WHITEHALL — It was like a tsunami: the waves kept coming and coming, and Jim Thorpe’s soccer team got caught in the undertow, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Once Schuylkill League rivals, Blue Mountain blasted its way past the Olympians, 8-1, in the semifinal round of the District 11 Class 3A tournament on Wednesday, sending Thorpe packing for the season. It was fast and relentless.

Swiftly and without hesitation, the Eagles were hardly ever in danger, even though the Olympians put up a strong fight early on.

Blue Mountain struck first, scoring a quick goal at the 26:08 mark of the opening half. It wasn’t anything spectacular — just a well-placed boot by Keenan Hall, assisted by Evan Burcik, for a 1-0 lead.

But Jim Thorpe responded swiftly. Matteo Cacco tied the game when teammate Hayden Meckes assisted.

“That was the only time in the game that we didn’t look sloppy,” said Michael Dudak, Thorpe’s coach.

Perhaps it was just a better performance by the other team. Whatever the case, the Eagles were about to soar.

Drew Waschko and Sean Gaddy formed a deadly tag team. Waschko was the finisher, and Gaddy the provider. It quickly turned into the Waschko Show, as he scored five of his team’s eight goals, while Gaddy added a goal and three assists.

Waschko got his first goal at 13:37 in the first half, thanks to a lobbed pass from the left-footed Gaddy.

“We have this play where I try to throw it high, and Drew just finds a way to get to it,” Gaddy explained.

From there, it was an avalanche of goals. Waschko added three more, all off high-lobbing passes. His second goal even came off his back.

“That was kind of funny the way it happened,” Gaddy said with a smile.

Waschko was relentless, never letting up.

“I didn’t want my senior year to end with a loss,” he said, recalling last year when Jim Thorpe stunned the Eagles 3-1 to knock out the top seed.

Blue Mountain head coach Chris Brauer didn’t forget that upset.

“We certainly were motivated, and we have lot of respect for (Jim Thorpe) and coach Mike Dudack, who does a great job. We were in the (Schuylkill) league with them and played them over the last 10 years, so we came in with a determination not to (lose).”

Waschko continued to dominate. He scored his second and third goals in a span of three minutes, pushing his team to a 5-1 lead with 6:41 left in the first half. Gaddy also found the back of the net, and junior Dylan Knittle scored twice, giving Blue Mountain a comfortable 6-1 lead at halftime.

“They got us last year, this year was our turn,” Brauer said.

THE NUMBERS ... Blue Mountain was dominant in nearly every aspect, outshooting Thorpe 23-3 and earning a 7-3 advantage in corners.

LAST BOWS ... Nine Jim Thorpe players suited up for the final time: Joe Demarco, Sam Epps, Devon Frantz, Zane Harman, Cole Harwood, Conor Holland, Liam Off, Hayden Meckes and Ian Walck.

HOME OF BARKLEY ... Whitehall’s state-of-the-art facilities are also the home of former Penn State running back and current Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley. Barkley holds the school’s 100-meter sprint record with a time of 10.74 seconds, set in 2015.