Balance was the key for the Tamaqua Raiders football team on Friday night against Minersville. The Raiders, who have been known as a run heavy team in head coach Sam Bonner’s 10-year tenure showed that this season they have the ability to air it out.

Tamaqua went to the air attack early and often against the Miners enroute to a 49-13 opening night victory.The Raiders started the route of the Miners early scoring on the opening kick off. Sophomore running back Nick Breiner saw an open lane and he took it, scampering 81 yards for the touchdown. It was just the start Sam Bonner and company were looking for.“Breiner made a big play for us and I’ve been saying this the last couple to anyone that will listen that I think he’s going to have a real big year for us,” said Bonner. “He’s a really tough back and when he’s in there he really has some flare and he’s going to make some plays.”Breiner’s legs started the onslaught on the Miners, but junior quarterback Thad Zuber’s arm finished the job. Zuber and his favorite target on the night Ed Titus terrorized the Minersville secondary throughout the night. The two hooked up for a total of five times on the evening, including a 19-yard pitch and catch on fourth down at the end of the first quarter that extended the Raiders lead to 13-0.“I was really happy with the way Thad threw the ball tonight. He was decisive and accurate and waited for things to develop,” said Bonner. “Eddie Titus made a lot of big plays for us as well I feand he showed his ability to move out there even though he’s a big guy. He knows how to get open and he moves a lot quicker than people give him credit for and he certainly showed that tonight.”Tamaqua continued to pour it on throughout the first half, heading into intermission with a 35-7 advantage. Chance Szabo added a third touchdown in the first quarter with a short touchdown run and Breiner came through with two rushing touchdowns in the third.It was a tough night for the Minersville defense that seemed to have a lot of miscues in the tackling department.“I feel that we are better than a 49-13 team that we were tonight, we just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot like we did against a team like Tamaqua,” said Buggy. “Missed tackles were huge tonight, we were in position and we just didn’t make the plays. All are miscues from tonight is stuff that we can fix, so we just have to get back to work and work hard to get better.”PUNTING A PLENTY ... The Tamaqua defense was stingy all night long and didn’t give the Miners many opportunities on their own half of the field. The Raiders forced the Miners to punt the ball six times, setting them up with good field position on a consistent basis.NOSE TACKLE NUISANCE ... Tamaqua nose tackle Chance Szabo could probably tell you what flavor chewing gum the Minersville quarterbacks and running backs were chewing on Friday night. That’s because Szabo was wreaking havoc behind the line scrimmage on what seemed like every other play. Szabo had three sacks on the night.YOUNG GUNS ... The Raiders certainly looked primed for the future as back-up freshman quarterback Brayden Knoblauch hurled a 39-yard touchdown pass in the second half and his counterpart freshman running back Nate Boyle, rushed for 59 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown run.