With an offense that is averaging over 36 points a game and features playmakers like Justin St. Hill, C.J. Selby and Nick Rosahac, it's easy to see why Jim Thorpe is getting a lot of early-season attention.

As impressive as the Olympians' numbers have been offensively, however, they pale in comparison to their defensive numbers.Through four games, Jim Thorpe has allowed just seven points. The Olympians have shut out three straight opponents and have now gone 14 quarters since allowing their only touchdown of the season on an 81-yard pass play by Schuylkill Haven in the season opener."We take a lot of pride in our defense," said Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger. "We constantly preach to our kids that we need to be fundamentally sound, show tremendous effort, and fly to the football."The Olympians have been doing just that, leading the area in both scoring defense and total defense. Thorpe has allowed an average of just 167 yards of offense a game in victories over Schuylkill Haven, Marian, Panther Valley and Minersville. Even more impressive, it has surrendered a total of just 177 rushing yards in four games, holding the opposition to a paltry 1.55 yards per carry.But as good as the Olympians have been, and as happy as Rosenberger has been with what he has seen so far, he is far from satisfied."We are still a work in progress," Rosenberger said. "We've played well, but we still have a lot of growth potential."I can't complain about the results, but we've gotten away with some breakdowns during the early part of the season that we won't get away with when we start playing division opponents the second half of the season. The kids have seen the mistakes on film and are well aware that we still have lots of room for improvement."Another reason Jim Thorpe still has room for growth is that its extremely young. The Olympians start just two seniors on defense, and 17 of the 22 players in their two-deep rotation are underclassmen.Leading the defense are a pair of juniors in middle linebacker Collin Jacobs and defensive end Dylan Dailey.Jacobs, who Rosenberger calls "the quarterback of the defense," leads the team in tackles, while Dailey tops the Olympians in quarterback sacks with five and also in tackles for loss."Both Collin and Dylan started a year ago as sophomores," said Rosenberger. "They played well for us a year ago, but both kids have really taken their game to another level this year. They have been outstanding during our first four games."In addition to Jacobs and Daily, St. Hill has used his combination of speed and strength to give opposing offenses fits from his outside linebacker spot. In the defensive backfield, junior Roberto Santiago stepped into the starting lineup when the Olympians suffered a preseason injury, and hasn't missed a beat."We've talked to the kids about the tradition of great defenses we have had here over the years," said Rosenberger. "We take a lot of pride in the nickname 'Red Swarm.'"That started early in my head coaching career, probably 16 or 17 years ago, and we've had some really good defensive teams that have earned the right to be called that."While Roseneberg said its way too early to start making comparisons between this year's group and past Olympian defenses, he is excited about the potential of this team."We still have a lot of season left to play - and we have some excellent teams coming up," said Rosenberger. "We need to keep improving and not be satisfied. But the potential is there. We will get a chance to show just how good we are during the upcoming weeks. We are far from a finished product, and I'm anxious to see where we will go from here."************GROUND ATTACK ... Lehighton's TaQuan Bradley-Chambers ran for 177 yards last Friday in a win against Marian. That followed a 185-yard effort he had against Schuylkill Valley.The last time an Indians' player ran for 177 or more yards in back-to-back weeks was Robbie Frey during the 2006 season. Frey had 232 yards on Oct. 27, 2006, and 297 the week before on Oct. 20, 2006.Against the Colts, Bradley-Chambers also contributed to an offense that compiled 519 yards of offense. Over the last 30 years, which covers a span of 334 games, that was only the sixth time Lehighton reached 500 yards of offense.************THORPE HAT TRICK ... Jim Thorpe posted its third-straight shutout last Friday when it blanked Minersville, 43-0.Over the past 40 years, this marks the 16th time that a Times News area teams has blanked opponents at least three straight games.Every school except Pleasant Valley has accomplished the feat, with Thorpe, Northern Lehigh and Palmerton doing it three different times.The last time the Olympians registered three straight shutouts was during the 2004 season, when they had a four-game streak. They also had a three-game stretch in 2003.The longest stretch was Northern Lehigh's seven-game achievement in 2003.Schools, and the years they had three-game shutout streaks, are: Jim Thorpe (2017, 2004, 2003), Lehighton (1993, 1982), Marian (1985), Northern Lehigh (2003, 2002, 1979), Northwestern (1998), Palmerton (1985 - twice, 1982), Panther Valley (1989), and Tamaqua (2012, 1986).************DOUBLE TROUBLE ... Northwestern's Phil Dangello and Caleb Clymer both had big receiving games during the Tigers' 29-26 victory over Wilson Saturday.Dangello tied a school record with 10 receptions, while Clymer caught eight passes for 121 yards.The last time two Times News area teammates had eight or more catches in the same game was Oct. 29, 1999 when Jim Thorpe's Don Evans had 10 receptions and Gabe Robinson had eight.Thanks to the efforts of Dangello and Clymer, Northwestern also rallied from a deficit. The Tigers trailed 26-21 after three quarters.Since 1996, Northwestern was 8-77 when entering the final period on the short end of the scoreboard.************THREE STILL PERFECT ... After four weeks, three Times News area teams remain undefeated.Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, and Tamaqua are currently 4-0 as the midway point of the regular season nears.The last time at least three teams were still perfect heading into Week 5 was 2006 when four teams boasted 4-0 records. They included Jim Thorpe, Marian, Northwestern, and Palmerton.