The way Tamaqua and Jim Thorpe’s 12-year-old all-stars matched up Monday evening in the winner’s bracket final of the District 18 tournament, there were no secrets between them.

Interleague play had already revealed plenty.

Jim Thorpe jumped out early, building a comfortable lead while Tamaqua found itself in chase mode by the time the home sixth arrived.

Then things got tense on both sides. Tamaqua mounted a late rally that nearly erased the deficit before falling 8-5, sending Jim Thorpe into a wait-and-see position for the next round.

Tamaqua, which has won two recent district titles, now must battle through the loser’s bracket. The Raiders will face the winner of the Stroudsburg-East Stroudsburg matchup on Thursday.

Jim Thorpe is idle until Monday, when it can capture the district title. “We’ve seen each other all season,” Thorpe manager Steve Heydt said.

Heydt said the plan against Tamaqua starter Bryce Bailey was simple: Look for the breaking ball and hit it.

“We’ve seen (Bailey), and we just timed his pitches. He’s got a great curve and we hit it ... nothing unexpected.”

Jim Thorpe built a 4-0 lead through three innings, and with starting pitcher Nick Dedinsky in control, the Olympians were firmly in command.

“Dedinsky is the guy,” Heydt said. “He did a great job, he spotted his pitches.”

Eduardo Camacho opened the scoring with a double, and later came home on an error. In the second, Thorpe added two more runs with help from another Tamaqua miscue. Dedinsky singled, Liam Thompson walked, and with one out, Mason Pruitte grounded out to drive in a run. Jagger McElmoyle followed with an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Thorpe pushed across a fourth run in the third when Camacho walked, reached third and scored on a wild pitch.

“You know, we did some uncharacteristic things,” Tamaqua mentor Bryan Smith said. “We made errors, and a good team takes advantage ... Thorpe’s a good team.”

Thorpe kept applying pressure, its aggressive style showing confidence.

The Olympians scored four more runs over the final three innings.

Bentley Heydt singled to start the fourth, and when Pruitte’s grounder was misplayed, runners moved to second and third. McElmoyle and Jace Hollenbach both singled in runs for a 6-0 lead. In the fifth, Thorpe stretched the margin to 8-0.

Owen Hosier doubled, Vincent Montefour singled, Dedinsky added an RBI hit and Thompson singled in another run. But Tamaqua wasn’t finished.

The Raiders found their offense in the sixth, highlighted by a three-run homer from Finnegan Davis to center.

Bryce Tuckett singled, and Abram Graver reached on an error before Grayson Smith singled to drive in a run ahead of the blast. With one out, Aidan Sabol walked and Bailey doubled before Nolan Runk drove in a run on a groundout.

Hosier, now in relief, ended the game with a comebacker to the mound.

“We had a lot of mistakes ... now we’ve got to regroup,” Smith said.

Jim Thorpe 121 022 - 8 10 2

Tamaqua 000 005 - 5 8 2

Dedinsky, Hoiser and Eckert; Bailey, Smith (5) and Graver (6), Runk.

W - Dedinsky. L - Bailey.