Tamaqua sophomore running back Terrence McDowell (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

TAMAQUA – Pen Argyl lineman Jakob Pietraszkiewicz was in the right place at the right time.

Pietraszkiewicz intercepted a screen pass and rumbled 54 yards for a touchdown with 1:47 remaining to lift the Green Knights to a 14-6 victory over Tamaqua in the season opener for both schools.

With Tamaqua looking to mount a game-winning drive, the Blue Raiders attempted to run a screen pass. Pietraszkiewicz charging full bore, suddenly found the ball in his midsection – a lineman’s dream come true – took off from his own 46-yard line raced uncontested to the end zone to seal the fate for the Raiders.

“Jakob was in the right place. It’s what you try and teach (lineman) to do when a screen is coming,” Pen Argyl head coach Brady Mutton said.

Had the play gone the other way, who knows what the end result may have come to.

Certainly, Tamaqua will have to find a way to rid the lingering effects before a road trip to North Schuylkill in six days. No one thought this game would end on a sour note for the Blue Raiders.

They had control of things until a questionable horse collar penalty put the sprags to the Blue Raiders’ quest, for they lost every ounce of hope on just one play. It turned the tables for the Green Hornets, who proceeded to sustain a drive and possibly ward off poor field position. Though the eventual winners didn’t roll to the end zone, it killed off a great defensive series that Tamaqua had reeled off.

“We lost so much momentum because of a few calls,” Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner lamented.

Bonner felt the pressure was mounting to an extent.

“We had a pretty good half, then all of a sudden we got a few (lousy) breaks go against us,” he said.

Pen Argyl’s offense was stuck in mud. It had few threats to alarm Tamaqua. Then late in the third quarter, the visitors caught some wind in their sails, returning a short Tamaqua punt to the 33-yard line. Six plays following the punt, the Green Hornets finally cracked the end zone, riding the weary legs of Caiden Faust on a 6-yard run. Faust’s run was set up thanks to Terrell Estes’ 14-yard run full of determination that resembled a boxer in a slugfest.

“That was so big for us,” Mutton said of the first touchdown and Estes run. “You know, we have a lot of first-year players, and they’ve got a lot of first-year players, too. We just caught a few brakes, mainly because we hung in the re… we kept battling.”

A quick first half saw Tamaqua cash in for the game’s first touchdown thanks to a terrific evening of football by running back McDowell (19-64). McDowell, in his first starting assignment as a sophomore, put his team on the board when he capped a 12-play, 52-yard drive on a 1-yard plunge.

“I know we’re a pretty young team and it is going to take some time before we get used to playing together,” Bonner explained.

That surfaced a number of times. The only other threat the Raiders could muster when they stalled out on a drive to open the fourth quarter. After Pen Argyl scored the equalizer, the Blue Raiders got a huge swing of momentum thanks to McDowell,who returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to Pen Argyl’s 21. Then a penalty pushed the Tams back to the 27, quarterback Chase Serfass connected on two very good completions, both to Ace Schickram for 7 and 22 yards, but the drive petered out at the 15.

For sure, Tamaqua’s defense was taxed all evening.

“It was hard getting off,” Bonner would say about his team’s defensive time on the field.

DEFENSIVE GEMS … Tamaqua’s defense was excellent at time led by linebacker Luke Frohnheiser and Brady McCabe. Both had superb outings. Big bonus plays from Schickram, Shawn Chen, Malachi Stewart, McDowell, Quinn Coleman and Teegan Phillips.

THEY DID IT … Pen Argyl didn’t go in a shell, even though it struggled at times finding an offense. When it got the opportunity it turned a trio, Faust, Estes and quarterback Mason Soos along with two-way player Rocco DeCesare.

Scoring Summary

Tam – McDowell 1 run (kick failed)

PA – Faust 6 run (kick failed)

PA – Pietraszkiewicz 54 interception return (Estes run)