HS Football: Southern Lehigh outslugs Jim Thorpe in high-scoring affair
Jim Thorpe's Cole Lazorick (Photo by Leroy Boyer)
JIM THORPE — In a game that had 74 points light up the scoreboard, Southern Lehigh was put to task to keep its unblemished record intact against a spirited Jim Thorpe team Friday night.
The Olympians trailed by just six points to the Spartans, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by pennlive.com, with 2:22 left in third quarter. Then two late scores sealed the sixth Southern Lehigh victory of the season 47-27 in a Schuylkill-Colonial Red Division game.
Jim Thorpe quarterback Cole Lazorick led his team on a 12-play opening scoring drive that took nine minutes off the first-quarter clock. The senior signal-caller completed four passes on the 75-yard march and then bolted over from the 1-yard line for an early 7-0 Olympian lead.
The Spartans’ high-powered offense wasted little time before they knotted the score with QB Colton Sams finding Otto Young for a 38-yard, pass-and-run play. Southern Lehigh (6-0, 5-0 Red) took the lead with four minutes gone by in the second quarter. After a big run of 43 yards by Sean Steckert, Sams hooked up with Young again on a 21-yard slant pass across the middle and the junior wideout put his team ahead 14-7.
The Spartans threatened to gain a huge advantage over Jim Thorpe, which could not stop Steckert all game long. Following a Jim Thorpe punt, the visitors drove 66 yards, with Steckert breaking several tackles on his way for the final 23 yards for a 21-7 lead. For the game, Steckert carried 17 times for 173 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 25 yards.
Lazorick and company answered on their next possession. From the Spartan 45, he faked a handoff into the line and kept the ball on a read option for a 55-yard TD run. Just like that, Jim Thorpe trailed only by 21-14 at the intermission.
“We are very proud of our team’s effort tonight,” Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger said. “We stood toe-to-toe with a No. 1-ranked team in the state. Cole was outstanding, making so many key plays, especially when we had long yardage to go.”
A second-quarter injury to speedy running back Joshua Louk hurt the Olympians on both sides of the ball, but as Rosenberger said, “We had plenty of guys step up and make plays.”
The Spartans attempted to put away the Olympians when they scored on a third-quarter opening drive. Steckert broke tackles again, this time on a 17-yard run to paydirt, but the no-quit home team answered Southern’s score with one of their own. After the Spartans were penalized 30 yards for two unsportsman-like penalties on the same play and then a pass interference flag set up Jim Thorpe in the red zone, freshman Bobby Levins caught a pass from Lazorick for an 8-yard TD.
Jim Thorpe (2-4, 1-4 Red) was still in striking range, down by seven points at 27-20, but its defense couldn’t force a change of possession. On a first-and-10 from the Jim Thorpe 39, Sams hit tight end Jacoby Jacobs in the middle of the field for a 39-yard touchdown and a 33-20 lead with just under six minutes left in the third quarter.
“We didn’t get stops when we needed,” Rosenberger said. “They were much bigger and more physical up front, but we still have to find ways to get key stops to help out our offense.”
The Olympians’ offense took it to the Spartans again and came within six points late in the third. Lazorick ran in the rock from three yards out. For his night, he completed 20 passes, with several accurately thrown between defenders and soft-touch throws over the top of rushing linemen. In all, Lazorick threw for 266 yards and one score, and he ran for three more.
“He’s a special athlete,” Rosenberger said.
At the end of the quarter, Sams engineered a 75-yard drive, with Steckert carrying for 52 of those yards. The final 15 earned him his third TD of the game. The Spartans added their final points with a six-minute drive in the final quarter that ended with Sams hitting Jacobs with a 4-yard TD strike.
FLAGS FLYING … Southern Lehigh was penalized for 112 yards in the game that helped Jim Thorpe sustain its scoring drives.
ALL HAIL THE KING AND QUEEN … It was Homecoming Night at Jim Thorpe. Elected king was Pierce Gothard and wearing the queen’s regal crown was Mara Malaska.
UP NEXT … Jim Thorpe travels to Catasauqua next Friday to take on the Rough Riders. Southern Lehigh visits Tamaqua on the same night.
