The challenge facing Tamaqua this Saturday is the same one it took on two weeks ago.

North Schuylkill, the top seed in the District 11 Class 3A bracket, has presented problems for teams in all three phases of the game throughout the season.

The Spartans were undefeated until a 20-12 double overtime loss to Pottsville in last week’s regular season finale.

In Week 9, North Schuylkill posted a 55-7 victory over the Blue Raiders.

Tamaqua bounced back with a 46-0 win over Panther Valley to close out the season last Friday, which included 502 rushing yards, with 289 coming from Times News Player of the Week Warren Stewart.

Coach Sam Bonner and his squad will try to build off that performance in Saturday’s district semifinal, and limit the mistakes that plagued the fourth-seeded Blue Raiders in the first meeting.

“We want to continue to get him the ball,” Bonner said of Stewart. “I think Zander Coleman is a nice compliment, with some of the stuff we do with him. But for us to be competitive in a game like this one, we have to keep the ball away from them. We’re going to have to get those first downs, and get some long drives going with his legs.

“I thought we had some success with that early on when we played them the first time - before we shot ourselves in the foot four or five times. For us to be competitive, we can’t make those mistakes. We have to avoid turnovers and penalties. We’re not a first-and-20 team. We’re a second-and-five team. We have to make sure that we don’t make mistakes to put ourselves in those kind of situations.”

The Spartans (9-1) are averaging 40.1 points per game this season, and have surrendered just 16.4.

In the earlier meeting, North Schuylkill finished with 424 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jake Hall completed 11-of-18 pass attempts for 224 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Josh Chowansky gained 90 yards on nine carries, scoring twice, while Hall also added a 35-yard touchdown run to help the Spartans roll up 200 yards on the ground.

Bonner knows those big plays can’t happen again.

“Defensively, we have to tackle better,” he said. “We watched the film again from the first time we played. There were times we had Hall bottled up, and he broke free for 35, 40 yards and we had two or three guys with an opportunity to make that play. Same thing with Chowansky.

“I know it’s easier said than done, because those guys make you miss. With Chowansky, there were a couple of times we might have had him for a minimal gain, and he ended up making it for 50 yards. But that’s what those guys do. For us to be competitive, again, on the defensive side, we have to clean up our tackling. I‘d rather see a five- or 10-yard gain with one of our guys holding on for his life and other guys helping him out, then have three of four guys whiff on him.”

Tamaqua (3-6) had two turnovers and five penalties for 52 yards in the first meeting. The Raiders finished with 227 yards of total offense, with 84 coming from Stewart on the ground.

The Spartans had 18 first downs, while the Blue Raiders picked up nine.

“We’re going to work hard for yardage, so we can’t give any away,” said Bonner. “We can’t fumble a snap on a punt, we can’t throw a pick-six, we can’t get a penalty on a big play. If we want to be competitive, we have to make sure that we eliminate that stuff.”

North Schuylkill presents a unique challenge. But another meeting with the Spartans is also an opportunity for the Blue Raiders.

“I’ve been emphasizing that. We have a lot of young guys playing right now, and there’s no better experience than getting experience against good, quality football teams,” said Bonner. “So this gives those younger guys another chance to go against a good, quality football team to see what they end up having to be like as it goes on. It gives you an idea for them to be that kind of a football team. So that’s definitely a positive.”