FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll places a lot of faith in his defense.
That trust paid off in the form of a 33-13 victory over North Schuylkill in a bout between two Anthracite Football League heavyweights at Spartan Stadium on Friday.
The Indians’ defense shut out the Spartans in the second half, despite North Schuylkill getting great field position on every drive courtesy of four onside kick recoveries.
“Our defense played a great game all the way around,” McCarroll said. “There was no way we were going to hold a team like that to a shutout or one touchdown. I was a little disappointed with how our kids came out at the end of the first half, but they didn’t panic at all. They knew what they were capable of doing.”
The Indians’ biggest play on defense was recovering North Schuylkill quarterback Bobby Grigas’ fumble as time expired in the third quarter. The Spartans had driven inside the Lehighton red zone before Connor Frey pounced on the ball as it squirted from Grigas’ hand.
Lehighton’s ensuing drive took 17 plays, went 85 yards and melted 9:10 off the clock, sending Spartans fans fleeing from the stadium.
Indians quarterback Tyler Cann polished off the
march with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle for the game’s final points.
Cann completed 14-of-17 for 172 yards. His biggest target was receiver Tegan Durishin, who pulled in eight receptions for 133 yards. In all, seven different receivers caught passes from Cann on Friday.
“I know a lot of people haven’t heard of some of these kids,” McCarroll said. “But I’ve been telling people all preseason you’re going to hear some kids’ names this year that are going to surprise some people. I think we saw that tonight.”
Durishin stood out the most, though. He caught the first pass of the game from Lehighton on an end-around pass from Cody Scherer for a 51-yard gain that set up Wyatt Clements’ 1-yard touchdown run later in the drive to put the Indians up 7-0.
Durishin later caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Cann to extend Lehighton’s lead to 14-7 at the 2:27 mark of the second quarter. His 51-yard score from Cann with two minutes left in the third made it 27-13.
“We knew after we lost (Tyler) Crum and (Tom) Ruzicka, we were going to need some new playmakers,” Cann said. “We knew Tegan in the offseason worked his butt off and that’s paying off now.”
Grigas found 6-foot-6 receiver Tevin Murray for two nearly identical touchdown passes in the second quarter. Grigas hit Murray in the left corner of the end zone both times, first from 10 yards then from 15. The latter cut Lehighton’s lead to 14-13 after the extra point was blocked.
Cann finished off a 75-yard drive on the Indians’ first drive of the second half with a 6-yard scamper around the right corner that put Lehighton up 20-13.
Then Lehighton’s defense took over. The closest North Schuylkill came to scoring in the second half was reaching the red zone before the Grigas’ fumble.
“We weren’t in a rhythm,” North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall said. “When they have the ball the whole time, you can’t get a stop, it starts to take a toll on you. Unfortunately that is how it goes. You miss a tackle, you get a penalty, you drop a ball, they capitalize on our mistakes.
Grigas finished 17-for-29 passing for 152 yards. Murray’s 60 yards on six catches led the receiving corps. Pat Gownley ran for 79 yards on 20 carries from the backfield.
Clements led the Lehighton running game with 109 yards and a score on 25 touches. Cann carried the ball 20 times for 55 yards.
But Cann knows another big challenge looms next week in Blue Mountain, where the Indians meet the undefeated Eagles.
“We’re very happy,” Cann said. “We celebrate for a night, then we’re on to Blue Mountain.
Game Summary
Leh (3-0, 3-0) 7 7 13 6 — 33
NS (1-2, 1-2) 0 13 0 0 — 13
Leh — Clements 1 run (Cordova kick)
NS — Murray 10 pass from B. Grigas (Murray kick)
Leh — Durishin 12 pass from Cann (Cordova kick)
NS — Murray 15 pass from B. Grigas (kick blocked)
Leh — Cann 6 run (kick failed)
Leh — Durishin 51 pass from Cann (Cordova kick)
Leh — Cann 1 run (kick failed)
Leh NS
First Downs 20 17
Rushes-Yards 51-166 25-104
Passes 15-18-0 17-29-0
Passing Yards 223 152
Total Yards 389 256
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties 4-20 5-37
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Lehighton — Clements 25-109, Cann 20-55, E. Skrinkosky 2-4, Scherer 1-1, Mayernick 1-(-1), Team 2-(-2). North Schuylkill — Gownley 20-79, B. Grigas 3-20, Team 1-3, Jordan 1-2.
PASSING: Lehighton — Cann 14-17-0, 172; Scherer 1-1-0, 51. North Schuylkill — B. Grigas 17-29-0, 152.
RECEIVING: Lehighton — Durishin 8-133, Zehner 2-49, Strubinger 1-12, E. Skrinkosky 1-11, Scherer 1-9, Mayernick 1-5, Chambers 1-4. North Schuylkill — Murray 6-60, Jordan 3-39, Zahodnick 5-33, Gownley 1-10, Marlow 2-10.
INTERCEPTIONS: None.