Let thee of little faith come see.

There are skeptics and then there are believers.

Now there are more believers starting to rise up.

Why?

For the first four games of this football season, the doubters kept pointing fingers at Tamaqua’s schedule. Now after Week 5 and at the halfway point, the Blue Raiders are starting to make the skeptics rethink.

Rattling Blue Mountain’s offense with a tenacious defense, and engaging a passing attack that has now come to the forefront, Tamaqua rumbled to its fifth straight win – and a fifth straight shutout.

Yes, the Raiders are this good. They unfurled the deft passing of quarterback Braydon Knoblauch, who completed 13 passes on 18 attempts, including two terrific scoring strikes to speedy and rangy wide receiver Matt Kistler, on the way to a 28-0 whitewashing Friday.

Knoblauch lit up the Eagles secondary with two quick strikes to build a 14-0 lead. Kistler latched on to both of those early tosses for touchdowns. The first was a 54-yard touchdown on their first series; then the dynamic duo hooked up with another bomb, this one a 53-yard strike.

“We communicate very well together,” said the junior Tamaqua quarterback as his team opened play in Schuylkill Football League Division 1. “Matt and I can read each other and when you get the time my line allows, it is easy to make the throws.”

Knoblauch went 4-of-5 in the first quarter, 3-of-4 in the second quarter, and was a perfect 5-for-5 in the third quarter. Much to Blue Mountain’s credit, it was hellbent on stopping the run.

“I thought we had some holes in the running game, but they seemed to close fast,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “We were playing on a sponge (like surface) and our footing wasn’t there. I thought we did some great jobs in the passing game. Two big scores on two big plays early and that kind of got us going and helped us out.”

With a pesky rain starting to soak the surface, the Blue Raiders went on an eight-play scoring march on their first series, which ended when on a 3rd-and-9, Knoblauch went airborne and Kistler caught the first of his two scores.

On their ensuing series, the Raiders needed but three plays to strike paydirt again. First Nate Boyle ripped off a 24-yard run, and then on second down following the gain, Knoblauch hooked up with Kistler. It was a picture-perfect throw and catch.

“Both those guys, they’ve been tight for a while, and it was nice to see them connect,” smiled Bonner about the early touchdowns.

However, it was Tamaqua’s defense that kept pounding the Eagles (3-2, 0-1) offense. It allowed all of 18 net yards of offense in the first half. And when Tamaqua set sail for a third touchdown with 3:48 to go in the half, it was a sure sign of dominance.

Tamaqua forced a punt and took over on its own 36, and churned its way to the end zone, capping off a 7-play drive using a full house backfield with Boyle cashing in the score and a 21-point lead at the respite.

“Any time you throw shutouts it doesn’t matter who you are playing,” said Bonner. Plus, when your offense can strike from anywhere on the field, well that makes you lethal.”

To be sure, Tamaqua sent a message to the final five teams on its schedule when it hit tight end Jake Barron on a 30-yard touchdown strike with 3:48 to play in the third quarter. It was so perfectly executed, and Blue Mountain forgot to defend it.

KEEP THE BALL ROLLING … Tamaqua now hits the meat of its schedule. It plays at Pottsville next week, and then jacks it up Oct. 5 at home against North Schuylkill. After that, there’s a game at home with Lehighton, before two back-to-back road trips with Jim Thorpe and Marian.

DEFENDING ITS TURF … Bonner was pleased with his defense, calling out the play of Jared Reed at defensive end, Breiner at linebacker, Pierce Demetriades at corner and John Franco at safety.

ROCK THE HOUSE … Without a doubt, the Blue Raiders’ Marching Band is a spectator’s treat. It is very, very entertaining and 191 strong.