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Jim Thorpe rolls in battle of unbeatens

The matchup of unbeatens turned out to be a mismatch.

Thanks to another monster performance from Robbie Heller and a defense that showed no mercy, Jim Thorpe rolled to a 35-0 mercy-rule victory over Tri-Valley on Friday night .Heller rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns and the Olympians' 'D' held high-scoring Tri-Valley to just over 100 yards of total offense."Our first three games we had an advantage over our opponents. Tonight was different," said Bulldog coach Mike Ulicny. "Jim Thorpe is a very good team. They are better than us."They are quicker than us and they are stronger than us. We just weren't used to this type of power and quickness."When it comes to power and quickness, Thorpe is loaded - and nobody is a better example of that than Heller. The Olympian halfback scored on runs of 35, 55 and 63 yards as he ran through tackles and outran defenders."Robbie has all the things you are looking for in a running back," said Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger. "He has exceptional speed, he is a physical runner, and he has great vision."He does a lot of things for us offensively."The Olympians have generated most of their points this year thanks to Heller and a potent rushing attack. But last night, the game's key play might have been a pass.With the contest scoreless late in the opening quarter, Jim Thorpe (4-0) faced a third-and-goal at the eight-yard line. Quarterback Dean Richards rolled out and found fullback Kevin Vitti in the flat. Vitti turned up field and waltzed into the end zone for the game's first score."Dean made a really good play," said Rosenberger. "That wasn't his first option, but he made a nice read and put the ball right where it needed to be."With the Olympians leading 7-0, Heller took control, racing for a pair of long TD to make it 21-0 at halftime."Our offensive line played very well," said Rosenberger. "On a couple of those runs by Robbie, he went almost untouched."Tri-Valley is a tough team, but we did a really nice job controlling the line of scrimmage against them. It's a nice win."Thorpe continued to dominate play in the second half, forcing turnovers and stopping Tri-Valley's best scoring opportunity after the Bulldogs recovered a fumble deep in Olympian territory."We are always preaching discipline on defense," said Rosenberger. "Our kids have done a great job all year of staying disciplined."Greg Palmer has been outstanding and made plays all over the field again tonight. Kevin Vitti had a great game as well. It was just a nice all-around performance by our defense.QUICK STRIKE ... Jim Thorpe's three first half touchdowns came in 7:26 and spanned just nine offensive plays.BIG PLAY PLAYERS ... The Olympian defense forced four turnovers. Robbie Geisinger and Jordan McElmoyle both intercepted passes and Antonio Madera and Heller both recovered fumbles.SPECIAL TEAM STAR ... Justin St. Cloud had a big blocked punt for Jim Thorpe in the second quarter. On the first play following the block, Heller raced 35 yards for the Olympians third TD of the first half.NO ROOM TO RUN ... Eleven of Tri-Valley's 24 rushing attempts went for negative yardage and 16 of the 24 produced two yards or less.ANTI SOCCER STYLE ... Jim Thorpe kickers Jon Fikentscher (4-for-4) and Bailey Becker (1-for-1) converted all of their extra point attempts. Both kickers have the same unusual style as they line-up straight on and take one slow approach step before connecting with the ball.