Indians beat PM West for first MVC victory

Lehighton's passing combination of Josh Agosto and Anthony Farole worked wonders Friday night to lead the Indians past Pocono Mountain West, 30-21, for their first Mountain Valley Conference win this season.

"It's an entire team effort," Agosto reiterated. "I was pretty happy with our team's game plan. The passing and running game were working well and Anthony (Farole) just seemed to find the open spots."

Farole caught three TD passes in the first half to help his team build a 21-7 lead, which they held on to the rest of the night.

"This is an enormous win for us because we were on a three-game losing streak," Lehighton head coach George Ebbert smiled. "It was also our first win in the league, so we had to get that monkey off our backs."

It looked as though things were going to be even early on, as the teams traded scores in the first quarter.

On Lehighton's second possession of the night, the Indians formed a four-play, 68-yard drive, ending with Farole's 44-yard TD reception.

West came right back, however, to go 63-yards in five plays that ended with Jeff Krisiak connecting with Travon Pugh for a 27-yard TD catch.

The Indians answered with another Farole score, this time a 37-yard catch to up the advantage to 13-7 with under a minute to go.

A West fumble recovered by Lehighton junior Zach Coleman at the Panthers' 42 set up another score. Farole's hot hands grabbed a 42-yard TD reception one play later and Lehighton had a 21-7 lead with 11:01 left in the first half.

With 3:44 left in the third quarter, Farole caught his fourth and final scoring reception of the night and the score was 28-7.

"They were pretty difficult to stop all night," Ebbert commended. "We saw the middle of the field was open and Anthony just ran a post route and seemed to get open."

Instead of folding, however, Popcono Mountain West dug deep and battled back. On the ensuing possession, the Panthers managed to cut into the lead, as Krisiak connected with Matt Shelter for a 36-yard scoring catch.

Lehighton seemed to have things well in hand, until the Panthers stepped up again. This time, Jesse Oltmanns skied for a six-yard catch in the end zone.

After a fourth-and-11, Farole got off a 49-yard punt, pinning the Panthers inside their own 10.

After an incomplete pass, Coleman brought down a scrambling Krisiak for a game-sealing safety with about two minutes left.

"It feels great to get the win, after three straight losses," Agosto stated. "We're hoping to get two more wins, now, and make a playoff run."