Tamaqua accomplished plenty on Friday night.

The Blue Raiders not only clinched a district berth and a home playoff game with a 48-0 victory over rival Marian, but they also grabbed a share of the Schuylkill League Division 1 title when North Schuylkill defeated Pottsville.

As important as those achievements were, there was something else that head coach Sam Bonner was hoping for in Week 10.

“It was great to see Nick Breiner play well tonight,” said Bonner. “We wanted him to have a big night. He’s done so much for the team and he’s a senior. We just wanted to make sure he had a special night.

“He was kind of sick during the week, but he didn’t run like it tonight. He’s just a good kid, and he’s been tough for us all four years. It was good to see him have a big night in his last regular season game against Marian.”

Breiner collected 195 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. His running, along with a solid job by the offensive line, eventually broke the Colts.

“In the beginning we were holding our own, but I think they just wore us down,” said Marian mentor Pat Morgans. “They’re one of the best Triple-A teams in the district, and they were as good as advertised. Our kids went toe-to-toe with them, they fought, and they gave everything they have and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”

Marian played the Raiders to a scoreless tie after the first quarter, but Tamaqua took control in the second frame.

Nate Boyle scored his 20th touchdown of the season early in quarter No. 2 when he broke loose for a 29-yard run.

After a Marian turnover on its next possession, the Blue Raiders (9-1) doubled their lead when Breiner took a toss, and cut it back for a 30-yard TD run and a 14-0 lead.

“The cut back worked pretty well tonight,” said Breiner. “Our offensive linemen did a good job and they worked hard, and gave it all they got.

“Our defense also did well. We had a couple of mistakes, but bounced back from them. We got some turnovers and that gave the offense the ball in pretty good shape.”

Breiner was front-and-center during his team’s last drive before the first half.

The senior had two runs of 16 yards and another for 19 that led to Boyle’s 4-yard tally that pushed the margin to 21-0.

“It was a great team win,” said Breiner. “We had a lot of mistakes ... and we have to fix those. But we’re still Schuylkill League champs. That’s awesome. We’re a championship team right now ... but we want more. We want a district title. We just have to keep working from here.”

The Raiders kept working against Marian (4-6) in the second half, especially the defense.

Tamaqua didn’t allow the Colts to cross midfield during the final two quarters.

“We started off the season with five shutouts and we wanted to try and get one tonight,” said Bonner. “They did a great job responding to that.

“Our defense has been solid all year. We’ve only given up around 50 points all year. They’ve been a tough defense all year and they’re going to have to have a huge game next week for us.”

Breiner added a pair of second-half scores, one in the third quarter and another in the fourth. Boyle also reached the end zone for his third score to help the Raiders rebound from last week’s loss to Jim Thorpe.

DEFENSIVE STOPPERS ... Tamaqua’s Pat Burns had quite a night. He made a diving, one-handed interception and recovered a pair of fumbles, one on special teams. He also added a tackle for loss. For Marian, Keith McCall came up with a pair of interceptions.

ONE MORE SCORE ... The Raiders added their final touchdown of the night late in the game when Nate Wickersham tossed a 22-yard scoring strike to Cam Schilling.

UP NEXT ... Tamaqua looks like it will be the No. 2 seed in the District 11 3A class and host Notre Dame, while Marian will be the No. 4 seed and travel to top-ranked Williams Valley. “Now we look ahead,” said Morgans. “It’s the second season. We’re 0-0, everybody has an 0-0 record now.”