Olympians upend Blue Mountain

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News

Brian O'Donnell | September 19, 2020

Coming off of a dominating defensive effort in week 1, Jim Thorpe traveled to Blue Mountain to take on the Eagles coming off of an impressive victory of their own. 

       After back and forth defensive stops to open the game, Thorpe Quarterback Davier Calcano kicked off the scoring for the night. The senior signal caller connected on a pass to Derryl Fisher from 20 yards out to give the Olympians a 6-0 lead with 24 seconds left in the quarter. The lead didn’t last long however. On the ensuing kickoff, Bryce Hensley took the kick and returned it to the house for an 89 yard touchdown giving the Eagles a 7-6 lead after one. Blue Mountain found the end zone once again in the quarter when Quarterback Jack Dean punched in a keeper from 3 yards out. The Eagles lead the Olympians 14-6 going into the half. 

       Both defenses remained stout exchanging stops for most of the 3rd quarter. Thorpe’s play of the game came late in the frame when Derryl Fisher made a great defensive read, taking an interception 34 yards to the end zone to give the Olympians a huge momentum boost. After a 2 point conversion things were knotted up at 14. Blue Mountain didn’t take long to respond. Putting a nice drive together, the Eagles connected on a touchdown pass from Dean to Hensley to give them a 21-14 lead midway through the 4th. 

           After an Olympian’s drive stall and punt, the defense was called upon to get the ball back. They stepped up to the challenge, forcing a punt for Blue Mountain. For the second week in a row, Thorpe’s special teams came up with a big play. An errant snap rolled deep into the end zone. The Olympians capitalized on the miscue recovering the ball for the score. After a Blue Mountain penalty on the extra point, the Olympians were faced with a game changing decision. Coach Rosenberger elected to send the offense back on the field to try and take the lead. The decision paid off as running back Brandon Fasolino powered his way up the middle to give the his team the 22-21 lead late in the fourth.

         The Olympians needed one final stop to seal the deal. After a 3rd and long conversion, Thorpe’s defense decided it was time to tighten up. Living up to the “Red Swarm” nickname, they turned up the pressure on Dean and the Blue Mountain O-Line. After a big loss on a fumbled snap, the Eagles were down to a 4th and 16 to keep their hopes alive. The defense held strong and forced an incompletion. A few kneel downs finished off the night with the Olympian’s leaving town with a 22-21 victory. 

        Jim Thorpe (2-0) travels to Pine Grove (0-2) next week looking build on their early season momentum. Blue Mountain (1-1) will look to get back on track heading to North Schuylkill (2-0). 

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