HOMETOWN — After 24 minutes of Lehighton’s Anthracite Football League contest at Marian, the Indians found themselves in an unusual spot.
The offense struggled and in particular, star running back Wyatt Clements could not get going.
Enter the Indians defense. The unit dominated the Colts en route to Lehighton’s 34-13 victory.
“That was the worst half of football we played all year, hands down,” Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll said. “Our defense has been our calling card since we came on the scene this year and thanks to them tonight because they kept us in the game.”
Lehighton (6-0, 6-0 AFL) came out and looked like the usual Indians offense. They drove 66 yards in nine plays, with Clements scoring on a 3-yard run. Quarterback Tyler Cann rushed for 36 yards on the drive and threw for 38 more.
The rest of the half, however, was a different story.
The Colts defense plugged the middle and held Clements to just 30 yards on nine carries as the game remained 7-0 at intermission.
“I was a little disappointed tonight how we came out for the game,” McCarroll said. “I know we scored right away, but I just didn’t feel that our kids were ready to go.”
In the second half, the Indians offense found some momentum, and that had a lot to do with Clements.
Lehighton scored on all four of its possessions in the second half.
The Indians opened the half with a 65-yard touchdown drive. Clements scored for the second time, this one from 8 yards out that put the Indians up 13-0. Clements rushed for 76 yards in the second half to finish with 106 on the night.
On the next two drives Lehighton put the game away as Cann threw touchdown passes to Tegan Durishin and Nick Chambers, respectively. Cann finished with 162 yards passing and rushed for 114 yards on 21 carries.
“In the second half we went to what brought us here,” McCarroll said. “We made a few adjustments and went to Wyatt Clements and Tyler Cann and were able to wear the defensive line down a little bit.”
While the offense found its stride, the Lehighton defense looked strong all night. The Indians held Marian to 120 yards of total offense. Both Marian scoring plays, a Hunter Nause 61-yard run and a 31-yard pass from quarterback Ethan Kuczynski to Aaron DeAngelo, covered 92 of the total yards.
Marian played without senior tailback K.J. Snerr, who was injured in last week’s loss to Blue Mountain.
“I was happy the way we bounced back tonight. We knew it was going to be a battle,” McCarroll said.
Game Summary
Leh (6-0,6-0) 7 0 6 21 — 34
Mar (3-3,2-3) 0 0 7 6 — 13
L — Clements 3 run (Cordova kick)
L — Clements 8 run (kick failed)
M — Nause 61 run (Busher kick)
L — Durishin 50 pass from Cann (Cordova kick)
L — Chambers 27 pass from Cann (Cordova kick)
L — Cann 10 run (Cordova kick)
M — DeAngelo 31 pass from Kuczynski (pass failed)
Leh Mar
First Downs 14 4
Rushes-Yards 45-233 23-69
Passes 11-16-0 5-10-1
Passing Yards 162 51
Total Yards 395 120
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 6-60 1-5
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Lehighton — Cann 21-114, Clements 20-106, Mayernik 3-18, Scherer 1-(-5). Marian — Nause 10-69, Goldberg 1-1, Kuczynski 12-(-1).
PASSING: Lehighton — Cann 11-16-0, 162. Marian — Kuczynski 5-10-1, 51.
RECEIVING: Lehighton — Durishin 4-69, Chambers 2-53, Skrinkosky 2-29, Solt 1-9, Haydt 1-4, Clements 1-(-2). Marian — DeAngelo 3-51, Collevechio 1-7, Stanziola 1-(-7).
INTERCEPTIONS: Lehighton — Durishin.