JIM THORPE — Tri-Valley is a football team that plays in a small school league, the Tri-Valley League, that consists primarily of single A schools.
Jim Thorpe is a Class AAA school that currently sits atop the Anthracite Football League standings.
Both teams went into Friday’s non-league game with unbeaten records. But the similarities ended there.
The Olympians pulled away for a 35-0 victory over the Dawgs on the back of Robert Heller’s 243 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.
Tri-Valley, which won each of its first three league games handily, simply could not match up with the Olympians’ quickness and depth. Bulldogs head coach Mike Ulicny tried to be realistic in his assessment of his team’s performance.
“We’re not a triple-A school and lucky for us we don’t have to play them that often. They (Jim Thorpe) were quicker than us and better than us,” Ulicny said. “We did move the ball at times, but we made mistakes. We weren’t used to the quickness and the power that they had.”
Tri-Valley also had no answer for Heller, whose touchdown runs were from 55 and 35 yards in the second quarter and 62 yards in the third.
“We take some pride in our defense, but we have to learn from this,” Ulicny said. “Heller is one of the better running backs we’ve seen. We played against him last year and he was good then.”
Jim Thorpe took the lead for good in the first quarter when quarterback Dean Richards connected with running back Kevin Vitti on a 9-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead with 1:45 left in the first quarter.
Heller’s touchdowns put the game out of reach before the Olympians put the mercy rule into effect early in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard scoring run by Antonio Madera for a 35-0 lead with 9:53 left in the game.
The Olympians took advantage of a couple Tri-Valley miscues to set up their touchdowns, including two interceptions, a blocked punt and a fumble recovery deep in Dawgs territory.
Heller’s 35-yard scoring run that opened up a 21-0 lead in the second quarter came one play after the Olympians blocked a Tri-Valley punt attempt.
“We played well on both sides of the ball,” Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger said. “They stopped us early on but we got the job done defensively and got the ball back for our offense. The success of our running game was due to our offensive line. We also depended upon our speed today.”
Tri-Valley quarterback Jaden Buchanan led his team’s offense, connecting on 10 passes for 79 yards. But turnovers kept the Bulldogs from getting back into the game, especially in the first quarter as a fumble ended a drive at the Jim Thorpe 17.
Game Summary
Tri-Valley (3-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Jim Thorpe (3-1) 7 14 7 7 — 35
JT — Vitti 9 pass from Richards (Fikentscher kick)
JT — Heller 55 run (Fikentscher kick)
JT — Heller 35 run (Becker kick)
JT — Heller 62 run (Fikentscher kick)
JT — Madera 4 run (Fikentscher kick)
TV JT
First Downs 8 13
Rushes-Yards 25-73 39-264
Passes 10-16-2 3-4-0
Passing Yards 79 39
Total Yards 152 303
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-0
Penalties 3-15 3-31
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Tri-Valley — I. Lucas 8-29, J. Buchanan 9-24, Scheib 2-11, Schwalm 5-9, Schaeffer 1-0. Jim Thorpe — Heller 23-243, Richards 9-11, Madera 2-9, St. Hill 2-7, Vitti 1-2, J. Geisinger 1-0, R. Geisinger 1-(-8).
PASSING: Tri-Valley — J. Buchanan 10-16-2, 79. Jim Thorpe — Richards 3-4-0, 39.
RECEIVING: Tri-Valley — T. Lucas 5-52, Poletti 1-11, Schwalm 1-9, A. Buchanan 2-7, Scheib 1-0. Jim Thorpe — Vitti 2-26, McElmoyle 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS: Jim Thorpe — R. Geisinger, McElmoyle