CENTER VALLEY — Like a thunderbolt, it came out of nowhere. Furious, powerful and lightning quick.

That is the best way to describe Southern Lehigh’s football team, as it held off an early rally by a bunch of Jim Thorpe upstarts who kept finding the way to answer the bell early.

The Olympians ran out of ammo as things wore on and could only watch the Spartans pull away in the second half Thursday night en route to an impressive 56-27 victory in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class 4A playoffs.

The win vaults Southern Lehigh into the semifinals to meet Pottsville, a winner over Allentown Central Catholic. The other semifinalists will feature Lehighton and Bethlehem Catholic.

The Spartans needed to find a way to shake loose from pesky Thorpe. On the Olympians first three possessions, they surged to the fore.

They turned to a pair of juniors, who figured out a way to score early and often. Quarterback Cole Lazorick and dual threat Josh Louk both kept throwing haymakers at the Southern defense.

Jim Thorpe needed just six plays to go on top 7-0 when Lazorick fired a 41-yard scoring strike to the fleet-footed Louk, who raced to paydirt.

The combo was so prolific, they combined for all four of their team’s touchdowns. Louk was stellar with 307 yards of total offense, 224 yards in receptions and 83 on the ground.

However, when the Spartans needed answers, they got them in a huge way thanks to tough, physical running back Sean Steckert — who had a career night. The 5-10, 175-pound junior registered a school record when he rushed for 352 yards on 15 carries. He hit the end zone four times, with his longest run 81 yards from the line of scrimmage.

“Whoa, that’s something,” Colton Sams, his head coach said when told of what the running back had done. “He’s got good balance, loves the weight room and he is very physical.”

After Thorpe hit the scoreboard, it attempted an onside kick, which looked favorable. But the ball failed to travel 10 yards — instead it went nine. Four plays later, Steckert was in the end zone on a 4-yard run and Noah Tepler’s PAT kick tied the score.

Back came Jim Thorpe. This time it took nine plays, with the final one a 25-yard scoot to the end zone by Louk. Noah Geiser booted his second PAT to send their team in front, 14-7.

Southern Lehigh, however, answered back in three plays, with Stecker at the forefront. This time he delivered a 57-yard race to the end zone to draw the Spartans even again.

The back-and-forth continued as Jim Thorpe answered the bell in a jiffy.

Lazorick reared back and found Louk flying past the Spartans secondary for a terrific 73-yard touchdown to send the Olympians in front for the third — and final time.

“We struggled all year long with defense, and that came back to haunt us,” Olympian mentor Mark Rosenberger said.

That haunting feeling, by the way, came no less on Halloween Night.

Like a tsunami, the home team engulfed Thorpe thereafter.

When Southern Lehigh quarterback Colton Sams — son of the coach — found his 6-5 all-state receiver Andrew Olesh breezing past the Thorpe secondary, the potential Michigan recruit latched onto a 73-yard score. Moments before the half, Stecker took off on an 81-yard monster run to the end zone by bullying his way past would-be Jim Thorpe tacklers to hit the end zone and lift his team to a 28-21 advantage.

There was just 75 seconds to play before the respite but the Spartans still put another six-pack on the board. Sams found Darius Roman for a 67-yard pass and catch to send their team to a 35-21 lead.

In the second half, it didn’t take long for Southern to put things out of reach. It scored three touchdowns in a hurry to take control. Olesh caught a 6-yard pass for a score, Steckler finished off a 94-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown run and Olesh latched on to a 13-yard strike from Sams.

Jim Thorpe had one more say when Lazorick flung an 80-yard pass to Louk to cap a wild offensive night for both squads.

“We had a lot of fight in us tonight, and I was proud of their efforts,” Rosenberger said.

BIG TIME PLAYER … Olesh has all the tools to make it to the next level. He is fast, tough to watch, physical and has great hands. He will be in Happy Valley Saturday for the Penn State-Ohio State game.

QUOTABLE … “I can’t say enough about their effort … this was one of the best efforts that we had all year,” said Rosenberger on his club’s performance against a quality team.

YOUNG BUT AGED … Jim Thorpe loses seven seniors due to graduation.

S. Lehigh 56, J. Thorpe 27

Jim Thorpe 7 14 6 0 - 27

So. Lehigh 7 28 21 0 - 56

JT - Louk 11 pass from Lazorick (Geiser kick)

SL - Stecker 11 pass from Sams (Tepler kick)

JT - Louk 25 run (Geiser kick)

SL - Stecker 57 run (Tepler kick)

JT - Louk 73 pass from Lazorick (Geiser kick)

SL - Olesh 60 pass from Sams (Tepler kick)

SL - Stecker 81 run (Tepler kick)

SL - Roman 67 pass from Sams (Tepler kick)

SL - Olesh 6 pass from Sams (Tepler kick)

SL - Stecker 24 run (Tepler kick)

SL - Olesh 13 pass from (Tepler kick)

JT - Louk 80 pass from Lazorick (kick failed)