Tamaqua's Victor Schlosser breaks into the clear on his 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of Saturday's win over Pen Argyl (Photo by Eli Doyle).

PEN ARGYL — It had been five years since Tamaqua won its football season opener.

A series of big plays by two of its senior leaders ended that streak Saturday afternoon.

Victor Schlosser rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown and Luke Kane threw for 177 yards and a TD as the Blue Raiders downed Pen Argyl 38-7 in a sun-splashed matinee contest in Northampton County.

It was Tamaqua’s first victory in its season opener since 2019, a season in which the Blue Raiders won the District 11 Class 3A crown and reached the PIAA state semifinals.

“This feels amazing. We’ve been talking about that all week,” Kane said. “We haven’t won our season opener in five years, since that state-run team. Getting out here and winning this game was amazing for us.”

Things didn’t start out so well for Tamaqua.

The Blue Raiders went three-and-out on their first possession and a shanked punt gave Pen Argyl a short field. The Green Knights capitalized, using a 30-yard run by Caiden Faust to set up Mason Soos’ 5-yard TD plunge that put Pen Argyl up 7-0.

Tamaqua answered with a 15-play drive that reached the Pen Argyl 5-yard line, but Kane was intercepted by Zachary Metzger.

The Green Knights led 7-0 after one frame.

“Saturday afternoon, it’s always a challenge getting off that bus and coming off ready to play,” Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner said. “We kind of started out slow. We gave up the long drive, then we went three-and-out on offense. I thought the kids did a great job overcoming that in an away game on a Saturday.”

The Blue Raiders were able to overcome that slow start thanks to a trio of big plays by Schlosser.

First, the senior speedster evened the score with a 68-yard run on a counter to the right side in the second quarter, breaking into the clear and outrunning the Pen Argyl defense down the sideline.

“It was a big play. It helped us with momentum,” Schlosser said of his TD run. “It really got us up. We had a bad first quarter and that really boosted our confidence.”

Another big play, this time a 51-yard pass from Kane to Jacob Hehn, and a key roughing-the-passer penalty helped Tamaqua take a 14-7 lead into halftime. The Pen Argyl penalty came on a fourth-and-11 pass that fell incomplete. Three plays later, Kane hit Declan Coleman for a 6-yard TD on a tight end crossing route.

In the third quarter, Schlosser would strike again … twice.

His 66-yard reception on Tamaqua’s first possession of the third quarter set up Tyler Koch’s 2-yard TD run, and his 55-yard run just over a minute later led to Bradley Whalen’s 6-yard scoring run that made it 28-7 with 37 seconds left in the third.

The speed guy in Tamaqua’s offense, he helped the Blue Raiders rush for 292 yards on 40 carries and amass 469 yards of total offense. Whalen finished with 75 yards on 18 carries, while freshman Terrell McDowell came off the bench in the fourth quarter to run four times for 47 yards.

Schlosser finished with 221 yards of total offense and added an interception on defense.

“That’s where I’m best,” Schlosser said of being Tamaqua’s speed guy. “If I get the outside, hopefully I can take it all the way.”

A key to Tamaqua’s big plays was the pocket presence of Kane.

The 6-foot-2, 208-pound senior stayed tall in the pocket, buying himself time when he needed to by rolling left, or stepping up in the pocket. Tamaqua’s offensive line of Damian Jazowski, Declan Franz, Luke Frohnheiser, Malachi Stewart and Logan Pribila did a great job giving Kane time and keeping him clean all game.

“My line gives me a lot of time. They give me space,” Kane said. “But I have guys out there who can make plays. Victor Schlosser, Declan Coleman, Brady McCabe … they’re going to find an opening, even if I’m scrambling. So I’m not afraid to get hit. Plus I know if nothing’s open, just get yards.”

The two third-quarter scores essentially put the game out of reach as Pen Argyl was held to 55 total yards in the second half. Nicholas Barron connected on a 22-yard field goal to make it 31-7 in the fourth quarter before Ace Schickram capped the scoring with a 4-yard run in the final minute.

“It feels great,” Schlosser said of the Week 1 win. “It helps us mentally going into next week and be stronger.”

Game Summary

Tamaqua 38, Pen Argyl 7 

Tamaqua (1-0)                0               14            14            10  —   38

Pen Argyl (0-1)                7               0               0               0    —    7

PA — Soos 5 run (Kotulka kick)

Tam — Schlosser 68 run (Barron kick)

Tam — D. Coleman 6 pass from Kane (Barron kick)

Tam — Koch 2 run (Barron kick)

Tam — Whalen 6 run (Barron kick)

Tam — FG Barron 22

Tam — Schickram 4 run (Barron kick)

Team Statistics

Tam-PA

First Downs                                 17                     8

Rushes-Yards                            40-292         29-144

Passes                                             8-13-1           3-9-1

Passing Yards                            177                  7

Total Yards                                   469                  151

Fumbles/Lost                            0-0                   0-0

Penalties                                       6-50                5-43

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Tamaqua — Schlosser 8-144, Whalen 18-75, McDowell 4-47, Koch 6-18, Kane 3-4, Schickram 1-4. Pen Argyl — Faust 10-82, Soos 10-38, Metzger 3-13, Estes 5-10, Accatino 1-1

PASSING: Tamaqua —- Kane 8-13-1, 177. Pen Argyl —- Soos 3-9-1, 7.

RECEIVING: Tamaqua — Schlosser 3-77, Hehn 2-51, D. Coleman 3-49. Pen Argyl — Lerch 2-7, Faust 1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS: Tamaqua — Schlosser. Pen Argyl — Metzger.