The last time Tamaqua won a district playoff game, the Raiders went all the way to the Eastern Final.

That was 2019.

Last Thursday night at Saucon Valley, they ended that drought in thrilling fashion.

Now comes another test.

Fifth-seeded Tamaqua (4-7) travels to Lafayette College Friday night to face top-seeded Notre Dame Green Pond (11-0) in the District 11 Class 3A semifinals. The Crusaders enter ranked 40th in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps, and haven’t lost since last season.

“It’s a great experience for the kids,” said Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner. “How often as a high school kid are you going to play in a nice college atmosphere? A lot of kids that I’ve coached throughout the course of years never got that opportunity.”

The opportunity is special, but the challenge is immense.

Notre Dame demolished Salisbury 56-6 in the first round, continuing a season-long pattern of dominance. The Crusaders have posted 519 points this season, and have allowed just 92 across 11 games.

Leading the charge is senior quarterback Matt Bodnar, who has put up video game numbers over the past two seasons. According to MaxPreps, Bodnar has thrown for 2,556 yards and 35 touchdowns to just three interceptions this season.

“We know going into the game, obviously, they’ve got a lot of talent. One of the receivers is going to Villanova. They have many guys they can throw the ball to, so you really can’t specialize on just one kid. The quarterback has thrown for around 3,000 yards, so we know going in that it is going to be an air fest.”

Bonner was quick to note that Notre Dame isn’t one-dimensional despite its aerial assault.

“They break some long runs as well,” he said. “They’re definitely not just one-dimensional. They hit you with a lot of those pass plays, and then they can break a long one on a little play action.”

For Tamaqua, the game plan remains consistent with what worked against Saucon Valley: control the clock and lean on the ground game.

Sophomore running back Terrence McDowell carried 30 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 22-15 victory, while senior fullback Malachi Stewart added 93 yards on 15 carries.

“We’ve got to try and pick up some hard-earned first downs,” Bonner said. “When we’re in the red zone, we’ve got to come away with points, especially against Notre Dame, because they are going to score some points.”

The Raiders will rely heavily on a young secondary that showed tremendous growth last week.

Sophomore Ace Schickram has been solid for the Raiders, while freshman Gavin Shannon has become a fixture at safety. And last week, it was veteran Shawn Chen who made a crucial interception in the end zone against Saucon Valley, helping the Raiders preserve their upset victory.

“He’s been playing really well these past couple weeks,” Bonner said of Shannon, who recorded two pass breakups against Saucon Valley.

“Like I said, he’s a freshman. Obviously, we know starting off there’s going to be some mistakes in there, which happens with a young player, but he’s been playing really well.”

The emotional lift from last week’s breakthrough district victory could give Tamaqua a spark. The Raiders overcame a fumbled opening kickoff that led to an immediate 7-0 deficit, then responded with a 79-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter that essentially sealed the game. They’ll need that same type of resilience against Notre Dame.

“We mentioned to our seniors that it was a chance to leave their mark, get a district win, move on to the second round of the playoffs, which we haven’t done in a while.”

“It’s nice we are going to go play at Lafayette. You have a chance to get another week of practice, another week for our younger guys to get better. Another experience for those guys to take with them going into their next year,” Bonner said.

Kickoff is set for 7:10 p.m. Friday at Lafayette College.