Blue Mountain's Gaige Guers scores on a 5-yard run during Thursday's District 11 Class 4A football quarterfinal against Lehighton at the Eagles' Nest. Lehighton won 29-28. (Photo by Brook Koch-Guers).

ORWIGSBURG – A touchdown pass from quarterback Jayse Lawrence to wide receiver Joe Roth and a two-point conversion pass to Caden Meek with 16.8 seconds remaining provided the winning points for Lehighton in its 29-28 upset victory over Blue Mountain in a District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal Thursday night at the Eagles’ Nest.

What the real difference was for the seventh-seeded Indians (5-6) in reversing their 41-point loss to Blue Mountain in Schuylkill/Colonial League play, however, was the start they got.

Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll decided the best way to attack the second-seeded Eagles (7-4) was to run the ball right at them and keep them on their heels rather take advantage of their speed.

That decision resulted in a 13-play, 70-yard game-opening touchdown drive. Twice the Indians converted on fourth down, and Lawrence capped the drive with a 21-yard touchdown run.

“We just had to pound the rock the whole game,” Lawrence said. “The guys up front, we were piggy backing off them all year long. All credit goes to them. They dominated all game long.”

With a 7-0 lead the Indians must have felt they were playing with house money, so McCarroll rolled the dice and won the biggest gamble of the game. Chomping at the bit to unleash their running game and drive to the tying touchdown, the Eagles set up for the kickoff return.

That kickoff never came, however, as the Indians went with an onside kickoff and recovered the ball at the Blue Mountain 47. Following a first down, a pre-snap penalty put the Indians behind the chains, and when the Eagles stacked their defense to stop the run, Lawrence and Roth combined on a 48-yard touchdown pass.

By the time Blue Mountain ran its first play from scrimmage there was 2:45 remaining in the quarter. It wasn’t until its first possession of the second quarter that it reached paydirt when Gaige Guers scored on a 5-yard run to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive.

No momentum was gained by the Eagles with that drive, because an eight-play, 65-yard drive by Lehighton late in the second quarter put the Indians ahead 21-7 at the half. Blake Roberts scored from the 1, but it Lawrence who rushed for 57 yards to do the heavy lifting.

“I think the most important thing we had to understand was the first game against Lehighton happened a long time ago,” Blue Mountain coach Tom Gallagher said. “Both teams have made changes and adjustments since then.’’

Most of those changes apparently were made by Lehighton, which trailed 42-0 at halftime in the first game Oct. 4 in Lehighton. This time the Indians led 21-7 and were relaying on the ground game instead of the pass.

“In the second half we could do just about anything we wanted,” Blue Mountain senior running back Tyler Stahley said. “Just about everything was working and I was getting 10 yards at a time.

“We just couldn’t stop them defensively. They just ran the ball down our throats.”

Blue Mountain began its comeback after a 49-yard kickoff return by Gaige Guers to the 35 to open the second half. Three plays later, Chase Guers scored on a 22-yard pass from quarterback Cohen Kirby.

Lehighton then lost the ball when Lawrence fumbled, and five straight carries by Stahley accounted for 38 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run. With the Eagles having come all the way back for a 21-21 tie, they got the ball back when Josh Hoover intercepted a Lawrence pass at the 8 and returned the ball 25 yards to the Eagles’ 31.

Stahley had four carries in the ensuing drive, scoring from the 2 for a 28-21 lead with 5:02 remaining. His 21 carries for 141 yards gives him 184 carries for 1,142 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season.

That was just enough time for Lawrence to make his team’s early lead pay dividend and a 12-play, 65-yard drive – converting one fourth down – got Lehighton in the end zone. His touchdown pass to Roth was on second-and-goal, and there was never a doubt that the Indians would go for two and the victory.

With the win, Lehighton advances to next Thursday’s semifinals to face Bethlehem Catholic, which decked East Stroudsburg North 42-7. That game will be at 6:30 p.m. at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

“We had a corner route and you just have to read the cornerback,” Lawrence said of the two-point conversion. “Caden Meek, he just sat in a hole and I found him. He caught the ball and we all went crazy.”

Game Summary

District 11 Class 4A Quarterfinal

Lehighton 29 , Blue Mountain 28

Lehighton (5-6)    14      7       0       8  — 29

Blue Mountain (7-4)      0       7       14      7  — 28

Leh — Lawrence 21 run (Ebbert kick)

Leh — Roth 48 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

BM — G. Guers 5 run (Grace kick)

Leh — Roberts 1 run (Ebbert kick)

BM — C. Guers 22 pass from Kirby (Grace kick)

BM — Stahley 2 run (Grace kick)

BM — Stahley 2 run (Grace kick)

Leh — Roth 8 pass from Lawrence (Meek pass from Lawrence)

Team Statistics

Leh. -BM

First Downs —- 15      14

Rushes-Yards — 41-226      31-181

Passes —- 10-16-1      7-11-0

Passing Yards —- 115      75

Total Yards —- 341      256

Fumbles/Lost —- 1-1      1-0

Penalties — 2-7      3-15

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Lehighton — Lawrence 18-106, Croizer 13-67, Hontz 9-57, Meek 1-(-4). Blue Mountain — Stahley 21-141, Kauffman 4-24, G. Guers 2-6, Kirby 3-6, Renninger 1-4.

PASSING: Lehighton —- Lawrence 10-16-1, 115. Blue Mountain —- Kirby 7-11-0, 75.

RECEIVING: Lehighton — Roth 3-60, Meek 3-10, Roberts 2-28, Armbruster 1-9, Brooks 1-8. Blue Mountain — Stahley 3-47, Renninger 2-1, C. Guers 1-22, Blankenhorn 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS: Blue Mountain — Hoover