When an architect builds a house, a strong foundation is the most important component of the blueprint.

A strong foundation of a football team is often how effective its run game is. Wyatt Clements proved once again why he's a critical part of the Lehighton Indians' blueprint to build a championshp with his dominant effort during the Indians' 41-6 rout of Jim Thorpe last week."I like that the kids kept their focus," said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. "Sometimes they can lose focus or direct it in the wrong way in these big rivalry games. There wasn't much talk about Jim Thorpe, just about taking care of the game plan. I think that materialized Friday night on the field."Clements earned the Times News Player of the Week award by rumbling for 140 yards on the ground and scoring a trio of touchdowns. The victory clinched a District 11 playoff berth for the Indians."Coming off of a big win against a team like that is huge for us," said Clements. "It definitely rallies our team as a whole and gives us momentum heading into the playoffs. A game against Jim Thorpe is always memorable, and having a decent game against them will be something to remember."Clements was part of a ground attack that compiled 240 yards on the ground last week against the "Red Swarm" defense. He also was the anchor of the linebacking core which held the Jim Thorpe offense to just 124 total yards and nine first downs."He's one of our captains who is always going to set the tone in terms of our intensity," said McCarroll. "He's a big part of how crisp our kids are on both sides of the ball. We have more dependable weapons than we've had in the past. Our line as a whole is playing better and handing the ball off to a bunch of guys who can make plays seems to be a good combination heading into the playoffs."The entire Lehighton offense has really evolved over the course of the past year and Clements has surely been a big part of the process.Although Clements carried the ball 13 less times this season than he did in 2013, he compiled 85 more yards on the ground. The Indians' yards per carry went up from 4.8 (2013) to 5.23 (2014) during this time period, and the ground attack has produced 10 more touchdowns than it did this time last year. The Lehighton tailback has rushed for 1,073 yards and 22 touchdowns this seaon which gives the junior a total of 2,235 yards and 40 scores over the course of his career."I concentrate on football all year long," said Clements. "I always train for football even during baseball season. We have much more experience this year, and now we're much more confident in the job we can do on the field. I have a ton of confidence in the players around me and I'm sure they can say the same too."Bethlehem Catholic, Lehighton opponent in Saturday's district game, defeated the Indians in the Class AAA semifinals last year, 34-6. Lehighton will look to settle the score and one would bet that Clements will be a featured part of the game plan."This team is full of friends and we have a really close bond with each other," Clements said. "I've met some goals but there's still a lot I want to achieve. Reaching districts was obviously one of our goals and I'm happy about that. However, I still don't think we've put together a full four quarters of football and I think if we do that, we can be a very dangerous team."