D-11 Football: ACC ends Jim Thorpe’s season in Class 4A quarterfinals
Jim Thorpe's Josh Louk, Cole Lazorick, Gavin Strohl and coach Mark Rosenberger pose during Colonial League Media Day at Pen Argyl High School (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
ALLENTOWN — It took a few minutes for Allentown Central Catholic’s offense to get rolling.
When it did, the Vikings (6-5) scored seven times over the middle two quarters on their way to a 52-21 win over Jim Thorpe on Thursday in a District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
“We had opportunities in the first half,” Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger said. “We moved the ball. We just couldn’t finalize some scores, and some penalties and negative plays hurt us.
“We just didn’t do a strong job defensively,” Rosenberger added. “Our biggest thing that’s been an issue is defensively and tackling, and it’s something we have to get better at.”
Allentown Central Catholic quarterback Patrick Cahill passed for 444 yards and five touchdowns in the game. The junior threw the ball 19 times and completed 13 passes while handing the ball off just four times before exiting late in the game with a large lead.
Speedy ACC receivers got behind Jim Thorpe’s defense for several big plays. Luis Martinez led the way with four catches for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tahir Edmondson caught two passes for 72 yards and a score.
Four of the Vikings’ touchdowns came on drives of four plays or less, with three of them using two plays or less.
“We knew all year we had pretty good athletes compared to everyone else,” first-year Allentown Central Catholic head coach Jake Reichard said. “Any coach will tell you to get your best players the ball and good things are going to happen. I’m glad that worked out for us tonight.”
The Olympian defense came up with a stop on the Vikings’ first possession, which started at the Jim Thorpe 42-yard line after an interception two plays into the game.
After a turnover on downs, the Olympians (4-7) drove to the Allentown Central Catholic 22-yard line before another interception ended their drive.
Two plays later Martinez caught a 78-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring.
After another long Olympian drive that stalled in the red zone, the quick-strike Vikes got to work.
Greg Tillman caught a 76-yard touchdown pass on the first play of their next drive to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Less than three minutes later, Edmondson caught a 72-yard touchdown pass on the second play of his team’s ensuing possession.
Jim Thorpe got on the board when Cole Lazorick ran in for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:39 left in the first half.
Just over a minute later, Cahill found Harry Restino with a 40-yard touchdown strike on the fourth play of a drive. A Bryson Baker field goal with time running out made it 31-7 at halftime.
ACC’s first play of the second half was a 69-yard score from Cahill to Martinez.
The Vikings’ Di’Quiawn Leak blocked a punt and caught the ball before it hit the ground. He then raced 22 yards to the end zone to put the game into the mercy rule, 45-7, with 10:35 left in the third quarter.
Jim Thorpe scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 1-yard Paxton Novack run and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Lazorick to Conner Zuwara.
NEXT ROUND … The Vikings (6-5) advance to take on No. 2 seed Bethlehem Catholic (7-4) in next week’s semifinals. The Golden Hawks beat Pottsville 28-14 on Thursday. The semifinal is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.
FAREWELL TO FOUR … The Olympians had just four seniors on this year’s team. They are Lazorick, Zuwara, Gavin Strohl and Josh Louk, who suffered a midseason injury but remained a leader off the field. “Four seniors gave us everything they had and showed tremendous leadership,” Rosenberger said. “They helped guide these young guys in the right direction for the future. Great kids. I can’t say enough about them and the leadership they showed the young guys.”
