Jim Thorpe has put together an impressive string of victories in recent weeks.

The Olympians picked up an important win over Northern Lehigh in Week 7, followed by a huge victory over rival Lehighton in Week 8 to capture the Route 209 Trophy. A Week 10 win over Palmerton then helped Thorpe secure the No. 3 seed in the District 11 Class 3A playoffs.

The momentum continued last week, as the Olympians put together a strong fourth quarter to come away with a 48-27 victory over Tamaqua in the 3A quarterfinals.

Now, Thorpe will look to keep its postseason run alive with an upset of No. 2-ranked Notre Dame-Green Pond in this week’s semifinals.

The Olympians (7-4) have been playing clutch football of late, and continued that trend last week by pulling away from the Raiders in the fourth quarter. Leading 28-27 with 10:23 remaining, Thorpe scored 20 unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

A 62-yard bomb from Tyler Hoherchak to Spencer Gothard down the middle of the field extended the lead to 35-27, before Bobby Levins sealed the victory with back-to-back rushing touchdowns of 26 and 80 yards.

Hoherchak finished the night with 201 passing yards and three touchdowns, while adding 53 yards and a rushing score on the ground. Levins paced the ground game with 140 rushing yards, while Gothard delivered one big play after another, hauling in four receptions for 128 yards and three touchdowns.

The Olympians will need a balanced offensive attack this week against a Notre Dame defense that has shown significant improvement. The Crusaders compete in Division II of the Colonial League, which consists of some of the conference’s smaller schools, but they have been stingy defensively, allowing just over seven points per game this season.

“Their defense is one of their most improved parts of their football team. They’re much more physical in their front six or seven players than they have been,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “We need to continue to stay balanced and of course try and establish our running game early.

“And we have to be able to sustain and finish drives. We want to turn it into a grind it out game. We don’t want this game to be a track meet, because that favors their style of play.”

Notre Dame’s defense has shown considerable improvement, but there is no question where the Crusaders’ bread is buttered, and that’s on the offensive side of the ball.

Their high-octane offense can put points on the board in a hurry, averaging an impressive 51.7 points per game.

They showed just how explosive they could be again last week, putting up 79 points in a quarterfinal victory over Salisbury.

The Crusaders (10-1) will run the football, but they do most of their damage through the air.

Like every Notre Dame signal caller does every year, junior quarterback Tommy Murphy has put up some big numbers, throwing for 2,608 yards with 41 touchdowns and just three interceptions, while also rushing for 482 yards at 9.3 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns.

To keep the Crusaders off the scoreboard, the Olympians will have to slow down Murphy.

A positive for Thorpe coming into this matchup is that its “Red Swarm” defense has been able to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks with its aggressive style and its ability to create turnovers.

The Olympians have generated key takeaways down the stretch including two interceptions late against Palmerton to help them win that game, and then three more in the fourth quarter last week against Tamaqua.

“Turnovers are a huge part of the game, and when you can create turnovers you create momentum. That’s especially the case if you can take care of the ball on the offensive side of the ball. And lately that has been a key for us in winning football games,” added Rosenberger.

“That will need to continue on Friday night. They are a big-play football team, so again, we will need to sustain and finish drives to try and keep their offense off the field. We have to take advantage of our opportunities.

“And then we need to play disciplined on defense. We need to stay controlled in our rushing lanes when we get pressure because Murphy is also very dangerous with his feet. But we have to get him off schedule and make him throw the ball before he wants to, and then our guys need to win their matchups and make plays on the ball.”