JIM THORPE — The Blue Mountain defense certainly came to play Friday night.

Reese Miller led the way with three sacks and added a 21-yard rushing touchdown as the Eagles rolled past Jim Thorpe 49-0 in a Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division football game at Jim Thorpe Area Stadium.

The Eagles (3-0, 2-0 Red) defense was stout from the start as Bradley Renninger notched the first sack of the game for Blue Mountain. He also crossed the goal line first for the Eagles after hauling in a 19-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Brady Strause all in the first 3:00 of the game.

Defensive backs Cole Swick and Josh Hoover prevented big plays by knocking down passes in the secondary. The Eagles limited chunk passing plays to the Olympians’ Aaron Curran and Justin Yescavage, who each combined for more than 200 yards receiving through the air in first two games for Jim Thorpe (1-2, 0-2).

Lukas Kauffman got in on the action for the Eagles, forcing an Olympian turnover on downs and plunging in the end zone from the 1-yard line on the following offensive drive to extend Blue Mountain’s lead 14-0 with 5:38 left to play in the first quarter. The starting offensive line combination of Vaughn Helverson, Dylan Foose, Cole Wargo, Ryan Clemas and Kurt Krammes paved the way for the Eagles runners all throughout the evening.

Tyler Stahley added a 1-yard TD rush of his own, Miller nearly intercepted a pass, added a sack and ran for a 21-yard TD and Hoover swatted a one-on-one jump ball in the end zone with 30 seconds remaining in the half.

“We wanted to shut (Jim Thorpe) out,” Blue Mountain coach Tom Gallagher said. “We felt that we could do that if we played to our potential. Reese Miller is a heck of a player. He plays with a lot of aggression, but he embodies our defense.”

In the third quarter, senior wide out Gaige Guers caught a pass from Strause and broke a handful of tackles on his way to a 50-yard TD. Freshman Brody Foose scampered into the end zone from 5 yards out to close out the quarter and extend Blue Mountain’s lead to 42-0.

And even the third phase of the game made a splash in the fourth quarter for the Eagles. Sophomore Chase Guers gobbled up a low spiraling kick and took it 55 yards to the house, making the score 49-0 following Blue Mountain kicker Aidan Grace’s extra-point boot.

Grace was 7-for-7 on extra points for the Eagles.

Blue Mountain hosts Northwestern Lehigh (3-0, 2-0) next Friday at the Eagles’ Nest. The Tigers defeated Bangor 55-7 on Thursday.

“We’re already focused on that game,” Gallagher said. “It’s on the forefront of our mind right now. We came into here and did what we had to do. As soon as that clock hit zero, we were thinking Northwestern Lehigh.”

Game Summary

Blue Mountain 49, Jim Thorpe 0

BM (3-0, 2-0) 14        14        14        7  —    49

JT (1-2, 0-2)   0          0          0          0  —    0

BM — Renninger 19 pass from Strause (Grace kick)

BM — Kauffman 1 run (Grace kick)

BM — Stahley 1 (Grace kick)

BM — Miller 21 run (Grace kick)

BM — G. Guers 50 pass from Strause (Grace kick)

BM — Foose 5 run (Grace kick)

BM — C. Guers 55 punt return (Grace kick)