Pottsville to entertain Lehighton on Homecoming

Pottsville's JuJu Bainbridge (5) runs during last Friday night's game against Southern Lehigh. (Photo by Danie Mae Photography)

Pottsville has buckled itself in for another ride on the Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division roller-coaster.

The Crimson Tide poured every ounce of energy they had onto the Veterans Memorial Stadium turf last Friday night, only to finish on the short end of a 34-25 decision to Southern Lehigh. Pottsville made plenty of big plays to push the soaring Spartans, but the Tide made just enough mistakes to prevent them from pulling off the upset.

So, as the second half of the regular season begins, Pottsville (2-3, 2-2 Red) finds itself chasing the .500 mark again as Lehighton (2-3, 2-2 Red) visits Friday night on Homecoming at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

(The game will air live on WPPA 1360 AM and A-106/105.9 FM, beginning with pregame at 6:45 p.m. and kickoff at 7 p.m.)

“They’re resilient, competed last week. We’re learning more every week, and you learn more in adversity than when things go well,’’ Pottsville coach Mike Brennan said. “We come in this week for a big Homecoming game, and we’re excited about it.

“Our crowds have gotten bigger every week,’’ Brennan added. “There’s been an energy and intensity in the stadium. Our kids have thrived off that. I anticipate another big crowd this week for Homecoming. We’re getting better every week, and we expect to take a big step forward this week as well … and get ourselves back on track.’’

Pottsville’s growth has shone brightly on the offensive side of the ball.

Junior JuJu Bainbridge has emerged as a featured back, carrying 78 times for 560 yards (7.2 per carry) and scoring eight touchdowns. Bainbridge, who combines intelligence, great vision, remarkable power and breakaway speed into his 5-foot-9, 190-pound frame, rushed for 209 yards and two TDs on 22 carries last week against Southern Lehigh. Pottsville’s offensive line of Logan Kessler, Luke Schane, Brody Baddick, Cole Cesari and Jacob Filiac did well paving the way for Bainbridge’s big night.

“They continue to gel on a daily basis. They continue to learn,’’ Brennan said of his offensive line. “They get more seasoned every day. They ask the right questions. They’ve become more physical in the run game and more technical in the pass protection area. They’ve come together as a unit very well, and it’s created a lot of confidence in our running game.’’

That development has gone hand in hand with the emergence of Bainbridge as a player other teams must game-plan for.

“We saw him in the offseason with his weight room work ethic, his work during the speed program over the course of the summer,’’ Brennan said. “He’s very patient, but he’s very physical when he runs. He breaks tackles, and he’s got more speed than people think.’’

Behind center, sophomore quarterback Andrew Allen appears to get more comfortable running the offense each week. For the season, Allen has completed 55-of-97 passes for 905 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. He passed for 156 yards and two TDs against Southern Lehigh.

Allen’s top targets are Tsirell Curry (17-452, 3 TDs), Letrel Montone (14-199, 3 TDs) and Christian Alvarez (10-145).

“Pottsville is a well-coached, well-balanced team that is a few plays away from having a few more wins,’’ Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll said. “They have big-play ability that we will need to prevent in order for us to be successful. Defensively, they run well to the ball and have created turnovers. We’ll need to take care of the ball and sustain drives.’’

Sophomore Lukas Crozier is the Indians’ top rusher with 331 yards and three touchdowns on 64 carries. Senior Jacob Ferguson (14-193, 3 TDs) has been effective in limited touches.

Junior Jayse Lawrence started the season at quarterback, and in four games completed 41-of-65 passes for 536 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception. He didn’t play last week against Northwestern Lehigh. Sophomore Kyden Hauser took over under center and went 5-of-9 for 48 yards with one interception.

“Jayse will be a game-time decision, leaning toward unlikely,’’ McCarroll said.

Senior Joe Roth (15-246, 4 TDs) is Lehighton’s No. 1 receiver, with juniors Blake Roberts (13-105, 1 TD) and Caden Meek (10-153) effective targets as well.

“They’re an athletic team,’’ Brennan said. “Like everybody, it appears, they’re bigger than us. … We’re more concerned about ourselves, taking that next step offensively. Defensively, we have to tackle better this week. We have to clean things up. … The challenge lies mostly with us, but Lehighton is certainly a good football team.’’

Like Pottsville, Lehighton has had an up-and-down season. The Indians opened with a 15-14 loss to Northern Lehigh but bounced back with a 33-7 romp over Bangor. In Week 3, Southern Lehigh throttled Lehighton 34-3, but the Indians got back to .500 with a 61-17 thrashing of Palmerton. Last week, Northwestern Lehigh did what it’s been doing to everybody, cruising to a 42-7 victory over Lehighton.

In an odd coincidence, the teams’ season arcs are identical: Losses in Weeks 1, 3 and 5. Victories in Weeks 2 and 4.

“We continue to look at the big picture, and the big picture requires us getting to 3-3 this week at home and creating a great experience for our kids and for our fans on Friday night,’’ Brennan said. “Our ultimate goal is to see how much better we can get between now and the end of the season. That’s where we are. Year 1 in the development of the program, all we can take care of right now is that. We can’t take care of anything that happened in the first five games, but from this point forward we have to continue to grow and build, and hopefully there are more wins if we take care of the above.’’