HS Football: Southern Lehigh rolls past Tamaqua behind explosive run game
Tamaqua
TAMAQUA — It was an explosive night for Southern Lehigh’s run game Friday as the Spartans broke loose for four rushing touchdowns of 25 yards or more on their way to a 49-6 victory over Tamaqua.
Southern Lehigh’s offense stumbled out of the gate, throwing an interception on its opening drive. Tamaqua’s Brady McCabe made a great play along the right sideline to pick off the pass and give the Raiders early momentum.
The Spartans, however, quickly regained control. After forcing a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Southern Lehigh found its rhythm on both the ground and through the air. The Spartans scored on three straight possessions to grab a 20-0 lead by the 9:03 mark of the second quarter.
Sean Steckert powered in from 27 yards out, quarterback Colton Sams connected with Jacoby Jacobs for a 25-yard touchdown, and Darius Roman added a 64-yard punt return down the right sideline to blow the game open.
Steckert, who entered the night with 1,299 rushing yards, an eight-yard-per-carry average, and 18 touchdowns, got the Spartans’ offense rolling early with several big runs.
“We have a big and strong line and a good line and obviously a really good running back,” said Southern Lehigh head coach Phil Sams. “But we were definitely clicking tonight. All year long, we’ve been able to run the ball very well and we’ve been balanced, because we’ve been able to throw the ball well, too. It was good to see the guys come out and execute tonight.”
Tamaqua had a chance to tighten the game before halftime. The Raiders pieced together a grinding 15-play drive that started at their own 19-yard line and reached the Southern Lehigh 14. A 14-yard run by Malachi Stewart and a 16-yard completion from Chase Serfass to Camden Walker helped move the chains, but on second-and-six from the 14, the Raiders fumbled, and the Spartans recovered with 35 seconds left in the half.
“We put together a really good drive there right before the end of the first half, but unfortunately we fumble it and we don’t get any points. We also had two holding penalties on two big plays in the first half. Against a team as good as Southern Lehigh you can’t make those kinds of mistakes,” said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. “If you want to hang in the game and be competitive with a team like that, you just can’t make those mistakes.
“We knew their running game was going to be tough to handle. The punt return touchdown for them was huge as well. We had some flashes, but unfortunately we weren’t able to do enough to keep it interesting.”
The Spartans received the second-half kickoff and went right back to work. A strong return by Otto Young set up the offense at the Tamaqua 38, and four plays later Sams found Jacobs again — this time for a 16-yard touchdown on a well-executed throwback pass.
Southern Lehigh added one more score in the third quarter to trigger the mercy rule as Steckert broke free for a 47-yard touchdown around the left side, stretching the lead to 35-0.
“Tamaqua is a tough team. They’re a very well-coached team. I just thought we played very well tonight,” said Sams. “Coming in we knew they had a really good back. We keyed on him and brought in some of our bigger guys on some of their formations where we thought he was going to run the ball and our guys made plays.”
BIG PLAY RUN GAME — Southern Lehigh rushed for 275 yards on just 15 carries, averaging an incredible 18.3 yards per attempt. Steckert led the way with 135 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.
1,000-YARD MARK — Tamaqua sophomore Terrence McDowell was held in check, finishing with 25 yards, but he surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone on his third carry of the game. He now has 1,020 rushing yards this season.
Game Summary
Southern Lehigh 49, Tamaqua 6
SL (7-0, 6-0) 14 6 15 14 — 49
Tam (3-4, 2-5) 0 0 0 6 — 6
Southern Lehigh 14 6 15 14 – 49
Tamaqua 0 0 0 6 – 6
SL — Steckert 27 run (Walsh kick)
