The players of the Jim Thorpe football program under head coach Mark Rosenberger have never been afraid to show their emotions.

And it was an extra emotional evening on Friday night against Panther Valley.Thorpe's leader of well over a decade lost his first cheerleader, his mother, earlier in the week. Rosenberger's Olympians certainly didn't let him down on what was likely one of the most emotional nights of his life.The "Red Swarm" defense was in full effect and the Jim Thorpe rushing attack had another good week, as the Olympians defeated Panther Valley, 33-7."This was a really tough week and I just want to thank my coaching staff for stepping in and helping out," said Rosenberger. "I wasn't able to be here like I usually am and I'm fortunate and grateful to have a staff like I do with a great bunch of kids on this football team."From the onset, it looked the Olympians were going to run away with the game. Rosenberger's squad jumped out to a 13-0 lead and held Panther Valley to nonthreatening situations for most of the first half.However, this is high school football, and one play can change the flow of a game at an instance.A mishandled punt by the Olympians late in the second quarter set up a Panther Valley scoring drive, which was capped off by a two-yard Hunter Kennedy touchdown. Just like that, it was a six-point ballgame with 2:37 left in the second frame."We wanted to be within striking distance at half that's what we were able to do," said Panther Valley head coach Matt Davis. "We came out with a strong gameplan in the second half and we were ready to go, but we just made too many mistakes. The effort was there, but you can't make mistakes like we did against a team like Jim Thorpe."The Olympians quickly went back to their workhorse, Justin St. Hill, to extend their lead to 19-7. St. Hill, who scored three touchdowns on the night, scored from seven yards out after a 46-yard pass play from Brendan Carroll to Owen Snisky. The Thorpe rushing attack looked solid for the second-consecutive week and tallied 235 yards on 46 carries."It all starts up front. Our guys did a great job of moving people off the line of scrimmage and giving our backs room to run," said Rosenberger. "Our lineman have been getting better every week. The improvement is there and that's what you want to see. I'm proud of the way that unit played tonight."Jim Thorpe never trailed after extending its lead to 19-7. The Olympians tagged on two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Colin Jacobs put the game away in the fourth period with a 88-yard strip and fumble return for a touchdown.TIMELY TURNOVERS ... The Olympians made big defensive plays every time it seemed that PV was gaining momentum. Thorpe tallied two interceptions (Matt Elmore, Stephen James) and two fumble recoveries during the win.RED SWARM ... The "Red Swarm" was surrounding the Panthers all night long. The Olympians gave up just 43 yards rushing at 1.79 yards-per-carry, while surrendering just 162 yards of total offense.STEPPING IN ... The two Olympians that filled the void of Antonio Madera, who is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, excelled on both sides of the football on Friday. James recorded an Interception and Max Schlenner tallied 46 rushing yards and a score.