FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - Squandered opportunities can cost you a ballgame.

In the first half of Jim Thorpe's Schuylkill League Football Division 1 contest against North Schuylkill Friday night, the Olympians were inside the Spartans 35-yard-line on three separate occasions. One of those possessions was even in the red zone, inside the Spartans' 10-yard line.The result, though, was zero points from those opportunities and North Schuylkill took advantage. The Spartans generated big plays in the running game and dominated the line of scrimmage en route to a 28-7 victory.A game can change in the blink of an eye and after the Olympians weren't able to finish off their offensive drives in the first half, North Schuylkill used two big time running plays from Richie Zahodnick and Mitchell Wagner to get out to a 14-0 lead. The Spartans struggled in the first, only running seven total plays, with their two drives ending in a punt and an interception.However, in the second, a 43-yard scoot by Zahodnick and a 61-yard sweep to the outside by Wagner gave North Schuylkill a two-score advantage."We run the football, that's what we do, and our kids ran well tonight," said North Schuylkill head coach Wally Hall. "I just told our guys to stay patient, stay focused, and run hard and they did that. As the game went on, our guys just kept running hard and we were able to wear them down."The second half was a heavy dose of the Spartan rushing attack. North Schuylkill controlled the clock, and the big road graders up front cleared the way for the Spartans' running backs. An eight-play drive and a 12-play drive resulted in two more scores for the Spartans midway through the third and in the beginning of the fourth. A 25-yard scamper for a score by Wagner and a 17-yard cut back run for a touchdown from Zahodnick gave North Schuylkill a 28-0 lead with 10:37 remaining in the game.It was evident in the second half that the Spartans had the advantage in the trenches."Up front they were better than us tonight and their physicality in the backfield was the difference as well," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "Simply put, they were faster than us tonight and they were more physical than us."We have to work to get better and tonight, for some reason, I don't think we played with the passion we traditionally play with. All that being said, I think we have the potential to turn this season around."Jim Thorpe added a touchdown with about seven minutes left on the board when quarterback Brendan Carroll hooked up with Shawn O'Toole for a 25-yard score.North Schuylkill improves to 5-2 (2-0) on the season, while Jim Thorpe drops to 4-3 (0-2).TIME OF POSSESSION ... It was a tale of two halves in the time-of-possession game. In the first half, Jim Thorpe controlled the clock, running 33 plays to the Spartans 19. In the second half, North Schuylkill ran 32 plays to the Olympians 19.TURN OVER ON DOWNS ... The North Schuylkill defense has held Schuylkill League Division 1 opponents to just seven points this season, shutting out Lehighton a week ago and allowing just a score to Jim Thorpe this week. The Olympians punted three times on the night and turned the ball over on downs five times.