FLEETWOOD — Sean Gaul laid it out in his letter to the community, parents and fans that opens the Fleetwood football program.

The coach used buzz words like electricity, energy and enthusiasm to describe the 2019 edition of the Tigers.

But Gaul also pointed to players that were focused on bettering themselves and the legacy of the team.

Fleetwood took a big step in establishing a new identity with a 58-14 non-league win over Lehighton in the season opener Friday night.

For a school that hasn’t had a winning season since 2014, the accomplishment was the type of statement win Gaul was looking for.

“This is huge,” said Gaul. “We always talk about a program-changer, and this one changed the program tonight. I’ve been telling these boys they have a special team; I’ve been telling them since January. We had a great scrimmage against Saucon Valley last week, and I knew if we could click on all cylinders tonight, we would come out victorious.”

The Tigers (1-0) ripped off 42 unanswered points after the Indians made it a two-point game late in the second quarter.

It was an attack that was led by quarterback Charlie Maddocks, who tossed three second half touchdowns and racked up 268 yards through the air. Wide receiver Wes McCalpine had three catches for 140 yards and two scores - all after the intermission.

Matthew Peirce had three catches for 106 yards a score, and running back Christian Moreno rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in the balanced attack.

Fleetwood finished with 503 yards of offense.

“I think it was a combination,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “We had breakdowns really in all three facets of the game. When that happens, that’s completely 100% on me as a coach. From time to time, one side or one facet of the game is maybe a little bit weaker, but tonight we were weak in all three phases. At the end of the day, that’s on me, and I need to do a better job of getting them prepared because clearly that was not the case tonight.”

The Indians (0-1) opened the game with a methodical 85-yard drive that ended with Lucas Sangiuliano connecting with JJ McDowell for an eight-yard touchdown. Sangiuliano’s two-point conversion put the Tribe up 8-0 with 8:09 to play in the opening quarter.

Fleetwood responded with two rushing toughdowns from Maddocks and a field goal from Wes Seaman to take a 16-8 lead with 8:46 to play in the second quarter.

Sangiuliano engineered a 65-yard drive on Lehighton’s first drive of the second quarter that he capped with a one-yard scoring plunge to cut the deficit to 16-14 with 5:08 to play in the first half.

The Tigers scored on three of their next four possessions, including their first two of the second half to take a 37-14 lead at the 6:19 mark of the third quarter.

McCalpine’s second TD of the second half made it 44-14. Moreno’s 16-yard scamper made it 51-14 and put the mercy rule into effect with 10:37 to play in the fourth period.

Sangiuliano passed for 160 yards, and Ben Schatz added 62 yards receiving on two catches. Zack Hunsicker (four catches, 49 yards) and Hunter Crum (three catches, 31 yards) also were active in the passing game.

“I think we have the tools, I really do,” said McCarroll. “I think we had the tools to fix what we need to fix.

“We’ve got some playmakers, we really do. And we have some nice size on our offensive line. But size alone is not going to get it done. We as coaches have to do a better job of putting them in a better position to have success.”

SECOND HALF STRUGGLESS

... Four of Lehighton’s seven second half possessions ended with turnovers. One fumble and three interceptions saw the offense stall out in its attempt to rally from what was a 24-14 halftime deficit.

TURNING IT AROUND

... Fleetwood’s win snapped a streak of three straight losses to Lehighton. The Indians had topped Fleetwood 20-13 in the season opener a year ago, 43-6 in 2017 and 34-30 in 2016.