Eagles blank Jim Thorpe
ORWIGSBURG – Blue Mountain played a complete game.
Dominating all three facets of the game, the Eagles cruised past Jim Thorpe 47-0 in a Schuylkill-Colonial Red Division game Friday night at the Eagles’ Nest.
After two losses to open the season, Blue Mountain head coach Chuck Kutz got win No. 1 of his second tenure on the Eagles’ sideline.
“It’s a monkey off my back for sure,’’ Kutz said. “If we’re going to start slow, we want to finish strong.’’
This one was all Blue Mountain from the start.
Sonny Amato intercepted Cole Lazorick on the third play from scrimmage to set up the Eagles at the Jim Thorpe 31. Four plays later, Reese Miller blasted two yards for the first of his four touchdowns on the night.
A 19-yard scamper by Brody Foose set up the score. Foose finished the night with 12 carries for 107 yards as Blue Mountain’s offensive line opened gaping holes for their backs to run through.
Blue Mountain (1-2, 1-1 Red) also displayed a sharp short passing game as quarterback Cohen Kirby hit Josh Hoover for 11 yards and a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 13-0 lead after the first quarter.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as Chase Guers swept for 15 yards and a touchdown. Later, Miller had a 19-yard TD run, a 2-point conversion rush and a 1-yard TD plunge to make it 34-0 at the half.
Then Blue Mountain’s special teams got into the act.
Guers returned the second-half kickoff 69 yards to set up Miller’s fourth TD, another 1-yard run.
Later in the third quarter, Hoover weaved his way to an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Blue Mountain’s coverage teams also did the job, forcing and recovering a fumble on a Jim Thorpe kickoff return.
The Eagles’ defense held up its end of the bargain, posting the shutout in dominant fashion. The Eagles held the Olympians to five first downs and just 33 yards rushing on 25 carries.
“We were consistently executing,’’ Kutz said. “We did that in all three phases.’’
Jim Thorpe (1-2, 0-2) struggled to get anything going offensively, hurting itself with turnovers and penalties at inopportune times.
“They’re a physical football team’’ Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger said. “They’re a fast football team, and they’re a dominant football team tonight. We just couldn’t match up with their speed or their physicality. A lot of credit to their coaching staff and their players. They’re a tough football team, and they have a lot of wins ahead of them for sure.’’
NEARLY PERFECT...Kirby had only one of his passes hit the ground in the game, going 7-for-8 for 81 yards with no interceptions.
OUTGAINED...Blue Mountian put up 204 rushing yards to the Olympian’s 33, while gaining 16 first downs to JT’s five.
ROUGH ROAD AHEAD...The Eagles will look to even their record next week when they visit defending state champ Northwestern (3-0). The Olympians will host Tamaqua next week after the Blue Raiders picked up their first win in a tight game against Pottsville Friday night.
Blue Mtn. 47, Jim Thorpe 0
Jim Thorpe 0 0 0 0 - 0
Blue Mountain 13 21 13 0 - 47
BM - Miller 2 run (Hoover kick)
BM - Hoover 11 pass from Kirby (kick failed)
BM - Guers 15 run (Hoover kick)
BM - Miller 19 run (Miller run)
BM - Miller 1 run (kick failed)
BM - Miller 1 run (Hoover kick)
BM - Hoover 83 punt return (kick failed)