The Tamaqua Blue Raiders will square off against the Notre Dame-Green Pond Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Tamaqua is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They came out on top against Saucon Valley by a score of 22-15. The victory was some much needed relief for the Blue Raiders as it spelled an end to their four-game losing streak.
Malachi Stewart
| 10/30/25 @ Saucon Valley | 93 |
| 10/17/25 @ Northwestern Lehigh | 66 |
| 10/03/25 vs Southern Lehigh | 53 |
| 09/26/25 @ Bangor | 44 |
| 09/11/25 @ Jim Thorpe | 44 |
Tamaqua found their leader in sophomore Terrence McDowell Jr, who rushed for 179 yards and a pair of scores. McDowell Jr's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 113 rushing yards. Tamaqua also got a significant boost from Malachi Stewart, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 93 yards.
Tamaqua was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 283 rushing yards. They are 3-1 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
Tamaqua didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Shawn Chen and Ace Schickram.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame-Green Pond won against Wilson Area last Friday with 56 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Thursday. The Crusaders blew past Salisbury Township 56-6. Considering the Crusaders have won seven matchups by more than 41 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Notre Dame-Green Pond's win came from a few key players Tamaqua will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jonathan Striba, who picked up 83 receiving yards and one TD, and also punched in one touchdown on the ground. Matt Bodnar was another key player, throwing for 159 yards and a pair of TDs on only 15 passes.
One reason for the win was Notre Dame-Green Pond's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as four different players picked up one apiece. Nyechay Lawless got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Tamaqua's win bumped their record up to 4-7. As for Notre Dame-Green Pond, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Tamaqua has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 195 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Notre Dame-Green Pond has preferred to attack from the air: they average 266.2 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Tamaqua took a serious blow against Notre Dame-Green Pond when the teams last played back in September of 2023, falling 60-13. Thankfully for the Blue Raiders, Danny Darno (who threw for 205 yards and four touchdowns on only 16 passes, and also rushed for 61 yards and one score on only five carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
