Schuylkill Haven’s Kobe Brish ran for 334 yards Friday night. But it was the three yards that Brish didn’t gain that finally sealed the Hurricanes’ 35-34 victory over Lehighton.

Haven needed every one of Brish’s yards — and non-yards — to offset a record-setting performance by Lehighton quarterback Chris Whiteman, who passed for 380 yards and three touchdowns.

Whiteman’s heroics helped the Indians stage a fourth-quarter rally that saw them cut a 35-20 deficit to a single point with 5:25 left.

But Lehighton (1-1) never got another possession as the Hurricanes converted a pair of third-and-short situations for first downs. Those conversions forced the Indians to use their final time out with 1:44 remaining.

On the next play, Brish circled right end and broke free as Lehighton defenders tried to let him score in an effort to get the ball back. But Brish wouldn’t bite and took a knee at the three yard line. Haven (1-1) then took a pair of kneel downs to run out the clock.

“We told Kobe during the last time out that Lehighton was probably going to try and let us score because that’s the only option they had. We told him to go down inside the five. He asked me a couple of times if I was sure,” laughed Schuylkill Haven coach Mike Farr. “But he knew we didn’t want the score. Everybody was yelling ‘down, down’ when he got close and he did exactly that.”

That was one of the few times in the game’s final 26 minutes where it seemed like Brish got the ball and didn’t get into the end zone.

“He’s an outstanding talent,” said Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll about Brish. “We knew it would be a tough task to contain him and obviously it was.

“But I’m proud of our effort and the fact that our kids never quit. I thought we showed great effort. It’s definitely something we can build on.”

With less than three minutes remaining in the half, Lehighton led 8-0 and Brish had a solid 93 yards on 17 carries. But from that point on, he went from solid to sensational.

The next eight times he touched the ball — including once on a punt return — Brish gained 252 yards and scored five touchdowns.

“That’s just Kobe being Kobe,” said Farr. “But he’d be the first one to tell you, that it starts with the guys in front him. Because of injuries, we had to make a number of changes on the fly, but our kids did a great job of making adjustments and executing under tough circumstances.

“They gave Kobe some nice holes and when Kobe gets a hole, he’s gone.”

Brish’s touchdowns came on runs of 35, 66, 34 and 30 yards from scrimmage, and on a 78-yard punt return.

But Brish’s heroics almost weren’t enough thanks to a huge game from Whiteman — the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Player of the Game — and a talented receiving corps.

Trailing 35-20 early in the fourth quarter, Whiteman led the Indians on an eight-play, 44-yard scoring drive. Whiteman got the touchdown on an 11-yard run with 8:27 left.

The next time Lehighton got the ball it needed just one play as Whiteman hit Shane Williams with a 67-yard TD pass with 5:25 left. The two-point conversion pass from Whiteman to Zack Crum produced the game’s final points as Lehighton never got the ball back.

“Chris is extremely coachable and a great leader.” said McCarroll. “You saw tremendous improvement in his play tonight from the opener, especially in the second half. He made some nice reads and nice throws.

“He’s just going to get better and better as the season goes on.”

SHATTERS RECORD ... Whiteman’s 380 passing yards breaks the school record of 315 yards passing in a game set by Cody Scherer during the 2016 season.

EXPLOSION ... The two teams combined for just eight points during the game’s first 21 minutes. But in the final 27 minutes, they put up a combined 61 points.

ZACK ATTACK ... Lehighton’s Zack Crum (7-for-141) and Zack Hunsicker (4-for-100) both hit the 100-yard receiving mark.