ASHLAND — From start to finish, torrential rain pelted the field.

Both Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger and North Schuylkill mentor Wally Hall knew that it would be impossible to sustain offensive drives. They both were hoping a big play would determine the outcome in their favor in the semifinals of the District 11 3A playoff game at Spartan Field.

That’s exactly what happened as North Schuylkill gained a 16-7 victory to advance to next week’s final.

The Olympians’ Derrick Beckham took a handoff from quarterback Roberto Santiago with 5:51 to go in the second quarter. He found a rare opening off right tackle and then he bounced to daylight on the left side, breaking free for to a 43-yard touchdown run for to put Thorpe ahead 7-0.

With the heavy rain turning the field into a water world, the feeling was that JT was sitting in the catbird seat as the second half began. Fumbles, 14 total in the game, and several bad snaps over the heads of both quarterbacks, prevented any chance of long drives. Thorpe’s punter, Jarrin Geisinger, boomed deep kicks throughout the game to pin the Spartans deep in their own territory.

But with just under seven minutes to go in the game, and after QB Jaden Leiby fumbled the snap on first down and recovered the ball, the football gods smiled down through the rain on the Spartans.

On second down from his own 10-yard line, Leiby dropped back to throw. Running back Mitchell Wagner had slipped out of the backfield and ran a fly pattern down the left sideline and got behind a JT defender. Leiby threw the perfect pass into Wagner’s outstretched hands at the 30. With two defenders in pursuit and quickly closing ground, Wagner managed to dive into the lake that had formed in the end zone to bring the score to 7-6.

“We call that play the special, and we work on it every week,” said Hall.

Hall scrapped the idea to kick for a tie and sent his offense back out for a two-point conversion attempt. Leiby took the snap and ran right. Thorpe’s defense raised their hands in thinking they had stopped him before the goal line, but the side official raised his hands and the Spartans took an 8-7 lead.

“It’s a shame that one big play and the two points basically ended our season,” said Rosenberger. “We had the better field position for the game, and you hate to think one play would change it all. For three-and-a-half quarters, we were in control. That’s a tough out.”

Jim Thorpe would have two more chances, but the football gods went away for the night. The final score would come on an interception return for a touchdown by Wagner with time ticking down to seal the win for North Schuylkill.

“Our team is never out of a game. They play hard and despite (the fact) we couldn’t get much going, we found a way to come up big with one big play,” said Hall.

Both teams had trouble moving the chains, and almost every possession was stopped with a fumble or bad snap. With the running games so difficult to sustain, the 90-yard pass-and-run seemed to be the only chance that the Spartans would score. And they worked it to perfection.

An emotional Rosenberger reflected on his team’s season.

“This was tough for our seniors, but they were terrific for us all season,” he said. “We had a great team, but when you get down to a one-and-done game, you hate to see us go out this way. I could not be more proud of this group. They left it all on the field all season long.”

SLIP SLIDING AWAY ... After each tackle, the ball carrier and tackler would slide at least five yards farther in the ponding water past where the ball was spotted.

GOING NOWHERE ... Neither team was able to crack the red zone due to the obvious poor field conditions. Ironically, out of the game’s 14 fumbles, JT recovered four of the Spartans and turned the ball over just once.