MAHANOY CITY – Tamaqua’s football team hasn’t had a fly in the ointment yet.

It has lived up to the hype and what its coach has been preaching throughout the preseason.

Riding the crest of two splendid running backs, the Blue Raiders were never in serious trouble here in Alumni Stadium Friday evening when they ran roughshod past Mahanoy Area, 35-0, en route to their second straight non-conference win.

“We will never take any team for granted,” insisted shifty senior running back Nick Breiner, who knocked home two touchdowns runs while finishing with 113 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Teammate Nate Boyle continued to impress, too. Boyle, a junior, zipped into the end zone twice.

“He’s such a great back, we have fun together,” said Boyle about his running mate. “It’s easy with both of us running the ball; we keep teams off balance, they don’t know what’s coming.”

And when you figure in the passing attack, that is just starting to move from the back burner to the front, it makes this team even more lethal. Quarterback Brayden Knoblauch went 8-of-16, including a 15-yard touchdown strike to Matt Kistler.

“It’s a great way to start the season,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “We didn’t know what to expect with the rain and everything ...

“But we did things very well. Offensively and defensively, I have no complaints. I thought we played a very good first half.”

Indeed, the Blue Raiders were near perfect. They scored on their first three possessions. Breiner capped the initial 6-play, 61-yard march with a 10-yard run. Knoblauch set the tempo with a 19-yard toss to Kistler to open the drive.

The second march started exactly the way the first one did when Knoblauch found Boyle free in the flat that accounted for 19 yards. Then the big train got churning on the wet, muddy grounds when Boyle snapped off a 21-yard run and finished off the 64-yard drive with a 19-yard score. Breiner had an 11-yard run in the sequence, too.

Tamaqua used 11 plays to hit paydirt for a third time, which was culminated on a 14-yard run by Breiner. The senior bounced off several would-be tacklers before keeping his balance for the final two yards.

The only miscue by the Raiders was on a fourth scoring attempt when they fumbled the ball in the end zone, but immediately atoned for the turnover on the ensuing possession. It took just one play as Boyle bolted 47 yards with 4:51 to go in the half. Tamaqua needed only one play to score its fifth touchdown, thanks in part to a partially blocked punt that put the ball at the Mahanoy 15. Knoblauch quickly set sail with a 15-yard TD strike to Kistler before Boyle booted his fifth straight PAT.

“We did everything right in that first half, and I have no complaints about our defense,” said Bonner, whose D — led by Carl Valentine and Matt Amodea — only allowed 30 yards.

“Carl’s getting better each week,” added Bonner. “This is only his second season; he’s a big strong kid that’s getting better each week. I thought Matt Amodea, our other defensive tackle – our three shade and our one shade took a lot of their Mid-line option away. I thought Jake Barron at our middle linebacker position did a real good job, taking away their Veer and dive.”

ROCK-RIB SOLID … Tamaqua’s defense is going to be the storyline as the season motors into the meat of the schedule, and that starts Friday at Schuylkill Haven.

SLOSHING AWAY … Alumni Stadium never has drained well and it was no different last evening. The field was muddy at both ends, but Tamaqua running backs did a great job of keeping their balance.

BALANCING IT OUT … Bonner said his team was going to have balance and not just be one dimensional. He’s shown that in the early goings. You can’t key on one specific part of the offense.