Lehighton's offense squares off against Pottsville's defense in a clash Friday night at Lehighton's multipurpose stadium (Photo by Eli Doyle).

LEHIGHTON — Lehighton’s football team did not disappoint on homecoming night.

The Indians controlled all four quarters and shut out Pottsville 35-0 in a Schuylkill-Colonial Red Division football game Friday night at Lehighton Multi-Purpose Stadium.

“These kids rise to the occasion,” Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll said. “We were so disappointed last week, but we challenged them. They’ve been challenged year after year, and this is a team that has been down and battling. We have experience, we have some size — I can’t say enough good things about these kids. They’re fighters, and hopefully we can make some noise going forward.”

Lehighton (3-3, 3-2 Red) broke a scoreless first quarter with a 14-point burst in the second. Jayse Lawrence connected with Blake Roberts for a 14-yard touchdown, then added a 33-yard scoring run to push the lead to 14-0 at halftime.

Lawrence’s rushing touchdown was a backbreaker as the Indians faced a fourth-and-3 situation on the Tide’s 33-yard line with less than a minute to play in the first half.

The Indians kept rolling in the third quarter as Lucas Croizier punched in a 5-yard touchdown, capping an 11-play, 5:25 scoring drive right out of the half. Lawrence then found Caden Meek from 16 yards out. He capped his big night with a 15-yard touchdown strike to Ty Nansteel in the fourth.

Lawrence finished with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries while completing 12-of-15 passes for 144 yards and three scores. Croizier led the ground game with 146 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Meek hauled in six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Croizier also added a key interception midway through the second quarter as the Crimson Tide’s offense was marching into Lehighton territory. The turnover was a momentum swing and set up the Indians to extend the lead to three scores after receiving to open the second half.

Pottsville (2-4, 2-3) was limited to 146 total yards. Max Clews paced the Crimson Tide with 53 yards on eight carries and six receptions for 21 yards. Quarterback Andrew Allen threw for 62 yards on 10-of-17 passing.

“We have to find an identity,” Crimson Tide coach Mike Brennan said. “We struggled to get anything together offensively — couldn’t get off the field defensively. We seemed at times like a defeated football team. We’re going to be shorthanded going forward, and that’s the way it’s going to be.

“We’re going on to a Week 7 game next week and there’s no excuse for that. The bottom line is we need to figure out how to stop the bleeding, or it’s going to continue.”

Lehighton visits Blue Mountain next week, while Pottsville returns home to host Northwestern Lehigh.

Game Summary

Lehighton 35, Pottsville 0

Po (2-4, 2-3)         0          0          0          0  —    0

Leh (3-3, 3-2)      0         14          14          7  —    35

Leh — Roberts 14 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

Leh — Lawrence 33 run (Ebbert kick)

Leh — Croizier 5 run (Ebbert kick)

Leh — Meek 16 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

Leh — Nansteel 15 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

Team Statistics

Po-Leh

First Downs —- 10      17

Rushes-Yards — 23-84       35-241

Passes —- 10-17-1      12-15-0

Passing Yards —- 62      144

Total Yards —- 146      385

Fumbles/Lost —- 0-0      0-0

Penalties — 2-20      6-60

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Pottsville — Clews 8-53, Allen 11-25, Eroh 4-6. Lehighton — Croizier 21-146, Lawrence 8-74, Green 3-17, Warner 2-6, Eckhart 1-(-2).

PASSING: Pottsville — Allen 10-17-1, 62. Lehighton — Lawrence 12-15-0, 144.

RECEIVING: Pottsville — Huda 2-29, Clews 6-21, Alvarez 1-16, Durham 1-1. Lehighton — Meek 6-100, Roberts 4-31, Nansteel 1-15, Hauser 1-(-2).

INTERCEPTIONS: Lehighton — Croizier.