Tamaqua had its finger on the trigger of an upset victory. But when it came time to pull it off, the Raiders just couldn’t do it.

Battling gamely against Pottsville, the Blue Raiders came close pulling off a major coup on Friday.But it wasn’t to be as the Crimson Tide rallied around their versatile and elusive quarterback Eric Wapinsky for a 19-7 victoryThe win was the fifth on the season for Pottsville with its lone loss coming on the road to Harrisburg.“It was one of those games where we made something happen, especially the way Wapinsky played for us,” said Pottsville coach Tom McGeoy. “He is taught to look (to a second) receiver and he really executed well.”Two of those checkoffs came when the Tide and Wapinsky were looking for answers against a tenacious Tamaqua defense that kept Wapinsky dodging tacklers every time he looked to pass. However Wapinsky was terrific hitting his targets on nine of 10 attemptsWapinsky’s first pass turned a sure loss into a huge gain when he found 6-6, 230-pound junior Ian Renninger with a 50-yard completion to the Tamaqua 9-yard line. Three plays later ,Darion Jacoby dove into the end zone for a 6-0 lead immediately following the second half kickoff after both teams went scoreless in the opening 24 minutes.In an instant, the Raiders were in the drivers’ seat thanks to a Thad Zuber 42-yard completion to Casey Rother, which set up their team’s only touchdown. Nick Briner the unassuming sophomore tailback blasted his way to paydirt on a seven-yard run and Mitch Kurek’s PAT made it 7-6 with 8:03 showing in the third quarter.“We made a nice comeback to take the lead, and I loved where we were at,” said a Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner. “Our defense played a heck of a game. We had Wapinsky trapped a few times, but he made plays.”Indeed he did, The biggest came on a third-and-15 play when Wapinsky kept looking down field and, with all of his options seemingly shutdown, he bought time until he found Ian Muhron sitting in the flat uncovered. Wapinsky flicked the pass and off he went for a backbreaking 21-yard gain. Then, four plays later, Wapinsky hit the end zone on a 1-yard plunge.“We had (Wapinsky) surrounded then he finds a way to make that play,” said Bonner. “It was a great play on their part.”Midway through the final quarter, the Tide made the game’s best drive marching 64 yards and scoring with 1:21 to play to seal the deal.KICKING IT HOME ... Despite wet conditions and slippery spots, both punters — Pottsville’s Holobetz and Eddie Titus of Tamaqua — did a fabulous job.QUARTERBACKING ... Zuber had a nice night at the helm for the Raiders. He continues to impress with good decisions.NEXT TIME OUT ... While Pottsville is in a showdown game at home with Blue Mountain, the Blue Raiders host Lehighton.