Lehighton quarterback Jayse Lawrence.

LEHIGHTON — Line up, dig in and run the football.

That was the game plan for Lehighton coming into its match-up with rival Jim Thorpe in the battle for the Route 209 Trophy on Friday.

]It took some time, but the Indians were able to get multiple explosive gashing runs in the second half to help them come away with a 42-26 Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division victory over the Olympians.

“Two weeks ago against Tamaqua we were able to establish physicality on the line of scrimmage. We really liked some of the things we were able to do in that game because of our play up front. And that’s the same mentality we wanted to bring into this game tonight,” Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll said.

 “We felt good coming in about what our kids could do. My hat goes off to not only our linemen and our running backs, but also our receivers for making some great downfield blocks on those long runs. And in the first half, I thought we did some good things, but we had some penalties that got us behind the sticks and stalled some drives out.”

The first score of the game would not come until the 4:49 mark of second quarter when the Olympians (3-7, 2-9) would strike first on an 11-play, 67-yard drive capped off by a short 4-yard pass from Cole Lazorick to Justin Yescavage.

Yescavage went up and got the jump ball with a few Lehighton (4-6, 3-6) defenders also holding onto the ball, with the call being dual possession on the play, which by rule results in a touchdown for the offense.

Lehighton would answer quick though and would score right before the half, going 62 yards in eight plays. The drive was finished off by a Jayse Lawrence and Caden Meek 3-yard hookup to make it a 7-7 game at the break.

Thorpe took momentum of the game briefly in the third quarter, scoring on the opening possession of the second half. A big pass play from Lazorick to Yescavage for 35 yards would get the drive going. A few nice runs from Lazorick and Josh Louk would get JT inside the Indians 10, with Louk then scoring from seven yards out to give Thorpe a 14-7 lead.

“We felt good about the first half. I thought we did some really good things. Then we were able to take the lead 14-7 and then even later when we lost the lead, we were able to come back and make it 21-20. Our kicker got hurt, so we went for two there, and unfortunately we weren’t able to get it,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.

“And then from that point on, we just weren’t able to get a stop. Credit to their staff and their players. They played a great second half. We’re still fighting some of those growing pains, but we’re going to strap the helmets back up on Monday and work to get better and prepare for our opponent in the playoffs.”

The Tribe would again quickly answer after a good kickoff return from Meek set Lehighton up with good field position at the JT 31. Three plays later, Jacob Ferguson would score on a 10-yard rush to tie the game 14-14.

After forcing a quick Olympians three-and-out, Lehighton would start to gash the Thorpe defense. A 21-yard run from Ferguson and a 22-yard run from Lawrence would get the Tribe down to the JT 40. Lawrence would then take it 40 yards to the end zone on a quarterback designed run to give the Indians a 21-14 lead with 4:23 to go in the third.

The Olympians would stay in the game, though, scoring early in the fourth on a 12-play, 82-yard drive finished off by a two-yard Lazorick plunge. However, the two-point pass attempt was intercepted by Lawrence to keep the Indians up one at 21-20.

From then on, it was all Lehighton, as it came up with explosive play after explosive play in the run game. The Tribe would rattle off three consecutive rushing touchdowns — 52 yards from Lawrence, 41 yards from Ferguson and 39 yards from Austin Greene — to pull away and extend their lead to 42-20 with 3:20 remaining in the game.

“Jacob Ferguson is a stud. He had a huge game for us. He plays with a lot of heart. He came out this year for us as a senior and he told me from the beginning ‘coach whatever you need me to do.’ I’m so happy for him,” McCarroll said. “Again, we just felt good about our game plan coming in. Even when they were able to get some points on the board, we still felt that if we cleaned some things up and we tightened some things up that we could have success.”

WHAT A NIGHT … Ferguson, who has served as the No. 2 tailback for the Indians this season, was given the keys after an injury kept the Tribe’s starting RB out this week. Ferguson stepped up in a big way, rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

DUAL-THREAT … Lawrence had himself another impressive night behind center for Lehighton. Lawrence rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Lazorick also had a nice night for JT, throwing for 203 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown.

ROAD GRADERS … The Indians big offensive line paved the way for a big rushing night. Lehighton didn’t throw a pass in the second half. The Tribe finished with 469 yards on the ground.

Game Summary
Lehighton 42, Jim Thorpe 26

JT (3-7, 3-7)       0     7    7       12   —  26
Leh (4-6, 4-5)    0    7    14     21   —  42

Scoring Summary
JT — Yescavage 4 pass from Lazorick (Geiser kick)
Leh — Meek 3 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)
JT — Louk 7 run (Geiser kick)
Leh — Ferguson 10 run (Ebbert kick)
Leh — Lawrence 40 run (Ebbert kick)
JT — Lazorick 2 rush (pass failed)
Leh — Lawrence 52 run (Ebbert kick)
Leh — Ferguson 41 run (Ebbert kick)
Leh — Green 39 run (Ebbert kick)
JT — Louk 6 pass from Lazorick (pass failed)