Bradley-Chambers runs for 373 yards as Lehighton beats Tamaqua

TaQuan Bradley-Chambers ran for 373 yards — and Lehighton needed every one of them.

In a game dominated by offense, and highlighted by Bradley-Chambers’ school-record rushing performance, it took a late defensive stop by the Indians to finally secure a 41-35 Schuylkill League victory over Tamaqua on Friday.

Bradley-Chambers finished with four touchdowns, including second half bursts of 68 and 54 yards, and averaged 16.2 yards per touch on his 23 carries.

“It wasn’t rocket science,” said Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll about his team’s play calling. “TaQuan was picking up huge chunks of yardage every time he touched the ball, so we kept giving it to him.

“Not only does TaQuan have exceptional talent and skills, but he is an extremely hard worker. I’m happy for him. Not only did he get the school record, but he did it in a game where every single one of those yards were important.”

On a night where neither team punted, Bradley-Chambers was nearly unstoppable, racking up double-digit yards on 12 of his 23 carries.

“This was an important game for us, so I just wanted to do what I could to help the team,” said Bradley-Chambers. “I have to thank my offensive line. They were opening huge holes for me all game. They were getting me into the secondary and once that happens, I’m confident in my ability to either run through defenders or run past them.”

The teams were never separated by more than a single score the entire night. Despite that, Lehighton only trailed for 18 seconds. Four times Tamaqua answered a Lehighton touchdown with one of its own on the very next possession.

“I’m proud of our effort,” said Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner. “It seemed like we were always playing from behind. But our kids kept coming up with plays to answer every time Lehighton took the lead.

“Especially in the second half, it seemed like they were getting quick scores and then we would work our butts off to answer it. We had a number of big third and fourth down conversions. Unfortunately, we just came up one conversion short.”

Bonner was referring to one of the few defensive stops the entire game — and the only one by either team in the second half.

Despite scoring on their first three possessions of the half, the Raiders (5-2) still found themselves trailing after Cody Scherer scored on a seven-yard for the Indians with 6:36 remaining in the game. The TD snapped a 35-35 tie.

After the score, Tamaqua took over on its own 37 yard line. The Raiders came up with a pair of third-and-long conversions on pass completions from Brayden Knoblauch to Thad Zuber and Matt Kistler that kept the drive alive. But facing a fourth-and-two on the Lehighton 11-yard line with just over two minutes remaining, Tamaqua’s magic ran out as Nate Boyle was stopped a yard short of the marker.

“I told our kids it was gut-check time,” said McCarroll about his conversation with the defense during a time out prior to the fourth down play. “We didn’t do anything different or special.

“We just loaded the box expecting Tamaqua to try to power the football at us. We were able to get penetration from the right side of our line. I don’t even know who made the play, but one of our kids was able to get across the line and just trip up Boyle enough to prevent him from getting the first down.”

Lehighton (7-0) needed one first down to run out the clock after the stop. Fittingly, on a night where everyone of his 373 yards were crucial, Bradley-Chambers’ 21-yard burst on second down sealed the victory.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION ... The teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense with the Indians racking up512 and the Raiders 459.

AIR-RAIDER ... The Raiders have had a reputation as a run-oriented team during Bonner’s tenure, but Tamaqua’s passing game led the way Friday night. Three different Raiders completed passes in the game as they threw the ball 30 times for 281 yards through the air.

BALL CONTROL ... Bonner’s comments about Lehighton’s quick second half scores and his team’s long drives to answer them were reflected in the stats. Both teams scored three second-half touchdowns. But Tamaqua ran 39 offensive plays in the half to just 12 for Lehighton. The Indians ran just two plays the entire third quarter.

RESPECT ... Both coaches had plenty of praise for the opposition after the game with McCarroll talking about Tamaqua’s numerous playmakers and Bonner complimenting the Indians’ 1-2 punch of Bradley-Chambers and Scherer.