Blue Mountain earns victory for first year Head Coach Tom Gallagher, defeats Jim Thorpe 30 to 20 at the Eagles Nest ! @coach_gal @BMSD_Football

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News

Daniel Reed | August 29, 2021

Blue Mountain earns victory for first year Head Coach Tom Gallagher, defeats Jim Thorpe 30 to 20 at the Eagles Nest !

Things didn’t go as planned on Friday night, the season opener, as heavy rains, thunder, and lightning stormed through the area to which canceled a few games around the league, including the Eagles game vs Jim Thorpe. Thankfully, Saturday’s weather would be much better with just clouds looming above, and not as humid. Blue Mountain came into the game as underdogs according to some media sources, but that didn’t change the mindset of the players, nor the coaching staff. The energy was high from both teams, as they were excited to get the season on its way. To start things off, we go to the coin toss, Jim Thorpe won the toss and deferred to the second half, and the Eagles would receive the ball to begin the game. Sophomore Tyler Miller caught the ball and turned right and bolted down the sideline for 93 yards and the touchdown with just :15 seconds off the clock. The point after was good, and the Eagles took the early lead 7 to 0.

Jim Thorpe would now get their chance to respond, after a few plays, the Eagles would get the ball back, and would move strategically down field, ending up with another score when Sophomore Payton Fasnacht would take the handoff 21 yards to the endzone, once again, the point after was good, giving the Eagles a 14 to 0 lead with 3:42 remaining in the first quarter. On the next possession for the Olympians, the offense couldn’t get rolling and a big penalty would back them deep in their own territory at which would lead to a big sack by a pair of Eagle defenders for the safety. Blue Mountain would now lead the Olympians 16 to 0 with 10:21 to play in the second quarter. On the Olympians next possession however, something change and Jim Thorpe started to move the ball more efficiently, then with less than two minutes to go in the half, RB Salvatore Capria scampered 39 yards to the endzone for the Olympians first score of the game to close the gap to 16 to 6 after a failed point after attempt. Blue Mountain would get the ball back with just over one minute to play in the half, unfortunately the Eagles would fumble the exchange and turn the ball over back to Jim Thorpe. You could feel the change in the air, and Jim Thorpe took control of the opportunity and scored again when JT quarterback would connect with Camron Tinajero for 17 yards to close the gap even more, only trailing the Eagles by 3, 16 to 13 with 1:11 left on the clock. Eagles would receive the kickoff, run a few plays, and eventually time ran out and we went into halftime with the score 16 to 13.

The Olympians would return the second half kickoff 23 yards. After a couple of plays and a penalty, Jim Thorpe would be in a third and 20 situation, and run a draw, to which the RB gained about 9 yards, to end up 4th and 11 at their own 35. The Olympians punt would go 48 yards to the Eagles 17 yard line. Blue Mountain would take advantage quickly when on the first play, James Seaman would break a tackle and streak down the left sideline for 83 yards and the score to put the Eagles back up by 10, leading 23 to 13 with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter. Nothing much else would happen for the rest of the quarter as the score still stood at 23 to 13 Eagles at the end of the 3rd with the ball back in the Eagles hands at the Jim Thorpe 17 yard line, 2nd. and 10.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles would score once again when the Eagles Sophomore QB William Jacobson would connect with J.T. Gockel for 12 yards and the score to extend the Blue Mountain lead to 30 to 13 with 11:16 remaining in the game. Jim Thorpe would eventually start moving the ball in the 4th quarter until an huge interception by Tyler Miller at the Eagles 2 yard line and would return it to the 22. Blue Mountain couldn’t capitalize on the possession and would once again have to give the ball back to the Olympians. Jim Thorpe never quit and would put together one last drive late in the game and score once more with :37 seconds to play on a bubble screen pass for 1 yard to the endzone. The Eagles would recover the onside kick and finish the game out by taking a knee to win the game over the Olympians 30 to 20 giving first year rookie head coach Tom Gallagher the victory. In the end, when asked what happened in the second quarter, he said, ” the inexperience got to us, we got punched, and we didn’t know how to respond, but the guys stepped up and responded well, sticking together in the face of adversity “.

Up next for the Eagles are the 1-0 North Schuylkill Spartans at Ghosh Field at North Schuylkill. North Schuylkill defeated Mount Carmel on Friday night 33 to 14. The Spartans are also riding a 14 game Schuylkill League regular season winning streak and a 9 game winning streak overall. Coach Gallagher is a former standout player at North Schuylkill so this should make for one exciting game. Coach “Wally” Hall vs Student and Rookie HC for Blue Mountain ! North Schuylkill comes into the game, winners of the last 4 straight against the Eagles, last season winning in overtime 20 to 14 at the Eagles nest.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS AND PHOTOS BELOW…