Playing tough defense and causing turnovers has been winning football games since the game was practically invented.

Jim Thorpe used that proven formula, forcing five Hurricane turnovers to come away with a 28-7 Anthracite Football League victory over Schuylkill Haven.The Olympians "Red Swarm" defense didn't play too shabby either, holding the Hurricanes to just 138 total yards of offense. It wasn't pretty, but Thorpe got the "W" the ole' fashioned way, improving to 5-0."We have to cut down on our penalties, but I'm proud of the way our guys found a way to win," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "This was a great team win, our guys showed a lot of character by fighting the elements and playing great defense. We made the plays we needed to make to win the game."Early on in the first quarter it looked like Thorpe was going to run away with it, scoring two quick touchdowns after two Schuylkill Haven turnovers. Two Robbie Heller touchdown runs of 45 and 11 yards gave the Olympians a 14-0 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first.Then on Jim Thorpe's third possession of the quarter a mistake on the snap gave Schuylkill Haven the ball inside the Olympians 10-yard line. The result was a one-yard touchdown run by Haven QB Danny Lozada."You have to give credit to Schuylkill Haven, they played tough tonight and got right back into the ball game after we got out to a quick two touchdown lead," said Rosenberger. "We're going to look back at the tape and see what the issue was with snapping the ball tonight. You can't turn over the ball like that in your own territory. We'll get it fixed."Then the game turned ugly with penalties and stalled drives filling much of the second half from both teams. In all the Olympians were penalized nine times on the night, while Haven committed seven.Fast forward to the fourth quarter where almost all of the action in the second half occurred. Schuylkill Haven, still down 14-7 needing to make something happen turned the ball over for a fifth time on the night. Jim Thorpe's Justin Barton made the defensive play of the night, intercepting a Lozada pass and taking it 48 yards for a touchdown. That score put the game out of reach for Haven. Another Lozada interception sealed the deal by setting up a one yard touchdown run by Kevin Vitti."We didn't play team football tonight," said Schuylkill Haven head coach Mike Farr. "I feel like we had a really good chance to win the game, but we didn't convert scoring opportunities when we had the chance. When you're a single-A team playing a triple-A team you can't make those type of mistakes."THREE AMIGOS... The Jim Thorpe defensive backs did a good job throughout the night, but there were three Olympians that made Schuylkill Haven quarterback Danny Lozada pay for forcing passes. Robbie Geisinger, Justin Barton, and Jordan McElmoyle all came up with interceptions. As noted, Barton's interception was returned for a 48-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to give JT a 21-7 lead.OFFENSIVE STRUGGLE… Both teams had a rough night on offense, which can possibly be blamed on the wet conditions. The Olympians were well below their offensive average, coming up with just 177 yards of total offense, while the Hurricanes barely trumped the century mark, gaining just 138 total yards.FOURTH DOWN STOPS … Besides causing fiv e Hurricanes turnovers the "Red Swarm" defense did its job on fourth and short situations. The Olympians stopped Schuylkill Haven four different times, causing Schuylkill Haven to turn the ball over on downs.