Yards after contact.

Not only do they fire up an offense, but they also crush the spirit of a defense.

Over the years, most recently with Nate Boyle and Nick Breiner, Tamaqua has had a number of running backs that have possessed the ability to pick up extra yards after first being hit.

This season, Warren Stewart has carried on the tradition.

The junior displayed that ability again Friday night against Panther Valley, rushing for 289 yards -with many of them coming after breaking tackles - and four touchdowns to lead the Blue Raiders to a 46-0 victory.

“Warren has been doing that all year,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner, whose team ran for 502 yards in the contest. “He’s fast, but a lot of games he hasn’t had much room to run. His yards per carry may not be the highest, but he gets a lot of yards after contact. There’s times he gets hit at the line of scrimmage, but he still makes positive yards. He just runs hard.

“We’ve always have that old-school mentality. We’ve had tough runners that aren’t looking to run out of bounds. They’ll lower that shoulder and make plays.”

It took a while for either team to make plays on a wet and soggy night, as the two rivals traded the first five possessions without either club registering a first down.

Once the Raiders and Stewart got rolling, though, there was no stopping them.

A 29-yard run by Zander Coleman set up Stewart’s 2-yard tally late in the first quarter. After a three-and-out by PV, Stewart returned the favor as his 29-yard scamper eventually led to Coleman’s 24-yard scoring run and a 14-0 Tamaqua lead.

Stewart upped the margin early in the second frame when he looked to be stopped, but kept his legs churning and broke free for a 75-yard touchdown.

“Their running back is tough, he just breaks tackles,” said Panther mentor Rick Jones. “The weather didn’t help us, but it didn’t help anybody. But I thought it was more conducive to their offense. They have some tough kids.

“They hurt us with the reverse a few times because we were out of position ... and didn’t pursue the way we should. We also struggled tackling (Stewart). You have to hit him low, and even when you do, he’s a tough kid and breaks tackles.”

The Raiders (3-6) continued to put up points in the second half, scoring on their first possession after the break.

A 28-yard pass from Connor Dillon to Coleman on a fourth-and-four kept the drive alive, and Stewart finished it off when he was stopped at the line but bounced outside for a 14-yard tally and a 28-0 bulge.

“As the year went on, he got a little bit more of a feel running tailback,” said Bonner of Stewart. “He’s going to be a special player. He’s just going to progress from where he’s at. It was also nice to get Zander back (after not playing last week). Both those guy’s futures look good here.”

Stewart capped his memorable evening late in the third quarter when he slipped through a hole and ran away from PV’s defenders for a 50-yard touchdown run.

Tamaqua’s success running the ball didn’t stop there, as freshman quarterback Luke Kane directed a fourth-quarter drive that was highlighted by the running of Brad Whalen, another ninth grader. Whalen ran three times for 35 yards that led to freshman Tyler Koch’s 4-yard TD run.

Whalen capped the scoring with just under two minutes to play on a 39-yard burst to the end zone.

“Whalen is another freshman that’s contributing, and Luke Kane came in and did a good job running the offense,” said Bonner. “Those are two more freshmen that you’ll be seeing sooner than later.

“We wanted to finish the regular season with a win. We had some ups and downs, but we’re definitely going to take the good stuff from the season and go into the offseason. At our last supper, we emphasized that you win games in the offseason and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

ONE MORE GAME ... Panther Valley (0-8) will be playing a contingency game on Friday at home against Line Mountain. “I let the kids vote on it and they all voted yes that they wanted to play another ballgame,” said Jones. “I told them I’ll do what you guys want to do. We’ll keep fighting and we’ll play. I think that’s a positive there. A lot of teams 0-8 might not want to do that. I have to give the kids credit. They’re coming out and still playing hard, and that’s all you can ask.”

PLAYOFFS? ... Tamaqua moved into the No. 4 spot in the district rankings. If it finishes fourth, it would clinch a playoff berth. The Raiders will wait for the result of today’s contest between New-Hope Solebury, currently fifth, and William Tennent to see who advances.

RAIDER DEFENSE ... Tamaqua only allowed two first downs, with both coming in the second half. Coach Bonner highlighted a number of underclassmen (sophomores Mike Styka and Vinnie Schlosser, and freshman Jake Hehn) who have stepped in and contributed on that side of the ball.

BIG FOOT ... PV’s Mike Pascoe got off a 64-yard punt in the first half, taking advantage of the wind, along with a nice roll after it hit the ground.