The way Richard Fronheiser saw it, he was just doing his job.

Fronheiser punched in to make his second career start against Panther Valley last Friday and by the time he clocked out the senior had thrown for nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns.

It was all in a days work for Fronheiser, who earned Times News Player of the Week honors with his performance.

“It was great coming out of last week with the performance I had, but it was great for the whole team,” he said. “That was a great start, and we want to keep the confidence going off that win coming into this week, and hopefully keep it going for the rest of the season off of every win that we get.”

Fronheiser’s primary targets in the passing game were Zack Hunsicker (eight catches, 94 yards, one touchdown), Hunter Crum (seven catches, 91 yards, two TDs), Ian Rarick (82-yard TD), Dakota Staddtmueller (one catch, 32 yards) and Ethan Buchert (29-yard TD). In all, a total of seven Lehighton players caught passes in the 40-12 victory over the Panthers.

“It was a great team win,” said Indians’ head coach Tom McCarroll. “Richard obviously had a great performance and our receivers had some big gains, but at the end of the day, it really was a lot of different guys making plays. Richard came out and threw the ball well, and he put it where he needed to put it; he made the right decisions. He took what the defense gave him, and sometimes when you do that, good things are going to happen.

“Given the playmakers that we have on offense, you just get the ball into their hands and they’re going to do a lot for you.”

The first of those big splashes came early on, when Rarick pulled in an 82-yard score to put the Tribe ahead in the opening period.

Fronheiser had touchdown passes of 82, 33, 20, 13 and 29 yards - all in the first half.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my offensive line giving me the time to throw outside to the receivers that we have,” Fronheiser said. “The chemistry I have with those guys is great. We’ve been working day-in, day-out since freshman year. I’ve been throwing every day with them, making sure I get the timing down, knowing how fast they’re going to be running their routes.

“Last week, we had great matchups on the outside with Zack Hunsicker and Hunter Crum, and we were able to take advantage of that because of their height and the chemistry we have together.”

Fronheiser was 9-of-34 for 100 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions in limited action a year ago.

His final state line against Panther Valley was 18-of-24 for 296 yards and five TDs - and zero interceptions. He also added 21 yards rushing on three carries.

“I think he’s gotten to the point where he’s a senior and he wants to lead this team, and I think he knows what needs to happen,” McCarroll said of Fronheiser. “Even though we had an abbreviated offseason - we usually fill up our summer schedule with 7-on-7s - so that’s where the chemistrict usually comes from. But we got into the situation where we would have our summer workouts, and then I would see some of our quarterbacks and receivers come up and work on their own. They took it upon themselves, Richard and Brady O’Donnell (backup QB), and they got receivers from seniors through freshmen, to come up and work on that timing.

“So I think that kind of stuff pays dividends.”

And right now, Fronheiser’s stock is high.

“I felt comfortable coming into the game, knowing the game plan and everything,” said Fronheiser. “Obviously, there were first game jitters; everyone has those every year. But after the first drive, going down the field, and then just being able to execute my reads correctly and playing off of them felt great.”

Fronheiser and the Tribe travel to Tamaqua, which defeated Shenandoah Valley in its season opener, Saturday in the Times News Game of the Week.

“I just have to play my game again this week,” said Fronheiser. “I played my game last week; I showed what I have, and I think I surprised some people coming out in only my second career start.

“I’m ready to keep surprising people all season long.”