Notre Dame had no answer for Nate Boyle.

So Tamaqua kept asking the same question over and over again.

The Blue Raiders ultimately asked the question 49 times. But Notre Dame could never solve the Boyle problem — even when the Raiders were giving hints.

By the time the test was over, Boyle had amassed a school-record 382 yards on the ground and scored five touchdowns as Tamaqua pulled away for a 49-28 District 11 Class 3A semifinal round victory.

“We weren’t going to over think it,” said Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner about the decision to go with Boyle’s hot hand. “Power left, power right ... it was kind of a throwback to the way our offense was when I first came here.

“At halftime, we decided that we were going to play power football. Nate was running like a man possessed so we were going to give him the ball until Notre Dame showed it could stop him.”

The Crusaders never did.

After piling up 125 yards on 20 first-half carries, Boyle got even busier and better in the second half. The senior halfback carried the ball on 29 of Tamaqua’s 35 second half plays with 10 of those carries producing double digit yards.

“That’s by far the most carries I’ve ever had in a game,” said Boyle. “I’m definitely feeling a little exhausted, but the way we were moving the ball, there was no way I would even consider coming out (of the game).”

While Notre Dame never found the answer to stopping the Tamaqua running game, Boyle knew the answer to why it worked so well.

“Our offensive line was amazing,” he said. “It seemed like every time I got the ball, the holes were massive.

“I can’t say enough about those guys. They made my job easy.”

One of the linemen responsible for Boyle’s big night was senior Bronson Strouse.

Strouse said that the Raiders weren’t disguising anything in the second half.

“When we were running power right, Lucas (Schickram) and I lined up on the right side and when we were running the power to the left, we lined up on the left side of the line,” Strouse explained. “Notre Dame realized what we were doing and they were calling out what side we were going to run the ball to, but they still couldn’t stop us.

“It’s a great feeling as an offensive lineman when you can keep lining up and running the ball with the success we had tonight. It’s also nice to have a back like Nate carrying the ball. He’ so quick and so strong that all he needs is a little daylight and he’s through the hole.”

Making Boyle’s performance even more impressive was the fact that Tamaqua needed all of those yards to eventually pull away for the win.

Notre Dame led 14-13 at halftime thanks to a late second quarter score, and the two teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 28-28.

But that’s when Tamaqua took charge.

A 42-yard kickoff return by Matt Kistler and a facemask penalty on the Crusaders gave Tamaqua the ball at ND’s 26-yard line with under a minute left in the third quarter.

Six plays later, quarterback Brayden Knoblauch kept the ball on a bootleg and scored from eight yards out to make it 35-28 with 10:04 remaining in the game.

The next time the Tamaqua offense got the ball, Boyle carried seven straight times and accounted for 72 yards of offense — including a 7-yard TD run — as the Raiders opened some breathing room with 4:02 remaining in the game.

“I’m so happy for this senior class,” said Bonner. “This is the first District 11 win in school history and this group of kids really deserved it. We’ve been close a few times during their careers, so for them to get it was just tremendous.”

RECORD BREAKERS ... Boyle’s 382 yards breaks the Tamaqua single-game rushing record of 350 yards set by Tyler Hope against Schuylkill Haven in 2013. Knobluach set the school single-season passing yardage record during the game. He now has 1,515 yards this season, passing Geoff Kruczek’s mark of 1,459 set during the 1991 season.

TURNOVERS ... Tamaqua turned the ball over three times and ND four times. Boyle had an interception and a fumble recovery for Tamaqua, while Sean Lavine and Nate Wickersham also recovered fumbles.

UP NEXT ... Tamaqua will get a rematch with North Schuylkill in the District 11 3A title game. The game will be played Friday at Lehighton High School.

THINKING OF JADEN ... Tamaqua had a red No. 6 painted in both end zones in a show of support for North Schuylkill quarterback Jaden Leiby who was seriously injured in the Spartans’ game last week against Pottsville and who is still recovering in an Allentown hospital.