SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - During an interview this past week, Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner had said his team was about to face a very physical team in Schuylkill Haven.

That's exactly what his Raiders ran into in their 24-7 loss to the Hurricanes during a battle of unbeatens in the Times News Game of the WeekOn a hot and muggy night, the Raiders (2-1) stood toe-to-toe with Haven as both defenses dominated play in the first half. In fact, Tamaqua's 4-3 alignment shut down Haven's high powered running game, allowing just one first down and 35 total rushing yards at the break. The only score in the half was Preston Gehring's 90-yard punt return for a touchdown at the 9:48 mark of the second quarter."They had us confused in the first half," said Haven coach Mike Farr. "We talked about making adjustments in our line blocking and that worked well for us In the second half.""Just one play hurt us," said Bonner, referring to the punt return. "We must have missed three tackles. We have to do better than that."The Hurricanes came out strong at the start of the second half, and on their very first play, Gehring broke through the middle of Tamaqua's defensive front for a 61-yard run to the Raider 4-yard-line. Tamaqua's "D" tightened, however, holding Haven to a 23-yard field goal by Dawson Evitts.Down 10-0, the Raiders hit on a big scoring play in their next series. Facing a second down and 16 from their own 42-yard-line, quarterback Thad Zuber found wide receiver Zeke Wassell in single coverage on the right sideline for a 58-yard pass-and-run touchdown play. Wassell made a juggling catch, slapping the ball from his right hand into his left to bring the Raiders' fans to their feet as he scampered into the end zone.Tamaqua began the fourth quarter down by only three points, but could only manage two first downs on two possesions in the final 12 minutes.The Hurricanes (3-0) put together a 13-play scoring drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Fullback Mike Kalyan slashed off right tackle for the final 12 yards to increase his team's lead to17-7 with just three minutes to go in the game."We wore down in that drive," said Bonner. "A lot of our players go both ways and on this hot night, they just took it to us there.""They got tired, no doubt," said Farr, "but they played us tough all night long. They are one bunch of tough kids.""We were right there, but we missed on a couple of wide open pass plays that would have made a difference," said Bonner. "We fought hard and had a shot in the fourth quarter, but we just didn't click on offense."SECRET WEAPON … Haven's freshman running back Kobe Brish entered the game in the third quarter and proceeded to run the ball five times for 69 yards, including a 42-yard TD run.DIFFERENT STROKES … Opposite offensive strategies were apparent as Tamaqua threw 28 passes while Haven put the ball in the air just three times in the game.STORM SURGE … The Haven defense did a great job stopping the Raiders' Nick Breiner, limiting the area's second-leading rusher to 41 yards on 14 carries.