With a pandemic-shortened season and a condensed schedule the reality in 2020, the focus has to be forward.

There are sure to be close calls and disappointing defeats along the way, but the ability to quickly process an outcome and move on will be vital for teams navigating the uneven waters of this unpredictable fall.

Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll knows his team could be entering Week 3 with a 2-0 record had a back-and-forth battle with Tamaqua last week gone the other way.

But McCarroll is also aware that Saturday’s contest against Pottsville is a perfect chance to reset.

“It was a tough loss,” said McCarroll. “It’s one of those kind of games where it really could have gone either way I believe. I think both of us (Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner) would probably agree that we both left plays out there. If Coach Bonner’s kids make a couple more plays, maybe it’s a two-score game instead of a one-score game. And if we make a couple plays, maybe it goes the other way.”

The Tribe (1-1) enter Saturday’s Times News Game of the Week after a 20-14 loss to the Blue Raiders, a contest that was 14-14 in the fourth quarter.

“I think it’s one of those kind of matchups, with maybe the exception of the last two years, with the great class he had, I think we’ve had some pretty good battles over the years,” said McCarroll, referencing Tamaqua’s District 11 title and run to the state semis a year ago. “Our kids really match up well. Coach Bonner’s done such a good job of establishing such a physical presence with his kids year-in and year-out; we knew that going in and we talked to our kids and said they have to try to match it.

“We didn’t quite have the same size that they had, but we had to try to match it. And at times we did. But it just wasn’t consistent enough for us. We have some playmakers on the outside that we try to take advantage of as far as some matchups go, but that’s why it’s a team game ... and it goes both ways, and that’s what makes for such a tight game.”

Those playmakers include quarterback Richard Fronheiser (12-of-27, 222 yards) and Zack Hunsicker (eight catches, 165 yards), who hauled in a 77-yard touchdown to make it 14-14 in the third quarter. Running back JJ McDowell carried the ball 14 times for 76 yards and added a three-yard touchdown.

But Lehighton’s offense stalled in the fourth quarter, gaining just three yards. Lehighton outgained Tamaqua 301-253 in the game.

“I was disappointed about the loss, but I thought the effort from our kids was there,” said McCarroll. “There were times where we went toe-to-toe with their big guys. But there’s no substitute for experience. Like Coach Bonner said, when you have the extra weeks that they had last year - and the success - there’s a carry-over from that. Even if they’re not necessarily the playmakers from last year, they’re still the guys that were on board; they were on the bus, they were at practice every day, every single week, and maybe some of them were playmakers for them. But there’s a carry-over from that; there’s a recognition of how things get done in order to win championships, just winning games, winning tight games.

“We talked a little bit about it as a staff and as a team as well, I think it was as much about those kids knowing how to win games as opposed to our kids maybe not being quite as used to that. The last couple years, we’ve been on the bad side of things and some of those games have been very lopsided, so we haven’t been in too many tight games. When those crucial moments come up, I think their kids made just a few more plays than we did.”

Enter Pottsville, which bounced back from a 31-21 loss to Nativity in the opener to route Minersville 52-18 last week.

After battling a tough Tamaqua team for four quarters, it’s a challenge McCarroll believes his team is ready for.

“But Pottsville brings some different things to the table too,” said McCarroll. “I think we’re ready to go physically now for anything that Pottsville brings to the table. But every week is a different game plan, so our kids have to be ready to press the reset button and put last week in the rearview mirror, but know that we competed with a pretty good team. So I think that’s the positive that we have to take away from that.”