Setting the physical tone early in a football game is always key.

The Jim Thorpe Olympians did just that on Friday night. Thorpe's first score of the night was a 13-play, 56-yard grinding, hard-nosed drive that established its physicality from the onset.The rest of the way, the Olympians used that momentum to dominate on both sides of the ball as they came away with a 43-0 non-league victory over Minersville.Thorpe's first drive, paired with its second drive, took up most of the first quarter as it took a 7-0 lead into the second frame.Nick Rosahac's arm was the catalyst on the Olympians second possession as he threw for 44 yards, including a 14-yard strike to Justin St. Hill to cap off the drive, extending the Thorpe lead to 14-0.The Olympians (4-0) not only established physicality, but also balance in both the run and passing game in their first two possessions."Tonight's win was really a complete team effort, we played well in all phases," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger."We were able to get going early on in the running game and then we mixed in the passing game. We showed good balance throughout the game. We also did a nice job of controlling the ball. Great effort tonight."Jim Thorpe took its time on its first two drives of the night, but after that the Olympians kicked the scoring into high gear.With a 14-0 advantage in the second quarter, Thorpe added three more scores before intermission.A Jarrin Geisinger 27-yard touchdown run, a St. Hill 27-yard burst, and 13-yard hook-up between Nick and Nate Rosahac gave Thorpe a 36-0 lead, heading into the half.There's no doubting the Olympians offensive prowess in this one, but the Jim Thorpe defense once again brought their hard hats and went to work on the night.The "Red Swarm" defense held the Miners to 84 yards rushing and just 145 yards of total offense. Minersville was held to just seven first downs, and couldn't get much of anything going throughout the game.The Miners' possessions resulted in five punts, an interception, a fumble, and two instances where they turned it over on downs."I give Jim Thorpe credit, that's a good football team, and defensively they're the best we've seen this season," said Minersville head coach Damian Buggy."They do a good job of really flying to the football, and most of their lineman go both ways, so you see that physicality and speed on both sides of the football."St. Hill finished off his impressive night with a 64-yard touchdown run to extend Thorpe's lead to 43-0. The senior finished with a game-high 157 yards on just 14 carries.SAINT SKILL ... St. Hill put up some pretty impressive numbers on the night for the Olympians. Besides his 157 yards and three scores, he caught five passes for 73 yards. St. Hill finished with 230 yards of total offense and scored four touchdowns.TRIPLE ZERO ... The Olympians defense has been good this season. So good, in fact, that an opponent has not scored on Thorpe's "Red Swarm" defense in the last three weeks. The Olympians blanked Marian, Panther Valley, and now Minersville over the last three weeks and surrendered just seven points to Schuylkill Haven in Week One.