A year ago, Tamaqua was supposed to be rebuilding. Instead, it reloaded.

Huge personnel losses from the previous year’s state semifinalist squad, and a pandemic altered schedule didn’t prevent the Blue Raiders from enjoying more success in 2020.

On the heels of record setting 2019 season that saw Tamaqua capture a District 11 title and compile a 12-3 record, not much was expected last year.

But despite having only a handful of starters returning, the Raiders went 5-3 during the regular season and qualified for the districts playoffs for a fifth straight season.

If Tamaqua is going to make it six straight postseason appearances its going to have to reload again. Although the Raiders return some experience in the trenches, for a second straight season they were wiped out at the skill positions.

“We lost our entire starting backfield and that’s going to be tough to replace,” Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner said. “Those guys were crucial to our success last year. Nate Wickersham (quarterback) and Lucas Schickram (fullback) both switched to new positions and never missed a beat, and Nate Curvey stepped into the tailback position as a first-year starter and had an outstanding season.

“Now, we need another group of kids to do that same exact thing. Our quarterback, tailback, fullback and flanker have all never started a game at those positions. But they are talented kids and we’re confident that they are going to be up to the challenge.”

Nate Gregoire will be the Raiders’ new quarterback. Gregoire backed up Wickersham a year ago - and although he took snaps in a majority of Tamaqua’s games - he threw just seven passes and ran the ball just three times the entire season.

“Nate’s got nice size and a really strong arm,” Bonner said. “Last year, we were predominantly a power running team because we felt that was best suited for the personnel we had.

“But with Nate under center this year, I think you’ll see us have a little more balance, and go back to being a team that uses a play-action passing attack to keep defenses honest.”

When Tamaqua does run the ball, it will rely on junior tailback Warren Stewart. Injuries limited Stewart to just one carry a season ago, but Bonner is excited to have him back healthy this season.

“Warren has really good speed and is a strong kid,” Bonner said. “We think he can be a really nice threat for us.:

After moving Schickram from the offensive line to fullback a year ago, Bonner is doing the same thing with Luca Cammarota this season.

Bonner also likes what he sees so far from his receiving group.

“Zander Coleman will line up all over the field for us,” Bonner said. “He’s another kid with good speed who we want to see get the ball in his hands. So we’re listing him as the starting flanker, but we will be moving him all around the field. We also like what we’ve seen from Steven Kostecky at receiver. He’s tall (6-2) and is a nice athlete.

“I think our skill position people have a little more overall speed than we did a year ago and we are hopefully going to be able to take advantage of that.”

One area where Tamaqua has experience is the offensive line. The Raiders return four starters in Jacob Wasserleben (tackle), Parker Coleman (guard), Josh Shelton (guard) and Trevor O’Brien (center).

“It always nice to have veteran starters up front,” Bonner said. “We have four guys who started a year ago and we are hoping that with a year under their belts you’re going to see them have an even bigger impact on what we are able to do offensively.”

Defensively, Tamaqua lost its top seven tacklers from 2020.

Wasserleben, who had 12 tackles and three sacks a year ago, will be counted on to anchor the defense from his defensive end position.

“Jacob is the only remaining player we have on the team who played significant minutes during the 2019 championship season. So he’s been part of a lot of success here the last couple of years, and we expect a lot out of him this season,” Bonner said.

Defensive tackles Spencer Dennis and Parker Coleman, middle linebacker John Klein and safety Gregoire form a nice layer of defense in the middle of the field.

“Although we have a lot of first-year starters on both side of the ball, most of these upperclassmen have been part of very successful teams during their careers here,” Bonner said. “They might not have all been on the field for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 playoff games, but they were part of the program and they know what it takes to be successful.

“This is a chance for them to step in and make a name for themselves. We always have the goal to play competitive football and give ourselves a chance to be a playoff team. That isn’t changing. We want to be playing important games late in the season.”

QUARTERBACKS

Nate Gregoire takes over at quarterback for the Raiders. Gregoire, a senior, took snaps in a number of games a year ago as the backup to Nate Wickersham, but only attempted seven passes the entire season. He was be backed up by freshman Luke Kane.

RUNNING BACKS

Warren Stewart will try to keep the tailback tradition going strong at Tamaqua. Stewart, who battled injuries a year ago, will replace the graduated Nate Curvey as the Raiders’ backfield workhorse. He will be backed up by Love Ortiz. After having success moving Lucas Schickram from guard to fullback last season, the Raiders will try to duplicate it this year as former offensive lineman Luca Cammarota is slated to be the fulback.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Tamaqua completed just 31 passes all last season and no wide receiver had more than seven catches. But coach Sam Bonner said the Raiders plan to throw the ball more this season and is excited about the size, speed and athletic ability that flanker Zander Coleman, split end Steven Kostecky and tight end John Klein bring to the receiver position. Adam Linkhorst should also see time at receiver, while Declan Coleman is in the mix at the tight end position.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Tamaqua returns an experienced offensive line that features four returning starters. Although a couple of players have switched positions, Jacob Wasserleben (tackle), Parker Coleman (guard), Josh Shelton (guard) and Trevor O’Brien (center) all started a year ago. Ryan Snyder (tackle) should be the fifth starter. Zach McGlinchey, Spencer Dennis, Gavin Semko and Michael Styka could also see playing time up front.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Tamaqua will once again play a 4-3 defense with Aiden Milkovits and Jacob Wasserleben at the tackles and Spencer Dennis and Parker Coleman at the ends. Also expected to get work on the line are Zach McGlinchey and Luca Cammarota.

LINEBACKERS

John Klein will start at middle linebacker with Zander Coleman and Warren Stewart at the outside linebacker spots. They will be backed up by a trio of freshmen in Luke Kane, Bradley Whalen and Jacob Hehn.

SECONDARY

Adam Linkhorst and Steven Kostecky will be the starting cornerbacks with Nate Gregoire and Damon Sell playing the safety positions. Devin Sell and Gabe Coleman will also see time in the defensive backfield.