This 2023 season didn’t start very well for Tamaqua.

Through four games, the Blue Raiders were still winless and had been mercy-ruled twice.

But veteran coach Sam Bonner and a young Tamaqua team have righted the ship - having now won three consecutive games.

The Raiders’ recent run might not have anyone thinking championships this season, but it has begun the process of laying solid ground work for future success.

In this week’s Overtime column, Bonner talks about the turnaround and some similarities he’s seeing between this squad and a past Tamaqua team.

In addition, Rod Heckman will provide statistics and historical perspective on several items, including the undefeated starts to the season for both Palmerton and Northwestern, and a 200-yard rushing game for a Marian freshman.

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Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner can still vividly recall when his 2012 team recorded the school’s first undefeated and untied regular season, and also claimed its first Anthracite League title. Their 10-1 season ended in a playoff loss to Pen Argyl.

He even recalled receiving a dousing Gatorade bath afterward and realized how his simplified, yet effective method of hard work and dedication led it in its underdog role toward a league crown.

These days, Bonner isn’t thinking about his current team making another title run. Instead, this season could be the precursor for a successful 2024 campaign.

Back in 2012, Bonner saw the previous season as the catalyst for an undefeated slate. His 6-6 club in 2011 has some parallels to the current squad, which is 3-4 and riding a three-game winning streak entering this weekend’s play.

“I see this team very similar to that one,” noted Bonner, who is in his 17th year at the helm. “We were a young team that started off 1-4, and we finished 6-6. We ended up in the Eastern Conference playoffs and lost in the championship.

“We just kept working to get better, and the kids believed they could do it. They never quit, and it paid off. I just knew it would be a special season the following year.”

This season, the Blue Raiders have been following a similar path. Their schedule wasn’t kind to them to start with perennial powers Northwestern, Notre Dame of Green Pond and North Schuylkill among the first four games. A loss to rival Lehighton was also part of that stretch as Tamaqua was quickly saddled with an 0-4 mark.

But it quickly bounced back with victories over Salisbury (49-18), Jim Thorpe (14-7), and Pine Grove (42-3). The Blue Raiders host Northern Lehigh tonight in what should be a tight skirmish that could get them back to the .500 mark.

Bonner acknowledged that his team wasn’t helped by some early-season injuries and has started to get some players back, but added the biggest reason for the turnaround simply came down to their work ethic.

Junior running back Bradley Whelan - who was injured earlier this season - is the team’s leading rusher with 402 yards and five touchdowns. Fellow junior quarterback Luke Kane, who was also sidelined, has completed 34 of 80 attempts for 480 yards with four touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Damon Sell has 14 receptions for 168 yards with a touchdown.

“We had a tough schedule,” said Bonner. “We didn’t return a lot of senior starters, so we had a lot of sophomores and juniors out on the field to start the season. We had three sophomores playing varsity for the first time on our offensive line in our season opener.”

But as the young players have improved and gained experience, Tamaqua’s early-season struggles have become a thing of the past.

“Tamaqua always has had tough, hard-working kids,” said Bonner. “We just keep it simple. We have a bunch of kids who really want to succeed and will do anything for it.”

Despite the slow start, Bonner had a good feeling about this season during the summer.

“We had a great turnout for our workouts,” he said. “We had 30-plus kids for each session, and it came down to about 90% of the kids being there. It’s hard for any team to get that kind of commitment, and it says something about these kids. It really helped us build a good chemistry.”

Senior lineman Mike Styka also realized that summer could be a key.

“I think it all starts from players that have showed up with workouts and practices during the summer,” said Styka. “Those are the guys who are willing to put everything on the line for this team. A big difference-maker has been putting more time into the things that weren’t the best for us in the first four games.

“Ever since then, we realized what kind of football team we are and decided to do what works best and continue with it. The past three wins have been big for especially when the playoffs roll around.”

Styka believes this season can be a springboard, possibly like the 2011 season.

“Hopefully, the continued work and dedication will lead to even more success the remainder of this year and next year,” he said. “We all work well together.”

Junior tight end/defensive lineman Declan Coleman always kept the faith.

“I think the season had turned around because we became a real team,” said Coleman. “All of our chemistry has started to connect with one another, and that helps a lot. I feel another difference has been everyone staying healthy. Injuries affected us early, but I feel we are better now.”

Like Styka, Coleman also envisions a bright future.

“Even though we are losing a few seniors that play key positions, I feel the underclassmen will be able to fill those roles like they need to be.

“I think we have the making to be good if the underclassmen show up in the offseason to get better and push themselves, too.”

Bonner likes his team’s chances down the stretch, and certainly in 2024.

“We believe we have a good thing here,” he said. “We’re young, and growing. We’ll see what happens.”

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STARTING 7-0 ... Both Palmerton and Northwestern currently sport 7-0 records.

How rare is it for two teams from the area to be perfect seven weeks into the season?

Over the past 45 years, this marks just the fourth time it’s happened.

Jim Thorpe and Lehighton were both 9-0 before they played each other in Week 10 of the 2017 season. In 2015, the Olympians and Indians had identical 8-0 marks before Thorpe was knocked off. And in 2006, Marian and Jim Thorpe each posted 7-0 records before the Colts suffered a loss in the eighth week.

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SCORING ON OFFENSE & DEFENSE ... Tamaqua’s Damon Sell closed out his team’s win over Pine Grove on Friday with a 32-yard touchdown run and a 27-yard pick-six.

The last time a Blue Raider had a pick-six and also scored on offense was the suspended game on Oct. 19-20, 2012 against Panther Valley - 118 games ago.

In that contest, Dalton Nunemacher returned an interception 55 yards for a score and had TD runs of one and four yards.

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ANOTHER RECORD ... Palmerton’s Matt Machalik holds numerous school records for scoring, passing and rushing. Last Friday, he set another mark - this time on defense.

Thanks to former Times News Sports Editor Ed Hedes for letting us know that Machalik intercepted his 15th career pass in the game against Salisbury. That breaks the previous mark that was held by Austin Cseh.

In addition to total picks, Machalik has also returned four interceptions for touchdowns in his career, including one this season.

Over the past 30 years, only one area player has had more career pick-6s - Pleasant Valley’s Nyiem Nevarez ended his high school career with five. Along with Machalik, Northwestern’s Taylor Breininger and Panther Valley’s Jake Dunn also had four.

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FRESHMAN SENSATION ... Marian’s Rory Dixon was named the TN Football Player of the Week after rushing for 214 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Shenandoah Valley.

The last time - and what is believed to be the only other time - a freshman player reached 200 yards rushing in a game (since 1988) was when Pleasant Valley’s Austyn Borre ran for 246 yards on just eight carries against Dieruff on Sept. 7, 2012.