In 2019, Tamaqua enjoyed a dream season.

Although graduation losses from that squad were awakening, it still might be a good idea not to sleep on the 2020 version of the Blue Raiders.

That’s because Tamaqua returns several key members of last year’s team who have the ability to create more nightmares for the opposition.

The Blue Raiders went 12-3 a year ago, captured the first District 11 football championship in school history, and won a pair of PIAA state playoff games.

But Tamaqua graduated starters at 15 of 22 positions, including a trio of school record-breakers in quarterback Brayden Knoblauch, running back Nate Boyle, and wide receiver Matt Kistler.

“We lost a lot of talented players and a lot of firepower from last year’s team,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “We are going to be a different team this year.

“Last year, we were a veteran team with high expectations. We had a target on our backs. This year, we are a team that not many people are expecting a lot from. We’ve become a team that might be able to sneak up on some people.”

It’s a role that Bonner doesn’t mind.

“We have a number of very talented players returning who had key roles on last year’s team, and we’re expecting big things from them this season,” said Bonner. “In addition to the kids who had significant roles, we have a lot of other kids who got great experience as members of our show team. They went up against our first team at practice every day, which helped them improve significantly over the course of the season.

“Another benefit from the success we enjoyed is that those kids all got five extra weeks of practice during the postseason that most other teams didn’t get. That’s an extra half season, which is a significant advantage that our kids received.”

Tamaqua returns just three offensive starters and just one of them at the same position they played a year ago.

Both of the position changes on the offense impact the backfield as Nate Curvey (5-9, 200) moves from fullback, where he primarily served as a blocker, to tailback. In addition, Lucas Schickram (5-9, 250) will move from guard to fullback. Add in Nate Wickersham (6-0, 205) as the new quarterback and you have a starting backfield with outstanding size.

“We will have a different look to our backfield this season,” said Bonner. “Because of that, we will probably run a little more power stuff than we did last year.

“Curvey and Wickersham can both be powerful runners. Lucas was our most athletic lineman and our best blocker. So our plan is to line him up in different places, move him around in the formation a little, and try to take advantage of his blocking at the point of attack. In addition, he has good hands, and we feel he can be valuable in short yardage and goal line situations. We like all three of them and think they can cause problems for opposing defenses.”

While Tamaqua might not throw the ball as much as it did a year ago with a three-year starter in Knoblauch behind center, Bonner said the passing game isn’t going to be forgotten.

“We still want to be balanced,” said Bonner. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we want to throw the ball 50 percent of the time, but we want defenses to have to respect our passing game. Nate throws a nice deep ball and has good touch on his short passes. We also have big targets at receiver in Harry Swinehart and Steven Kostecky - and that’s something we hope to use to our advantage.”

On defense, the Raiders return four starters - including all three linebackers.

“Our linebackers are our strength defensively,” said Bonner. “We will be counting on them to make a lot of plays for us. They all have a nice mixture of strength and speed, and have great instincts.”

The only other returnee is Schickram at defensive tackle.

“Lucas will be counted on to anchor our line,” said Bonner. “He had a greatseason for us a year ago. With Bronson (Strouse) being a senior and playing next to him, he got a little more of the publicity. But Lucas didn’t take a backseat to anyone when it came to production. He’s definitely an All-State candidate this year.”

Another key two-way performer for the Raiders will be Jacob Wasserleben. Not only did Wasserleben start on the offensive line a year ago, but he was a key reserve defensively. This year, he will start at defensive end and offensive tackle.

“We’ve been a playoff team the past few years, and that’s always going to be our goal,” said Bonner. “I know expectations might not be the same for us this year as they were in some recent years, but we think we can surprise some people.

“We’ve got a lot of kids who know what it takes to be a playoff team. They know what type of work ethic you need, and they know all the little things that go into a successful season.”

POSITION BREAKDOWN

QUARTERBACKS - Senior Nate Wickersham moves into the starting role after spending the last two seasons backing up Brayden Knoblauch. Wickersham is a powerful runner with a strong arm. He will be backed up by junior Nate Gregoire, who is in his first year of football.

RUNNING BACKS - Senior Nate Curvey moves from fullback to tailback. Curvey was second on the team in rushing yardage a year ago (304 yards, 7.07 yards per carry), but only carried the ball 43 times in 15 games. He will be backed up by Logan Hess. At fullback, the Raiders will use 250-pound Lucas Schickram, who was an all-league guard a year ago. Freshman Zander Coleman will be the backup.

WIDE RECEIVERS - Tamaqua has some length and speed at the position, but not one person on the current roster caught a pass last season. Steven Kostecky, Harry Swinehart and Bobby Hollenbach will see time at wide recieiver; Logan Hess and Warren Stewart will be the flankers; and Isaac Curvey and Nate Gregoire will be the tight ends.

OFFENSIVE LINE - With Schickram moving to the backfield, Jacob Wasserleben is the only returnee up front. He will play tackle along with Jerome Balliet. The guards will be Braydan Hess and Parker Coleman. Josh Shelton will be the center.

DEFENSIVE LINE - Wasserleben and Balliet will start at the end positions with Schickram and Hess playing tackle. Coleman and freshman Spencer Dennis will see time in the rotation.

LINEBACKERS - The strength of the team with Wickersham, Nate Curvey and Logan Hess all returning as starters. Isaac Curvey could also work his way into the mix.

SECONDARY - Adam Linkhorst and Kostecky will be the starting cornerbacks, while Stewart and Swinehart will be at the safety positions. Also expected to see time in the defensive backfield are Gregoire and Tyler Hazlett.