Special to T102SportsNow

By Patrick Matsinko, Lehighton Times-News

SLATINGTON — Northern Lehigh needed a closer.

And Grady Newhard was lights-out.

Newhard delivered a game-sealing run on fourth down in the waning seconds Friday night to cap the Bulldogs’ 15-14 comeback victory over Lehighton.

The junior’s run on fourth-and-3 from the Northern Lehigh 21-yard line showcased the strength that helped the Bulldogs outscore the Indians 15-0 in the fourth quarter.

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“We were originally supposed to run a different play,” Newhard said with a smile. “But I said, ‘Coach (Joe) Tout, call my number. I want the ball.’

“It really shows how much our line has worked in the offseason to get that push up front when it really counts. Eli Grady, Cyrus Kinchen, Kayden Novicki, Brody Rothrock, Nate Kuhns. I’m so proud of them. They got a great push up front. But when the chains came in, I got a little nervous there. When I saw the final marking, I ran off to the sideline and celebrated with everyone.”

Newhard’s carry was clutch. But Tout was confident.

“With (Lehighton having) no timeouts, now they’re kind of guessing and they put their punt return on,” Tout said. “I liked a different play. Grady convinced me. He liked the play, he got it, and our line got the push.”

Newhard’s final carry allowed Northern Lehigh (1-0) to burn off the final seconds and start the season in style.

Momentum seemed to live with Lehighton as the Tribe (0-1) took a 14-0 lead after Jayse Lawrence tossed a 24-yard touchdown to Joe Roth, his second scoring strike of the game, to make it 14-0 with 0:24 left in the third quarter.

But a 50-yard return on the ensuing kickoff by Ryan Zambo put the Bulldogs at the Lehighton 40-yard line, and Newhard plowed into the end zone from a yard out five plays later on a drive that also included a big 33-yard run. Chris Frame converted the two-point try after a penalty on the Indians to cut the deficit to 14-8 with 10:19 left in the game.

“We just needed that spark,” Tout said. “We got it with Grady on the toss with the cutback. Ryan Zambo gave us a spark with his kick return. Once we got that, we built off of it.”

The Bulldogs forced a punt on Lehighton’s next series, and marched 70 yards within a little over four minutes, with Newhard bouncing his way into the end zone from 20 yards out and Anthony Hanna adding the extra point to make it 15-14 with 4:54 to play.

Newhard and Frame were dynamic running the football behind a dominant line. Newhard finished with 151 yards on 22 carries, while Frame had 130 yards on 25 rushes. As a team, Northern Lehigh had 315 yards on 57 carries.

“Definitely having multiple people that we can rely on is a big key in our offense,” Frame said. “Both of us had over 100 yards rushing, and we were able to really show what we can do, and the line did a great job.”

Lehighton had another chance on its final drive, with a 19-yard run by Lawrence and a 12-yard scamper from Lucas Crozier moving the Tribe to the Northern Lehigh 22-yard line.

Kinchen came up with a big stop for a loss on Lehighton’s next play. An incompletion set up third-and-10 from the 24-yard line, when Noah Herring delivered a big sack to make it fourth-and-long for Lehighton.

Lawrence was able to connect with Caden Meek, who made an acrobatic catch, but it wasn’t enough for a first down and the Bulldogs took over with 1:30 to play.

Northern Lehigh was able to run out the clock after taking over on downs, with Newhard’s final run putting the finishing touches on a special win.

“It’s just an awesome night,” Tout said. “Between playing Lehighton again (for the first time in 31 years), the flyover at the start, honoring the 1999 team at halftime, you could feel it in the stadium tonight that it felt different. Coming out tonight, there was a buzz like we had in 2021 and 2022. I’m really happy for our guys. It’s a shame someone had to lose that game tonight. Lehighton is a good football team, and they’re going to be all right.”

STRIKING FIRST … Lehighton got on the board late in the first half when Lawrence found Logan Kent for a 6-yard score. Kent intercepted a pass to get Lehighton the ball.

LEHIGHTON LEADERS … Lawrence finished 8-of-16 for 128 yards and two scores with 33 yards rushing. Crozier rushed for 67 yards on 14 carries, and Meek had two grabs for 69 yards.

SPECIAL NIGHT … The Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing had a flyover just before kickoff Friday, and the 1999 district championship team was also honored at halftime.

Game Summary

Lehighton       0    7    7    0   – 14

No. Lehigh      0    0    0  15   – 15

Leh – Kent 6 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

Leh – Roth 24 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

NL – Newhard 1 run (Frame run)

NL – Newhard 20 run (Hanna kick)