Over the years, the Southern Lehigh football program has been known for its explosive passing offense.

The Spartans didn't disappoint in that department on Friday night in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference AAA playoffs against Jim Thorpe as they passed for 237 yards and two scores.However, the Spartans passing attack wasn't the only story against the Olympians. In fact, it was the Southern Lehigh defense that dominated from the onset, holding the dynamic Thorpe offense to just one score as they defeated the Olympians, 24-6.With the win the Spartans will advance to the EC AAA championship where they will play the winner of today's Valley View and Allentown Central Catholic match-up.The Spartans front four was active throughout the night. They held the Olympians to just 110 rushing yards in the game and constantly penetrated the Thorpe backfield. It was a great performance from a unit that's been one of the most consistent units in the Colonial League this season."I think arguably we have the best defense in the Colonial League this season," said So. Lehigh head coach John Toman. "We've held some of the best rushers in our league to minimal yards this season and those guys played well again tonight. We didn't know what to expect tonight, we didn't have any common opponents, but our kids answered the call once again."The Olympians kept the game close in the first half, trailing just 10-0 after two quarters. Jim Thorpe had some chances acquiring good field position a few times in the first half, but it couldn't finish off drives. It was the story of the night for the Jim Thorpe offense."I thought we were running the ball pretty well, but then we would just have a negative play that would put us in a bad situation," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "Our passing game also wasn't effective tonight and we didn't make plays there when we needed to. I still like how hard my kids played though. They never gave up."The dagger for the Olympians came in the third quarter with 6:33 remaining. Spartans quarterback Blake Levengood hit wide receiver Tim Walter for an 84-yard bomb down the right sideline to give Southern Lehigh a 17-0 lead. The momentum was then completely in the Spartans favor."That's a really talented football team and you have to credit them because they made more plays than we did tonight," said Rosenberger. "Still, we hung in there and finished the game playing hard. This is a group of seniors that went 1-9 their freshman season. They've won 22 games since then. That says a lot about their character.The lone Jim Thorpe score came at the 2:17 mark in the fourth with a five-yard Robbie Heller touchdown plunge. Heller finished up his outstanding Jim Thorpe career with 14 carries for 71 yards.WONDERFUL WALTER ... Southern Lehigh's Tim Walter looked like the best all around athlete on the field on Friday night. The junior rushed for 56 yards and caught five balls for 136 yards and a touchdown. He was a difference maker for the Spartans and it showed.NOTHING DOING ... The Jim Thorpe offense struggled on the night, but a lot of that had to do with the Spartans defense. The usually dynamic Olympians were held to just six points and turned the ball over on downs three times. Thorpe also punted four times on the evening.LATE DECISION ... Spartans quarterback Blake Levengood almost was a scratch against the Olympians after injuring his ankle in last week's game. He was actually in a walking boot all week and the decision wasn't made that he was going to play until Thursday night. Levengood looked pretty good, passing for 232 yards and two touchdowns.