It was clear that Jim Thorpe wanted to cook with the same winning recipe that it used against Tamaqua during its 7-6 thrilling win in 2014 when these two teams met.

Last season, Jim Thorpe's Kevin Vitti blocked a critical extra-point and helped establish the Olympians at the line of scrimmage - giving up only 100 total yards on the ground, and yielding just six points to the Raiders.It was evident that Vitti and the defensive line were the right ingredients once again this season. The "Red Swarm" held Tamaqua to just 41 yards on the ground in Jim Thorpe's victory over Tamaqua on Friday, 23-7."Tamaqua is a very good, physical football team," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "Holding them (Tamaqua) to those kinds of numbers tells a lot about our defense tonight. Kevin Vitti, Greg Palmer, and Colton Hurley - they all had huge games on the defensives side of the ball tonight."After a penalty-ridden, sloppy first quarter by both teams, it was Jim Thorpe who struck first and never trailed. Robert Heller had a monster game behind the superb play of his offensive line. Heller started early and often, tallying 43 yards on Jim Thorpe's first drive and finishing with 188 rushing yards in all."Heller really ran hard and made plays for us," said the Jim Thorpe coach. We also had some great runs from (Justin) St. Hill and (Antonio) Madera. They have great ability to make cuts and slash, and the combination of multiple players made a ton of important runs for us. We felt he (Heller) could (take on the workload), he was a bit banged up over the summer, but tonight he showed that he's good to go."Heller finished with 188 hard-earned yards on the ground, but Vitti and the Jim Thorpe line paved the way for him."He doesn't want to hear it, but he's one of our best lineman," as Rosenberger half-jokingly praised his fullback, Vitti. "He's a great blocker and an even better kid. He never worries about carrying the ball but does what's best for the team. He may even be our best blocker - but not to take anything away from our guys up front."Tamaqua's only score was in the second quarter on a one-yard Bud Moyer plunge. Running the ball is Tamaqua's identity, but it was quarterback Thad Zuber and the air-attack that accounted for a bulk of the Raiders' yards."He's (Zuber) definitely improving," said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. "He knows when to hold on to the ball, and he's going to improve every game. His (decision making) is going to help us out in the long run. We got behind, so it kind of messed things up for us. Penalties threw us off on both sides of the ball."Jim Thorpe's unorthodox style of offense has a ton of pre-snap motion and options, which is something that Tamaqua hasn't quite seen on the field this year up until last night."They do a lot of east-west stuff," said Bonner. "They're really quick to the outside and caught us there a few times; we had some missed tackles that made a big difference in the game. I didn't think we had a real good week of practice and I said that all week. You practice the way you play, and now we just have to bounce back."Despite a ton of penalties, the Olympians found success in the game plan that they worked on all week."We did put ourselves in (bad) situations with negative plays (penalties)," said Rosenberger. "We're not going to beat Tri-Valley next week if we keep making those same mistakes. I thought our coaches did a great job of preparation this week with our kids; it was a great game for us both offensively and defensively."ROCKY START … There were five penalties committed by both teams within the first five plays of the game. Both teams combined for a total of 17 during the contest.ROAD BLOCK … Tamaqua's first two drives totaled just seven plays. Both drives ended in fumbles, one on a fourth down.SHOWING OFF THE ARM … Thad Zuber connected to Zeke Wassell on an impressive 41-yard pass play in the first half. The big play equaled the exact same amount of rushing yards the Raiders had throughout the contest.RUN ROBERT RUN … Heller carried the load for Jim Thorpe, carrying the ball 33 times for 188 yards. He only had 18 total carries through the first two games of the year. Rosenberger trusted his senior late in the game. Thorpe ran a dozen total plays in the fourth quarter, 10 of which Heller carried the ball.