The difference between a good season and a great season can sometimes be razor thin.

Most teams will play several close games during the course of a season. Games where the outcome is in doubt until the final possession and one big play or one clutch drive spells the difference between victory and defeat.Lehighton entered this season with high expectations. Nearly everyone thought the Indians would be a "good" football team. After starting the year with three blowout victories, including a 20-point win over perennial power North Schuylkill, those beliefs were confirmed - Lehighton was definitely "good."But with fellow Anthracite Football League unbeaten Blue Mountain and Class AAAA power Governor Mifflin scheduled for weeks four and five, Lehighton was going to be tested.The results are now in and Lehighton aced those tests.With five regular season games left and the strong possibility of postseason play, it will be awhile until Lehighton's season gets its final grades. But if this season does turn out to be a "great" one, the Indians will look back on the past two weeks as having played a vital role in that outcome."My first couple of years here, we lost some close games that we could have won," explained fourth-year Indian head coach Tom McCarroll. "We just didn't know how to finish games."I think the type of confidence and composure that it takes to win close games and to make big plays late in games is a process. I think we now have a group of kids who understand what it takes to win those games."That was evident the past two weeks.Against Blue Mountain, the Indians were down a point late in the game when they drove 80 yards to score the game-winning touchdown with just 1:26 remaining.This past Friday in a 7-6 victory over Governor Mifflin, Lehighton snapped a scoreless tie with a 90-yard drive that culminated with a fourth-quarter touchdown."It all comes down to your leaders not panicking and then the rest of the team following their cue," said McCarroll. "We have a couple of outstanding players and outstanding leaders in Wyatt (Clements) and Tyler (Cann). They have both played key roles the past two weeks."But when we needed to drive the ball down the field in those two games, we've had a lot of other kids make plays for us. Tegan Durishin, Gavin Zehner, Nick Chambers and Eric Skrinkosky all stepped up and made clutch plays when we needed them. Multiple players making big plays has allowed us to be where we are right now."Where the Indians are is unbeaten. With a 4-0 AFL mark and a 5-0 record overall, they are tied for first place in the league and in second place in the District 11 Class AAA power ratings.Coming off dramatic fourth quarter game-winning drives the past two weeks, it might be easy to forgive the Indians if they have a bit of a letdown.But with Jim Thorpe still unbeaten in the AFL and the top seven teams in the loaded D-11 Class AAA field currently having a combined record of 30-5, Lehighton has very little margin for error.McCarroll believes the leadership that played a key role in Lehighton pulling out victories the last two weeks will keep the team focused during the upcoming weeks."That's all a part of the process that I was talking about," said McCarroll. "I think these kids know that the last few wins we have won't mean anything if we aren't focused and ready to play the next five weeks."We still have some very good teams left on our schedule. This is where our leaders have to step up and make sure everyone understands that we still have a long way to go."McCarroll expects that to happen.If it does, a "great" season is a definite possibility.**********50-TOUCHDOWN CLUB ... Pleasant Valley's Austyn Borre and Lehighton's Wyatt Clements both joined an exclusive club earlier this season.The two seniors, who have each scored 10 touchdowns this year, recently reached 50 scores in their careers.The pair are just two of eight players in the history of the Times News area to make it to the 50-Touchdown Club.The other six (with the help of District 11 statistician Duke Helm) include Northern Lehigh's Cody Remaley (92) and Ryan Hluschak (50), Marian's Mike Tracy (60), Lehighton's Robbie Frey (58), Jim Thorpe's Jason Figura (52) and Northwestern's Brett Snyder (51).**********RAIDER RUN CONTINUES ... Tamaqua posted a 27-12 win over rival Panther Valley last Friday.When the Blue Raiders reached the end zone in the first quarter of that game, it extended a streak they've had since 2010.Sam Bonner's club has not been shut out in 52 straight games, the longest steak among Times News area teams. The last time Tamaqua was blanked was Oct. 8, 2010 when it dropped a 49-0 decision to North Schuylkill.**********SEVEN IS ENOUGH ... Last week, Overtime featured a note that showed how rare it was for Lehighton to win when it allows 29-or-more points in a game.This week, the Indians are the subject of another scoring note.As mentioned above, the team improved to 5-0 with a hard-fought 7-6 victory over Governor Mifflin.The last time the Tribe was able to walk off the field with a win after scoring seven points or less was Sept. 4, 1987 (311 games ago) when they defeated Panther Valley, 6-0.**********PASSING FANCY ... Palmerton lost to Notre Dame last Friday, but in that contest Palmerton quarterback Garrett Perschy completed 13-of-32 passes for 157 yards.Over the last 20 years, Perschy is just one of two Bomber players to have attempted 30-or-more passes in a game.The only other time that happened was Sept. 25, 2009 when Joe Weber was 13-of-35 for 172 yards and two touchdowns in an 18-17 victory against Saucon Valley.