Zach Christoff and Angus Fortune will never forget the feelings that overcame them after last year’s Schuylkill League championship.
Christoff watched teammate Frank Bokan score the overtime winner for Lehighton over Blue Mountain at Pottsville’s Alumni Field, handing the Indians the title 2-1 in their inaugural Schuylkill League season.
“I don’t know that there are any words to put into perspective (Bokan) scoring that goal,” Christoff said.
Lehighton’s reaction said it all. The team chased an elated Bokan around the field until he was corralled by a mosh pit of hugs at the Indians’ bench.
The opposite end of the field saw the opposite reaction, as a league championship eluded
Blue Mountain in overtime for the second straight year.
“Obviously it didn’t feel too great,” said Fortune, now one of Blue Mountain’s senior captains. “You want to win every game, especially the championship. But that really motivated us this year.”
That motivation has earned the Eagles a shot at erasing last year’s bad memories.
Blue Mountain will play Lehighton again tonight for the Schuylkill League championship at 7 p.m. at Tri-Valley’s Bulldog Stadium.
But the road back to the league final hasn’t been as easy as both teams made it look.
The Eagles graduated seven starters last season, including the entire midfield and three defenders. Head coach Rob Burcik moved Fortune, a three-year starter on defense, into a holding midfielder role to solidify the young corps around him.
The move paid off. The only defeats Blue Mountain suffered during the first leg of the season were to District 3 teams Brandywine Heights — which the Eagles later beat — and Twin Valley.
“Before the season started, we were a little nervous. We didn’t know how things would work out,” Fortune said. “But then we got a few games in and started to realized we work well together.”
Included in those early-season victories for Blue Mountain was a decisive 5-3 win over Lehighton, virtually the same team — minus a couple defenders — that beat the Eagles in last season’s league championship.
It was an eye-opener for the Indians, who suffered another defeat to Whitehall before squeezing out one-goal victories over Pine Grove and Pottsville.
Looking for the right combination, head coach Dave Yob swapped left center back Haris Cokrlija with left fullback Ben Cordova — another moved that paid off.
Lehighton has won 16 straight games since losing to Whitehall on Sept. 11, including a 4-0 shutout of Blue Mountain on Sept. 29 in Lehighton. The defense, which also features Josh Knappenberger at right center back and Brandon Stuckley at right fullback, has only yielded 18 goals during that stretch.
“The back four have done a very good job for us,” Yob said. “They’ve really jelled as a unit ever since the Bangor game (a 5-1 Lehighton win Sept. 17). ... Their communication has been great and that has improved their cohesion as a defense.”
While both teams come into tonight’s final with a couple big changes from last year, one thing remains the same. Blue Mountain’s Jon Benner and Lehighton’s Joe Marks have been battling for the area’s scoring title since Day 1. Marks leads the way with 35 goals, while Benner is right behind with 32.
Additionally, both have a great depth of supplemental scoring. Cam Greenawalt is second on the Eagles’ roster with 19 goals, while Scott Cox’s hat trick in the 5-1 semifinal win over Nativity on Wednesday brought his season total to eight.
Lehighton has 105 goals this season, and can get them from Bokan (27 goals), Christoff (12), Dan Baka (8) and Pat Lawler (8).
“All of us agreed if we didn’t win the league again, it would be a disappointing season,” Christoff said. “I think that still holds true for everyone on the team. Our main goal right now is to win the league and we’re going to do anything possible to do it.”