showed character tonight by fighting hard to get a final home game win for our seven seniors.”

END OF TRENDS … Coming into the contest, Bangor was averaging six points a game. They more than tripled that number with 19. Thorpe was allowing 40 point per game, but they more than halved that number by giving up 19.

LAZORICK AND LOUK LIGHTENING … The Olympian junior quarterback had a monster game, with 107 yards rushing and 247 yards passing to go along with his two TDs on the ground and two by air. Louk also had a stellar outing with three touchdowns scored.

THE BACKYARD BRAWL … Next week, Thorpe travels to Lehighton for the annual the Route 209 trophy game.

Jim Thorpe 43, Bangor 27

Bangor 7 0 12 8 - 27

Jim Thorpe 13 10 6 14 - 43

JT - Lazorick 1 run (Geiser kick)

JT - Louk 1 run (kick failed)

B - Hurd 1 run (Brownell kick)

JT - Geiser 32 FG

JT - Aa. Curran 2 run (Geiser kick)

B - Farensbach 9 run (kick failed)

JT - Louk 2 pass from Lazorick (kick failed)

B - Kreider 6 run (pass failed)

JT - Lazorick 8 run (Geiser kick)

JT - Louk 5 pass from Lazorick (Geiser kick)

B - Farensbach 12 pass from Kreider (Farensbach pass from Kreider)