MUNCY - Northern Lehigh jumped out to an early lead against host Muncy on Friday and was never threatened en route to a 40-21 season-opening victory.

The contest was delayed with 10:06 remaining in the third quarter with Nolehi holding a 21-7 advantage. After play resumed, the Bulldogs put the game away to start the year 1-0.

The visitors, who were originally scheduled to play at Panther Valley before the Panthers had a COVID issue, jumped out early against the Indians with an impressive 67-yard drive the first time they touched the ball.

Quarterback Dylan Smoyer hooked up with Brett Misera for a 23-yard touchdown pass on the ninth play of the march to gain their 7-0 start.

“Our skill is our strength,” Joe Tout the Northern Lehigh coach said after watching his team pile up 436 yards of total offense. “I said it in the preseason, we’re not starting a senior upfront.”

The next time the Bulldogs had the ball, the result was the same.

Smoyer again went up top for another score, but this time he found the speedy Trevor Amorim for a 35-yard tally. That pushed the margin to 14-0 with 2:50 still left in the opening frame.

Muncy answered, however, to cut the margin in half. The Indians possessed the ball for 16 plays and went 67 yards to get back in the contest. Eyer Branson completed key passes of 12 yards to Ty Nixon and 11 yards to Bailey Hadzinikolov to set up Nixon’s burst into the end zone.

Smoyer and Misera helped Northern Lehigh regain its two-score lead right before halftime. The two seniors connected on a 24-yard TD pass that pushed the margin to 21-7.

Following the lengthy weather delay early in the second half, the Bulldogs started piling on the points.

Sam Frame Jr. recovered a Muncy fumble, and Nolehi’s offense quickly benefited.

Blessed with a short field, the Bulldogs needed just four plays to reach the end zone. Ramos finished things off with a sweep around the right side, extending the score to 27-7.

Another Indian turnover allowed Northern Lehigh to set sail on another scoring drive. A Smoyer-to-Amorim 29-yard pass helped set up Matt Frame’s long 53-yard touchdown pass from Smoyer.

Tout had high praise for his linemen, since this was the first time under the gun in the heat of the battle, and they were the reason that Izaiah Ramos was able to get free on some nifty runs off counter action.

“I was really happy upfront, I thought we held our own,” Tout expressed as he bounced off Lucas Farmer and Jayden Krempasky calling them the anchors of the line. “They are our vets, I liked the way Sam Frame and Jackson VanNorman, who as a sophomore played his first game at center. (All) those guys did great jobs, and we had Jack Tosh who we moved to tight end from fullback.”

It wouldn’t take long for Frame to find the end zone again.

Muncy cut the gap to 33-14 on a 12-yard scoring run by freshman Austin Johnson, but Frame got it back moments later.

The senior broke free for a 73-yard tally, outracing the Indians secondary to keep the Bulldogs in control.

Johnson tacked on his second score of the night late in the game to set the final score.