Lehighton tops Haven

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – The way Lehighton opened the season was like a bad dream.

But the way the Indians executed Friday night at Rotary Field, it was obvious that their opening week nightmare was long forgotten.

It was definitely a turnaround for the better.

Rallying around the slick play of quarterback Lucas Sangiuliano, and a defense that swarmed all over highly heralded Schuylkill Haven running back Kobe Brish, Lehighton produced a bounce-back 27-14 victory.

To be sure, Sangiuliano used his outstanding athletic ability before departing late in the third quarter with an unconfirmed ankle injury. The 5-9-165 junior directed his team in all four scoring drives.

“A lot of people don’t really know what type of athletic ability Lucas has,” beamed winning coach Tom McCarroll. “The kid is phenomenal and he showed it tonight.”

Certainly the Indians’ offense blossomed on this winning night, but the defense kept snarling and kept attacking Brish.

It showed through the first half of play when the senior could only muster nine yards on eight carries. Though he finished with 81 yards on 21 lugs and posted both of his team’s touchdowns, the talented senior never got loose for long backbreaking runs.

“We just kept after him, we kept him contained, I really can’t say enough about how well the entire defense spurred us on,” said McCarroll.

The way the Indians unleashed their offense, the game had an early makings of a rout. Lehighton ran off a 13-play scoring drive to open the game, marching 90 yards to paydirt with Sangiuliano scoring on an 8-yard run.

The botched placement try for the PAT turned into a deuce when Ben Schatz caught the two-point pass conversion for an 8-0 lead.

Then in the second quarter, Sangiuliano uncorked a nifty 61-yard scoring strike to junior speedster Zach Hunsicker, who got behind the Haven secondary and outraced the defenders for a touchdown. Rob Johnson’s PAT made it 15-0.

“That lead was nice to have, but we knew they’d come out in the second half determined to get the ball in Brish’s hands as much as possible,” said McCarroll.

Indeed that was the case. Aided by two pass interference penalties, Haven hit the jackpot for six points when Brish capped a 5-play 57-yard drive with a 15-yard cutback run for a score and Gavin Evitts kicked the first of his two PAT’s

But back came the Indians with an in your face drive of their own going 80-yards on seven plays, ending on a Sangiuliano 34-yard race to the end zone. Sangiuliano threaded the needle twice for completions one to Schatz and the second a 34-yard toss into the soft hands of Hunsicker to set up the touchdown run and a 21-7 lead.

Moments later, the Indians got a huge defensive lift on a pass interception from Evan Deem at the Lehighton 46. They quickly turned the turnover into six more points when Sangiuliano bolted right into the heart of the Haven defense for a 52-yard touchdown run.

Even though the Hurricanes would answer late in the third quarter on a Brish 2-yard run, Lehighton batted down the hatches to shut down Haven the remainder of the contest.

“This is such a huge win for us,” said McCarroll. “But were not resting on this one win. We are hungry and we want to get better.”

DEFENDING … The night belonged to the Indians’ defense including the standout play of Schatz, Crum, Mike Guzenski and Mike Yeakel.

MIKE LIKES TO PLAY … Speaking of Yeakel, the kid blows a mean slide trombone. He plays in the band as well as the football team. Now that says something about his versatility and his multiple talents!

GREAT BAND NIGHT … Bravo to the Lehighton band. What a terrific performance. Best band so far this season.