TAMAQUA — The irresistible force met the immovable object, and the object remained unmoved.
The Blue Mountain defense (the object) held Tamaqua’s Bud Moyer (the force) to 24 yards rushing as the Eagles defeated the Blue Raiders 35-6 in Anthracite Football League game.
Mike Kalyan rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown as Blue Mountain (7-1, 6-1 AFL) won the battle of the trenches — on both sides of the ball — and that was the difference, said Eagles head coach Cory Mabry.
“There’s no doubt,” he said. “They’re a tough team and we know Tamaqua kids are always tough. We know every year it’s going to be a physical game, and whenever you win the battle of the trenches, you’re hopefully going to have a good chance to win the football game.”
The Eagles O-line opened enough holes to rack up 259 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns.
The D-line held Tamaqua to 21 yards rushing and sacked Tamaqua quarterback Thad Zuber twice — one each by Erech Noecker and Mike Kalyan.
Blue Mountain’s Ian Donovan picked off one Zuber pass that led to a score, and the Eagles defense held the Blue Raiders to 78 yards in the air.
Mabry said the Eagles did nothing special to stop Moyer, the second-leading rusher in the area.
“We have a pretty good run defense and we feel pretty confident with our kids,” Mabry said. “We really didn’t make any adjustments, we just knew he was a good running back, and we knew we had to keep an eye on him.
“Our kids did a fantastic job of executing our game plan. It’s just a matter of believing in what we’re doing and carrying out the plan.”
The Eagles took charge offensively on their first possession, going 60 yards on eight plays with Lucas Forbes (66 yards on 10 carries) scoring the first of his two TDs on a 3-yard run.
The Eagles struck again on Mike Kalyan’s 38-yard run early in the second quarter, capping a three-play, 58-yard drive.
Tamaqua (4-4, 3-4) came back after a 63-yard Dylan Dannenfelser kick return put the Raiders on the Blue Mountain 29.
Five plays later, Zuber found Zeke Wassell with a 10-yard TD pass with 6:40 left in the half to narrow the score to 14-6. Wassell had three catches for 54 yards on the night.
When Blue Mountain kicker Christian Puzzi missed a 26-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half, it looked like Tamaqua, which received the second-half kickoff, might have some momentum.
But it was not to be, as the Eagle defense tightened up even more in the second half, holding Tamaqua to two first downs, 15 yards net rushing and 30 yards passing.
The Eagles went on to score three more times in the second half.
The first score, a 1-yard Forbes run, was set up by a nifty 40-yard punt return by Spencer Welsh.
The second score, a 5-yard Matt Kalyan run, was set up by Donovan’s interception.
The final score came with 6:39 to go when Freed found Welsh with a 5-yard pass, after Welsh’s 28-yard punt return gave Blue Mountain the ball on the Tamaqua 27-yard line.
The Blue Mountain win sets up a key Anthracite League showdown with undefeated Jim Thorpe next week at Blue Mountain.
Game Summary
BM (7-1, 6-1) 7 7 7 14 — 35
Tam (4-4, 3-4) 0 6 0 0 — 6
BM — Forbes 3 run (Puzzi kick)
BM — Mi. Kalyan 38 run (Puzzi kick)
Tam — Wassell 10 pass from Zuber (kick blocked)
BM — Forbes 1 run (Puzzi kick)
BM — Ma. Kalyan 5 run (Puzzi kick)
BM — Welsh 5 pass from Freed (Puzzi kick)
BM Tam
First Downs 14 5
Rushes-Yards 38-259 31-21
Passes 6-15-0 8-13-1
Passing Yards 86 78
Total Yards 345 99
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties 7-80 2-30
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Blue Mountain — Mi. Kalyan 11-136, Forbes 10-66, Ma. Kalyan 10-50, Chelius 5-9, McKivigan 1-7, Freed 1-(-9). Tamaqua — Moyer 17-24, Breiner 5-13, Dannenfelser 3-5, Zuber 6-(-21).
PASSING: Blue Mountain — Freed 6-15-0, 86. Tamaqua — Zuber 8-13-1, 78.
RECEIVING: Blue Mountain — Welsh 2-38, Kerstetter 1-20, Chelius 1-13, Forbes 1-12, Greenawalt 1-3. Tamaqua — Wassell 3-54, Dannenfelser 3-21, Breiner 1-6, Moyer 1-(-3).
INTERCEPTIONS: Blue Mountain — Donovan.