Nobody and I mean nobody except for the Jim Thorpe coaching staff and players thought they would be in the hunt for the Anthracite Football League title in 2013.

The Olympians came into this season on the heels of back-to-back 1-9 campaigns and bolstered a defensive unit that was worst in the league over the past two seasons. Add to that the loss of all state quarterback Pat Duvigneaud due to graduation and it's easy to see why people didn't give Thorpe a chance to do much of anything in 2013.Well, it looks like JT coach Mark Rosenberger, his staff, and his squad of Olympians proved once again that pre-season polls, rankings, and prognostication have absolutely no merit between the hash marks on the football field.That's because Jim Thorpe (7-2, 7-1 AFL) did what nobody expected them to do, which was win the AFL Championship.The Olympians outlasted a tough Marian (5-4, 4-3 AFL) squad on Friday night, shutting out the Colts in the second half en-route to a 14-7 AFL victory. The win gave Thorpe their seventh league victory of the season and their fourth overall Anthracite Football League title in the last 10 seasons."First off the credit has to go to our kids," said Rosenberger. "To overcome back-to-back seasons of 1-9, I mean nobody expected these kids to win a championship, but the coaches that you see out here on this field right now. I'm just extremely proud of how hard the kids worked and they didn't walk away from the program when things weren't going our way. It just shows the kind-of character these kids have to overcome that kind-of adversity."There's no doubt the Olympians had to overcome adversity to get to where they are this season, but they also had to fight through some adversity against the Colts on Friday night.A Ryan Saunders 35-yard touchdown run gave Thorpe a 6-0 lead with 1:39 left in the first half. JT's two-point effort failed when a Saunders pass to Kevin Vitti went through Vitti's hands and out of the end zone.The Colts answered back quickly when Marian quarterback Dean Richards hit Nico Agosti on a 35-yard pitch and catch for a score around the one minute mark. A KJ Snerr extra point gave the blue and gold a 7-6 advantage heading into the half.The second half was where Jim Thorpe's "red swarm" defense truly showed that they were back.The Olympians defense allowed just three first downs in the second half and shut down the Colts at every turn. What was even more impressive was that the Olympians "D" did all of that in pressure situations and in many instances with their backs against the wall."I said it a couple weeks ago and I meant it. In order for us to win the AFL and get into the playoffs our defense had to continue to play well and that's exactly what happened tonight," said Thorpe quarterback Ryan Saunders. "They're just a tough bunch of guys that play the game with a lot of emotion and they got the job done tonight against a tough Marian "O" that had it rolling the last five weeks."Saunders hasn't let the Jim Thorpe faithful down all season long and he certainly came through against the Colts.His screen pass to Mike Malatak, who took the ball 29 yards for six with 8:16 left in the third gave JT a 12-7 lead. A Deonte St. Hill successful run for a two-point conversion then gave Thorpe a one touchdown advantage.Saunders once again had a solid outing, rushing for 118 yards and a score, while throwing for 90 yards and a touchdown.However, it wasn't just Saunders who helped Jim Thorpe get the "W." Many Olympians stepped up on the night, including Antonio Madera and Ryan Carroll. Madera made a big defensive play late in the fourth on Colts' running back Anthony Agosti to help stall a Marian drive and Carroll came through late in the rushing game. The Olympians did spread the ball around nicely with seven different players running the football on the evening."We told our kids all year that we're not a one trick pony team," said Rosenberger. "Ryan deservingly so gets a lot of attention, but we like to spread the ball around. This was just an overall team effort and team win. Also, a lot of credit has to go to the offensive line because they opened up some nice holes for our runners."For Marian, it was just one of those games. The Colts fought hard on the night, but they just came up a little short."Two very good football teams went toe-to-toe for four quarters and unfortunatley on our end we came up on the short end of the stick," said Marian coach Stan Dakosty. "Jim Thorpe's a great football team and they showed that tonight. We're obvioulsy disappointed right now, but we definitely have a lot of football left in us."Next week sets up another big game for Jim Thorpe as they will head to tribe country to face Lehighton. The Olympians need to beat the Indians in order to get into the District 11 AAA playoffs. They currently sit in the fifth spot behind Pottsville.