Pottsville's JuJu Bainbridge looks for running room in the Crimson Tide's 48-7 win over Jim Thorpe on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Photo by Danie Mae Photography)

POTTSVILLE — Pottsville weathered the storm early, then dumped a deluge of big plays on Jim Thorpe to thump the Olympians 48-7 in a Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division game Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Running back JuJu Bainbridge rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half — as the Crimson Tide (1-1, 1-0 Red) built a 34-7 halftime lead and cruised to victory in their home opener.

Quarterback Andrew Allen added 176 yards through the air, including a 63-yard strike to Tsirell Curry late in the first quarter to put Pottsville ahead to stay. Allen added another touchdown on an 8-yard run.

Curry had a big night as well, catching three passes for 134 yards and a score.

That wasn’t all. Reserve running back Evan Galavage rushed three times for 99 yards, including TD jaunts of 9 and 74 yards on consecutive offensive plays in the third quarter.

The reason for the big numbers was the play of Pottsville’s offensive line, which took control of the line of scrimmage more and more as the game wore on. The Tide finished with 235 yards rushing on just 24 carries and compiled 411 total yards.

“They played great. I want to give a lot of props to them. Great job,’’ Bainbridge said of the men up front. “They’re the reason I can run the ball.’’

Added Allen: “I can’t give enough credit to the line. They played out of their minds.’’

Pottsville set the tone by taking the opening kickoff and marching 60 yards on 11 plays. Bainbridge cashed in on a 2-yard run and Christian Alvarez added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Jim Thorpe (1-1, 0-1) answered with a 14-play, 84-yard drive to tie the game 7-7. Josh Louk plowed the final two yards for the TD.

With seconds left in the first quarter, Allen somehow escaped a fierce pass rush, rolled away and connected with Curry, who raced 63 yards down the home sideline to put Pottsville back on top 14-7.

In the second quarter, Shay Strencosky intercepted a pass, and Tahlil Flucker-White recovered a fumble to set up Tide touchdowns.

Bainbridge had TD runs of 2 and 13 yards in the final minute to turn a 21-7 lead into a 34-7 advantage at intermission.

The line helped Pottsville pile up 261 yards in the first half.

“A lot of young guys on that offensive line doing a great job in the weight room and a great job with our scheme,’’ Pottsville coach Mike Brennan said. “They’re showing up to work every day. We still have a long way to go, but I think they showed tonight that they could be a really good offensive line.’’

In addition to the two turnovers, Pottsville racked up four sacks for minus-42 yards against dual-threat Jim Thorpe quarterback Cole Lazorick.

The Olympians dinked and dunked their way down the field a few times, but over the final three quarters, Pottsville came up with big defensive stops to keep Jim Thorpe out of the end zone.

“Those guys make a lot of plays,’’ Brennan said of Jim Thorpe. “For us to be able to hold them to one score, I was really pleased with our kids. … Those guys put up video-game-type numbers last year, so for us to be able to do that tonight was really important. I think we developed that mentality defensively.

“A lot of pressure across the board,’’ Brennan added. “Our defensive line is athletic and they run well. … We got him off his mark. Our goal was to get Lazorick off his mark and make him worry about us as opposed to what was going on down the field.’’

In Week 3, Pottsville hosts Tamaqua and Jim Thorpe entertains Blue Mountain. Both games will be at 7 p.m. Friday.

 “We grinded all week. It was very difficult conditions,’’ Brennan said. “It was hot for school. The first week of school is always a challenge. We practiced on the baseball field again. Our kids kept battling, showed up every day. The second half of our Wednesday practice was as good as we’ve had all year.

“That’s the same challenge this week,’’ the coach added. “After the Labor Day weekend, getting back to work, gaining strength in the weight room and having great days of practice because Tamaqua comes here next week. Again it’s another opportunity for us to create some memories for our seniors and for us to get better as a program. We’re certainly moving in the right direction.’’

Game Summary

Pottsville 48, Jim Thorpe 7 

JT (1-1, 0-1)      7       0       0       0  — 7

Potts (1-1, 1-0)  14       20       14       0  —           48

P — Bainbridge 2 run (Alvarez kick)

JT — Louk 2 run (Flyzik kick)

P — Curry 63 pass from Allen (Alvarez kick)

P — Allen 8 run (Alvarez kick)

P — Bainbridge 2 run (Alvarez kick)

P — Bainbridge 13 run (kick failed)

P — Galavage 9 run (Alvarez kick)

P — Galavage 74 run (Alvarez kick)

Team Statistics

JT-Potts

First Downs —- 18      13

Rushes-Yards — 33-97      24-235

Passes —- 21-32-1      7-10-0

Passing Yards —- 164      176

Total Yards —- 261      411

Fumbles/Lost —- 2-1      1-1

Penalties — 5-37      4-35

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Jim Thorpe — Lazorick 14-34, Antignani 5-23, Irwin 5-22, Novack 2-7, Rivera 1-4, Louk 3-3, Hess 2-3, Garritano 1-1. Pottsville — Bainbridge 14-122, Galavage 3-99, Allen 2-9, Eroh 1-5, Herndon 2-4, H. Clews 2-(-4).

PASSING: Jim Thorpe —- Lazorick 19-28-1, 125; Hess 2-4-0, 39. Pottsville —- Allen 7-10-0, 176.

RECEIVING: Jim Thorpe — Louk 5-42, Rivera 2-39, Yescavage 6-29, Antignani 3-24, Curran 4-19, Gothard 1-11. Pottsville — Curry 3-134, Alvarez 1-17, M. Clews 1-13, Montone 2-12.

INTERCEPTIONS: Jim Thorpe — none. Pottsville — Strencosky.