Notre Dame continued its dominance Friday night at Lafayette College, overpowering Tamaqua 59–16 in the District XI Class 3A semifinal to improve to 12–0.

Senior quarterback Matt Bodnar led the offensive, completing 12 of 16 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Faustie Capobianco paced the rushing game with three touchdowns, while Jon Striba added 93 yards and two scores on only four carries.

After Tamaqua briefly tied the game early, the Crusaders answered with three straight touchdowns. Bodnar connected with Alex Clark for a 68-yard strike, and Tommy Murphy followed with a 43-yard scoring run to give Notre Dame a 22-8 lead after the first quarter.

Notre Dame extended its advantage in the second quarter behind touchdowns from Striba and Capobianco, taking a commanding 35-16 halftime lead. Capobianco’s third touchdown of the night and a 22-yard field goal from Clemente Cintron stretched the margin to 45-16 entering the fourth quarter.

Bodnar found Cody Driscoll for a 23-yard touchdown pass, and Striba capped the night with a 62-yard run to seal the 59-16 victory. Cintron was perfect on six extra points and added the field goal for a total of nine points.

On defense, Kalet Wilson led the way with nine tackles and three assists, while Giancarlo Guadagnino tallied two sacks and two tackles for loss. John Hull and Caden Ditze each recovered fumbles, and Tom Kosiba blocked a kick as the Crusaders’ defense controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the game.

With the win, Notre Dame advances to the District XI 3A Championship, where it will face Northwestern Lehigh on Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Catasauqua Alumni Field. The winner will move on to the PIAA State Tournament.

Photo Courtesy of Denise Bergstresser