Northern Lehigh senior heavyweight wrestler Jason Schaffer is always prepared.

With two bouts left against Lehighton on Monday night, the Bulldogs needed six points in each of them to steal a victory.The Indians suffered an injury-time disqualification at 220 pounds, which resulted in an unexpected six points for the Bulldogs.Whether he expected it or not, Schaffer had the weight of the entire match on his shoulders in the final bout - and he delivered, pinning his opponent in 10 seconds to help propel Northern Lehigh to a thrilling 37-36 non-league win over the Tribe."I go out and wrestle my hardest, whether we're up by 50 or down by 50," said Schaffer. "I'm going to go out and give it my all and that's what I did. I feel pretty good. I came out and got the win and that's what we wanted. It was important, we are trying to stay alive for team districts, so every win helps us right now. We knew we would be down a little bit, but we always fight back, never quit, and work hard."The Bulldogs started off hot with a pair of victories by Preston Bayer (106) and Dan Belfonti (113). But Lehighton received pins from Nathan Kemmerer (120), Tyler Shcock (138), and Chris Whiteman (145) to help keep things close. Grant Wetzel (152) finally gave the Indians a lead with a pin over Dale Wanamaker in 37 seconds, which made the score 24-19."That was a good match," said Lehighton head coach Floyd Brown. "It came down to bonus points throughout, and we gave too many up. Through the middle I thought we did really well, and we got pins when we needed them, which kept us in it until the very end. It's a tough way to lose, but we could have saved a few bonus points throughout, and unfortunately, we came up a little bit short."Cody Scherer (160) immediately followed Wetzel with a decision. But then Nolehi's Ryan Farber (170) gained back some momentum by pinning Dylan Schock in 3:07.Northern Lehigh head coach Scott Snyder explained that the veteran presence of seniors Farber and Schaffer have been huge for the program this season."We talked a little bit before the season how Ryan was a leader by example, but he needed to get a little more vocal in the room," said Snyder. "I think he's started to come into that leadership role now, and his wrestling is speaking for itself. He's been a motivator in the room vocally, and I think the rest of the team is buying into that."The rest of the kids are starting to pick it up. The guys in the middle started a little slow, but they're starting to catch stride. I've known Jason for a long time, and it's been a pleasure to coach him. He's been more like Farber this season. He's been coming more into that leadership role as a senior, and we have higher expectations for those guys. We expect them to wrestle better and be those leaders."NOISY ... Although it wasn't a league match, the intensity was cranked up in the Lehighton High School Gymnasium. The win marks the Bulldogs' first road victory of the season. "It is kind of a rivalry, it seems, especially when you come up here," Snyder said. "I don't notice it so much at our gym, but something about wrestling in this gym up here, you hear all of these fans back-and-forth. I love this atmosphere, it's awesome."ANY WAY ... It might not have been how he drew it up, but Snyder was happy to come away with a victory against a quality opponent. "We talked before the match and we kind of said that if we were up by up a few points we would kind of know how it would play out," he said. "We didn't get the points that we thought we would, which really isn't my favorite way to win. But it's a win, and it does feel good. It's a big confidence booster for our kids."Northern Lehigh 37, Lehighton 36106 - Preston Bayer (NL) pinned Kevin Matea in :14.113 - Dan Belfonti (NL) maj. dec. Lucas Sanjuliano, 16-7.120 - Nathan Kemmerer (L) pinned Brent Nierer in :45.126 - Seth Fronheiser (NL) pinned Nathaniel Lucykanish in 4:24.132 - Ezra Neff (NL) dec Logan Pagotto, 4-2.138 - Tyler Schock (L) pinned Tyler Hargreaves in 3:07.145 - Chris Whiteman (L) pinned Aaron Rudolph in :51.152 - Grant Wetzel (L) pinned Dale Wanamaker in :37.160 - Cody Scherer (L) dec Brandon Belfonti, 9-4.170 - Ryan Farber (NL) pinned Dylan Schock in 3:07.182 - Alex Zeigenfuss (L) won by forfeit.195 - Jack Zimmerman (L) dec Austin Rudolph, 3-2.220 - Dominic Bandle (NL) injury def. over Brett Gasker in 5:02.285 - Jason Schaffer (NL) pinned Will Smith in :10.