GREEN POND – It happened so quickly and so overwhelmingly that the details are almost a blur.

Touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. Fifty points in less than 18 minutes.That was the assault that Notre Dame unleashed on Lehighton during the second half of Saturday’s District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal round playoff game. The blitz turned a nailbiter into a blowout and the possibility of a monumental upset into the reality of decisive mismatch.By the time it was over, a halftime tie had been transformed into a 63-13 mercy rule victory.“I thought we executed our game plan about as well as we could have possibly hoped to in the first half,” said Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll. “But Notre Dame’s skill people are as good as anyone we’ve seen all year. They are so explosive that you are almost holding your breath on every play because they have the potential to score from anywhere on the field.“That’s basically what happened in the second half. They hit us with big play after big play and things just snowballed on us.”The Crusaders’ seven second half scoring “drives” came of a total of just 19 plays.“Our offense made big plays in the second half,” said Notre Dame coach Phil Stambaugh. “Then our defense stepped up and forced some turnovers.“Once we got going, we were able to ride the momentum and eventually break the game open.”With the teams tied at 13-13, the Crusaders’ first possession of the second half produced a 67-yard, six-play scoring drive. Quarterback Cole Defranco scrambled 24 yards for the touchdown.The next time ND got the ball, Jalen Simspon raced 74 yards for a score to make it 27-13.“Once we fell behind in the second half, we had to change up our game plan a little bit and that’s not a situation we wanted to be in,” said McCarroll.The Crusaders took advantage of that as the next three Lehighton possessions produced two interceptions and a bad snap out of punt formation.ND converted all those miscues into touchdowns.“Our offense is going to get a lot of credit because we put 63 points on the scoreboard, but our defense played a huge role in that,” said Stambaugh. “They gave us great field position the entire second half.“Anytime we are getting the ball on their 20 or 30 yard line, we should be able to score.”A Mitch Daniel 11-yard TD run with :43 left in the third – Notre Dame’s fifth touchdown of the quarter – increased the lead to 49-13 and kicked in the mercy rule.“Give Notre Dame credit. They’re a good football team,” said McCarroll. “But I’m really proud of our kids.We had a lot of guys out for this game and then lost a few more kids to injuries during the game. But everyone who stepped on that field gave us everything they had.“This isn’t the kind of outcome we had hoped for, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort. Notre Dame’s skill and talent just wore us down.”WHITEMAN THE MAN … Sophomore Chris Whiteman made his first career start at quarterback. And although debuting in the district playoffs against the No. 1 seed isn’t the most ideal situation, Whiteman held his own. He completed four of his first five passes, including a 14-yard TD to Nick Skrinkosky.BE LIKE MIKE ... Lehighton ran the majority of its first half plays out of the wildcat with halfback Mike Mayernik taking the direct snaps. Mayernik carried the ball 24 times in the half and 39 times in the game for 120 hard-earned yards. “I can’t say enough about Mike Mayernik,” said McCarroll. “He’s as tough as any player I’ve ever coached. He took a pounding today, but never slowed up and never backed down.”SUPER STRUBY … Senior Matt Strubinger’s final game in a Lehighton uniform might have been his best ever. Not only did Strubinger catch five passes for 101 yards, but he picked off a Notre Dame pass and returned it 21 yards for the Indians’ first touchdown.THE BLITZ … With the score 20-13, ND scored four times in the span of 5:43 to put the game in mercy rule.CRAZY STAT … If there ever was a game where time of possession proved meaningless, it was this one. Despite the lopsided loss, Lehighton had an incredible 35:02-12:58 edge in possession.CRAZY STAT II … Notre Dame had 13 possessions in the game and scored nine touchdowns. But its longest possession of the game was just 2:35.