The Salisbury football team suffered its third straight loss of the season Friday, falling to Jim Thorpe 49-13.

The Olympians and Syracuse University-bound lineman Noah Rosahac controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. But it might have been Rosahac’s special teams play that allowed his team to build a 42-0 first-half lead.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound senior got in the backfield on nearly every Salisbury punt to give his team short fields on all of its first-half touchdown drives.

Jim Thorpe started all of its first five possessions in Salisbury territory and scored on short drives.

The first Olympians drive started at the Falcon 27-yard line and took three plays to reach pay dirt. Their next possession started near midfield, but it lasted just one play when sophomore quarterback Cole Lazorick ran 46 yards for a touchdown.

After another Salisbury three-and-out and another punt either hurried or tipped by Rosahac, Jim Thorpe started its third drive at the Salisbury 26 and needed four plays to reach the end zone for a 21-0 lead with 3:54 left in the first quarter.

The Falcons’ next drive saw their second first down of the game when quarterback Jacob Bucchin found Jason St. Leger for a 28-yard gain, but the drive stalled and after a 20-yard punt, the Falcons’ longest of the game, Jim Thorpe got the ball back two yards short of midfield.

Salisbury was one stop short of getting the ball back when Lazorick broke free on a fourth-and-3, going 41 yards for a touchdown.

A fumbled kickoff resulted in another JT drive starting in Falcon territory, this time at the 24-yard line. Three plays later Lazorick rambled in from five-yards out for his third rushing touchdown of the game.

The Falcons next drive saw them get across midfield for the first time, gaining a first down on another Bucchin-to-St. Leger pass. The drive ended with a turnover on downs, forcing the Olympians to takeover in their own territory for the first time all game at their own 45.

Jim Thorpe’s final scoring drive of the first half took just two plays with Lazorick recording his third touchdown pass of the game, hitting Joshua Louk for a 40-yard score.

With a 42-0 lead and the mercy-rule clock running in the second half, both teams got some of their second string players in the game.

Salisbury sophomore Jordan Tocci-Wachter got his team on the board when he carried the ball four times on the Falcons’ first possession of the second half, scoring on a 7-yard run.

The Olympians answered, but Salisbury responded on its next play when Andrew Lucas found Andrew Wright for a 61-yard touchdown pass, the longest play of the game.

Jim Thorpe picked up its first win of the season after opening with losses to Bangor and Blue Mountain, which were both 2-0 heading into last week’s games.

Salisbury will look to pick up its first win of the season when it heads to Notre Dame (Green Pond) for a Saturday afternoon game.

The Crusaders are 2-1 this season. They beat Saucon Valley 48-20 and Tamaqua 60-13. They lost to Southern Lehigh 68-28 in week two.