Lehighton's move to the Anthracite Football League is already "paying" off.

After nearly two decades as a Mountain Valley Conference member, Lehighton officially began play in the AFL and the Schuylkill League this season.If early indications hold true, the switch will not only suit the Indians well on the playing field, but at the ticket booth as well.After battling against schools with two or three times its enrollment in the MVC, the playing field has drastically changed for Lehighton. The Indians now find themselves as the third biggest school in the 11-team Anthracite Football League.Lehighton was ranked as one of the pre-season favorites in the league and this past Friday night had an early-season showdown against league powerhouse North Schuylkill.Despite a furious second half comeback, the result on the field didn't turn out the way Lehighton had hoped as it dropped a 28-25 decision.But the gate results were another story.Lehighton Athletic Director Kyle Spotts said the game had a paid attendance of over 2,500 and an overall attendance in the neighborhood of 3,000 people. The numbers came despite the fact that the game was carried live by Blue Ridge Cable TV-13."We had around $8,000 of gate receipts on Friday night," said Spotts. "That's a lot more than we had for even our best MVC gates."Our first home game this season against Minersville we had a paid attendance of over 1,600 people and made $5,000 at the gate. That is comparable to the biggest crowds we had the last few years for MVC games. The crowd for North Schuylkill far exceeded that, so it has been a really nice start for us in the AFL as far as attendance and gate receipts are concerned."Spotts said Lehighton's biggest football crowds the last several years had come in non-league games against Jim Thorpe, Marian, Panther Valley and Tamaqua. Now they are in the same league with all those teams."We expected an uptick in attendance with the switch in leagues," said Spotts. "But based on our first two home games and the fact that we haven't faced any of our rivals yet, I think the attendance figures might be even better than we projected."Of the four local rivals, only Marian will be a home game this year. That means next season, the Indians will host Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley and Tamaqua."I think you have to judge the attendance on two-year cycles because during that span we'll host every league team one time," said Spotts. "But one thing that seems pretty evident already is the Anthracite teams travel better. Even though the schools are a lot smaller than the MVC schools we have been playing, they seem to have a much stronger fan base."Spotts said that the bigger crowds haven't just been limited to varsity football either."Our middle school football game with Mahanoy Area drew a really nice crowd and our Schuylkill League volleyball match against Pottsville last week was the biggest volleyball gate we've had in years," Spotts said.So while it still might be open for discussion whether Lehighton's District 11 football prospects were better playing the Class AAAA schools from the MVC as compared to some of the Class A and AA schools in the AFL, one thing that appears certain is the new league will definitely "pay" off at the gate.**********MARIAN MAKES HISTORY ... Noah Goldberg didn't know he was making history when he scored the game's final touchdown in Marian's 47-12 victory over Minersville on Friday night.But when the junior reached the end zone from three yards out, it allowed the Colts to accomplish something they've never done in their 60 years of existence.Coupled with the previous week, a 52-0 victory over Panther Valley, Marian reached 45 points or more in back-to-back games. Surprsingly, that is the first time ever the Colts can claim that distinction.Stan Dakosty's club was close a year ago when they tallied 43 against Minersville and followed it with 52 against Shenandoah but it wasn't until this past Friday that they achieved the race scoring feat.**********PERSCHY 'PASSES' THE MARK ... Palmerton Garrett Perschy, this week's Times News Player of the Week, threw for 215 yards in Friday's win against Bangor.The last time a Blue Bomber threw for 200 yards in a single game was Oct. 7, 2006 (82 games ago) when Zach Heller had 257 yards against Wilson. Perschy is just the third Palmerton QB in the last 25 years to reach 200 in a game, joining Heller and Brian Morgan who accomplished the feat three times during the 1989 season.**********FIELD GOALS ARE MILLER TIME ... Northwestern's Brandon Miller kicked his second field goal of the season and the fourth of his career when he split the uprights from 41 yards away during the Tigers' win over Pen Argyl Saturday.Over the last 25 years, Miller's three-pointer was just the sixth Times News Area field goal of 40 yards or more. In fact, since 1989 the only field goal longer than Miller's 41-yarder came off the foot of Northwestern's Tom Caamano during the 1996 season. Caamano's kick, which came against Southern Lehigh on Sept. 6, 1996, traveled 43 yards.Miller is now tied with Pleasant Valley's Justin Kashner for the second longest in the area.**********SEVEN IS ENOUGH ... Jim Thorpe managed only seven points against Tamaqua last Friday but it was still enough to claim a 7-6 Anthracite League victory.The last time the Olympians tallied seven points or less in a game and still won was Sept. 18, 1987 (289 games ago) when Alan Guth's 32-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the game gave Thorpe a 3-0 victory.OLYMPIANS OFFENSE ... Not only didn't Jim Thorpe light up the scoreboard, but its offense also had trouble moving the ball.The Olympians only managed 79 yards of offense, Jim Thorpe's lowest figure in a contest since Sept. 1, 2001 (140 games ago) when it managed just 36 against Tamaqua in a 36-0 loss.Since 1987, the Olympian program has posted 156 wins and the 79 yards of offense are the fewest in any of those victories. The next fewest is 135 in a 20-12 victory over Northwest Area back on Oct. 6, 1990.**********BEARS' TOUCHDOWN KING ... Pleasant Valley's Austyn Borre had a big game against Whitehall last week, rushing for 190 yards while scoring three touchdowns.The three scores pushes the junior's total to five this season and to 37 in his career. With 37, Borre becomes the school's all-time leader in touchdowns passing the mark of 36 set by Rob Getz from 2009-2011.Borre also holds PV's record for career rushing yards. According to TN stats, he currently sits at 2,688.**********BOMBER SCORING RECORD ... Palmerton exploded for a 54-13 victory over Bangor last week and the Blue Bombers' point total may be a single-game record.On Aug. 29, 2008 Palmerton opened its season with a 50-7 win over Notre Dame the only other time since 1970 that the Bombers reached 50 points in a game.If any reader has insight to Palmerton's single-game scoring record, please email the sports department at

tnsports@tnonline.com with your information.