When Tom McCarroll found out a few years ago that his Lehighton squad was joining the Anthracite Football League, it was games like tonight that got him excited.
A packed house. A pair of hard-hitting, unbeaten teams. A potential league championship on the line.
That will be the case tonight when the Indians host Blue Mountain in a matchup of two 3-0 clubs.
“We were lucky that last year we got to experience something like this with the North Schuylkill game,” McCarroll said. “Our kids got to experience the big-game atmosphere last year, and (tonight) will be the same thing.”
Both teams enter tonight’s showdown fresh off big victories last week — Lehighton downed North Schuylkill 33-13 and Blue Mountain stopped Pottsville 24-13.
They’ve both rolled through their first three games in similar fashions. Each team has a powerful running attack, a quarterback who can pick apart defenses when he has to, and a defense that has been dominant to date.
For Lehighton, Wyatt Clements (55-389, 6 TDs) leads a rushing attack that is averaging 224 yards per game. Senior quarterback Tyler Cann has been nearly perfect, completing 29-of-38 attempts for 410 yards and four touchdowns.
Senior Tegan Durishin leads the team with 13 catches for 243 yards and three touchdowns, filling the void left when All-Area pick Tyler Crum graduated.
“We were kind of waiting to see who was going to be the guy to replace Tyler Crum and Tom Ruzicka,” McCarroll said. “We had kids that were capable, it was just a matter of who. Tegan has been that guy with the catches, but we’ve spread the ball around. We have other kids who can step up and make plays.”
For Blue Mountain, Lucas Forbes (37-280, 3 TDs) and Mike Kalyan (40-193, 4 TDs) spearhead the Eagles’ rushing attack that is averaging 216.7 yards per game. Junior QB Mason Freed (21-for-35, 231 yards, four TDs) threw four touchdown passes in Blue Mountain’s season opener.
Both teams feature physical, aggressive lines that have worn down their opponents in the second half of each game so far.
The team that is able to control the line of scrimmage, especially in the second half, might be the team that captures the victory.
“They are as physical as you get,” McCarroll said of Blue Mountain. “They are big up front and they have horses that create holes for their running game. It’s going to be a formidable task.
“We’ve been able to do that on our own. We’re not as big up front, but our kids work hard to create holes. The kids we have that carry the ball, they’re hard to bring down.
“It might be the last one standing.”
Here’s a look at the other games involving local teams on tap for this weekend:
Tonight’s games
Pottsville (0-3)
at Muhlenberg (0-3)
Players to watch: Pottsville — TE/DE Ian Renninger; Muhlenberg — RB Najee Smith
Storyline: Crimson Tide have played well despite record, especially on defense. Their three opponents are a combined 9-0. Offensively, though, Tide need to find some consistency. Muhls have allowed 114 points in three games (38 ppg).
Last year: Muhlenberg 28-14
Minersville (0-3)
at Mahanoy Area (2-1)
Players to watch: Minersville — QB Kei’dre Taylor; Mahanoy Area — RB Lenny Dulsky
Storyline: Golden Bears have won two straight, while Miners had Marian on ropes in first half last week. Bears have rushed for 580 yards in past two games. Miners need better production from Taylor, who is just 4-for-24 passing in three games.
Last year: Mahanoy Area 21-20
Panther Valley (0-3)
at Shenandoah Valley (0-3)
Players to watch: Panther Valley — QB Hunter Kennedy; Shenandoah Valley — QB Ian McCole
Storyline: Matchup of two teams searching for first win of season. Panthers like to run the ball, Devils like to throw it. Whichever team accomplishes that goal the best will win.
Last year: Panther Valley 33-21
Tamaqua (1-2)
at Schuylkill Haven (2-1)
Players to watch: Tamaqua — QB Thad Zuber; Schuylkill Haven — RB Preston Gehring
Storyline: Blue Raiders’ potent rushing game was shut down by Jim Thorpe last week, while Hurricanes ran for 513 yards against Shenandoah Valley. If Haven stuffs the box, Zuber may have to come through for Tamaqua.
Last year: Tamaqua 26-23, OT
Tri-Valley (3-0)
at Jim Thorpe (3-0)
Players to watch: Tri-Valley — OL/LB Bryon Rusinko; Jim Thorpe — FB/LB Kevin Vitti
Storyline: Great non-league clash pitting unbeaten teams from the Tri-Valley League and Anthracite Football League. This was a close game last year, expect the same this year. Key is battle up front: Olympians average 315 yards rushing, while Dawgs have only yielded 24 yards total.
Last year: Jim Thorpe 20-14
Upper Dauphin (1-2)
at Williams Valley (1-2)
Players to watch: Upper Dauphin — QB Aaron Cleveland; Williams Valley — QB Nick Rodichok
Storyline: Trojans’ defense made a pair of fourth-quarter stops to gain win over Halifax despite yielding 358 total yards. Most of that was through the air, which is good news for Rodichok and the Vikings.
Last year: Williams Valley 20-3
Fleetwood (1-0)
at Hamburg (1-2)
Players to watch: Fleetwood — QB Luke Emge; Hamburg — QB Nick Kuhn
Storyline: Emge has thrown for 686 yards and seven TDs and rushed for 414 yards and three scores in high-powered Tigers attack that is averaging 40.3 ppg. Kuhn has quietly thrown for 289 yards in 3 games.
Last year: Fleetwood 48-24
Chichester (2-1)
at Nativity (0-3)
Players to watch: Chichester — RB Kevin Miller; Nativity — QB Ryan McDonald
Storyline: The Green Wave have a tough task ahead, hosting the Class AAA Eagles from District 1. Chichester competes in Delaware Valley League against mostly AAAA and AAA schools. Miller had 208 total yards and scored three TDs in 51-0 rout of Kutztown last week.
Last year: First meeting
Mount Carmel (1-2)
at Central Mountain (2-1)
Players to watch: Mount Carmel — RB Kyle Karycki; Central Mountain — QB Justin Neff
Storyline: Red Tornadoes gave head coach John Darrah his first win last week with win over Lewisburg. Can they make it two straight? Another big game by Karycki and containing Neff on defense would get the job done.
Last year: Mount Carmel 54-28
Selinsgrove (3-0)
at Shamokin (1-2)
Players to watch: Selinsgrove — QB Logan Leiby; Shamokin — RB Preston Burns
Storyline: Things don’t get any easier for Indians, who host unbeaten Seals after falling to unbeaten Southern Columbia last Friday. Burns has been a bright spot, rushing for 495 yards so far this season.
Last year: Selinsgrove 49-0
Saturday’s game
Susquenita (2-1)
at Pine Grove (0-3)
Players to watch: Susquenita — RB Kevin Kenny; Pine Grove — QB Austin Ney
Storyline: Cardinals cap Homecoming weekend with their traditional Saturday night game, hoping to find some life offensively after being outscored 144-3 in first three games.
Last year: Pine Grove 21-18
Game Preview
Blue Mountain (3-0)
at Lehighton (3-0)
Players to watch: Blue Mountain — DT Erech Noecker; Lehighton — WR Tegan Durishin
Storyline: A battle of Anthracite Football League unbeatens, this game could decide league title. Both teams have excelled at wearing down their opponents in second half in each game so far. The team with the most left in the tank at the end tonight wins.
Last year: Lehighton 21-14