One play, sometimes the difference between a win and a loss is just one play.

On Friday night, in sloppy field conditions, North Schuylkill was able to make just one more play than fellow Schuylkill League Division 1 opponent Jim Thorpe, defeating the Olympians 8-6.

With the win, the Spartans remain unbeaten (6-0) and still in the hunt for the Division 1 crown, while Thorpe falls to 5-1.

That one play came early in the ball game on North Schuylkill’s first possession. On a third and five at their own 31, Spartans running back Mitchell Wagner took a draw play, found a crease up the middle and was gone, going 69-yards for the score. A Jim Thorpe penalty would convince Spartans head coach Wally Hall to go for a two-point conversion rather than an extra point and his decision paid off as North Schuylkill quarterback Jaden Leiby scooted around the right end and lunged at the right pylon to give the Spartans an 8-0 lead.

“We had the opportunity to go for two, I made the decision to go for two and then we executed it successfully,” said Hall. “Then, on the flip side later in the game, we were able to stop them when they went for two, which ended up being the difference in the game.

“We knew defense was going to be the key tonight. We knew whoever played better defensively, that’s who was going to win the game, and our guys played super defense tonight.”

From the time the Spartans scored until when the Olympians got in scoring position early in the fourth quarter, there wasn’t much action, mostly due to solid defense from both squads and poor field conditions, which made it hard for the offenses to move the ball.

The second and third quarter consisted of a combined seven punts as both teams were playing the field position game, trying to pin each other deep in their own territory.

Finally in the fourth quarter, the Olympians picked up good field position after forcing the Spartans to punt from their own one-yard line. The Spartans punt was picked up by Thorpe’s Jarrin Geisinger at the North Schuylkill 35-yard line. Geisinger put together a solid return, taking it to the 13 and Thorpe gained six more yards on the play on a defensive face mask call against the Spartans, giving it the ball at the Spartan seven.

Four plays later, Roberto Santiago rolled left and flicked the ball to an open Austin Williams, who fell into the end zone. However, a failed conversion would still give North Schuylkill a two-point lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

“Credit has to go to North Schuylkill, they played a great game, and they made one more play than we did tonight and that’s what it came down to,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “But I’m proud of my players. My players fought. It was an incredible effort. We hung in there, but unfortunately we were one play short tonight.”

Thorpe did have its chance to win the ball game with about 30 seconds left in the fourth after pinning North Schuylkill deep in its own territory and then forcing a punt. The kick was shanked, going just 12 yards from the Spartans’ nine to the 21. On a fourth and 11 from the North Schuylkill 22, it seemed as if the Spartans got the game-clinching stop, but another costly penalty would help Thorpe move up to the North Schuylkill 12-yard line where it would convert a fourth and one attempt.

Once again, North Schuylkill held on for the next three downs as the Olympians could only move the ball six yards to the six-yard line. The Olympians last chance at a victory was a 22-yard field goal attempt, which sailed left, giving North Schuylkill the win.

SECOND HALF D … Besides one or two big plays in the first half, the Olympians defense was solid, especially in the second half. Thorpe held North Schuylkill to just one first down, which came on a personal foul at the end of the game and held the Spartans to negative three total yards.

PENALIZED … Penalties didn’t aid the Olympians in this one. Thorpe committed seven penalties in the second half, which stalled some of their offensive drives.

THE BIG PLAY … The big play was rare and in turn critical in this one. There was just a total of seven plays over 10 yards between both teams in the entire ball game.