SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – The dark cloud that hoovers over Lehighton’s football team continued to rain on the Indians Thursday evening.

Blue Mountain didn’t offer too many rays of sunshine, but it wasn’t all gloomy for the visitors, eithe.

There was a time when Lehighton appeared on the verge of upsetting the Eagles after it rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit to grab a second-half lead

The lead didn’t stand up, however, as Blue Mountain battled back to pull out a 35-22 in this Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division contest.

To be sure, there were plenty of bright spots for Lehighton.

Take, for instance, how the Indians came storming back to take a 22-21 lead after falling behind 21-6. At that point, Lehighton had the momentum and needed to make just a few more plays to parlay that into a victory.

“In crucial situations, we can’t afford to make mistakes. We’re not a good enough football team to make those mistakes and still find a way to win,” Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll said following the game.

That reflection goes back to the first two quarters, when Blue Mountain ran off a total of just seven offensive plays, but scored three touchdowns.

After fumbling the ball away on the game’s first offensive possession, Lehighton quickly found itself in a hole as the Eagles needed just one play - a 20-yard pass from quarterback Williams Jacobson to receiver Gavin Guers - to take the lead.

Lehighton did have an answer, however, as it put together a nine-play, 50-yard drive engineered by quarterback Brady O’Donnell, who flung a 9-yard completion to the elusive Hunter Crum, ran the ball 18 yards to the seven-yard line, and then dished a shovel pass to Crum for the score. A try for a two-point conversion failed, but the Indians found themselves in the hunt, 7-6.

“They have a lot of athletes, are well coached, and run a very good offense,” said first-year Blue Mountain coach Tom Gallagher about the Indians.

For sure, the Eagles weren’t a slouch in that department either. They answered the bell twice thereafter. Their second touchdown had Carson Kerstetter and Jacobson hooking up on a 20-yard touchdown pass.

On the ensuing Lehighton series, Ty Miller intercepted a pass and dashed 51 yards for a touchdown.

Undaunted, Lehighton came storming back to slice up Blue Mountain’s defense.

Ethan Buchert was stellar in the pass-catching department, as he latched on to five passes for 71 yards, including a pair of touchdowns.

O’Donnell found the junior with an 14-yard strike for six points, finishing off a six-play 60-yard drive. Then O’Donnell flicked a short pass to Luke Blauch for a two-point conversion, making it 21-14 at the halfway point.

There was more to come as the Indians foiled a Blue Mountain scoring drive, took over at their own 35 and proceeded to march to paydirt to get energized to open the second half. Buchert caught a short 6-yard pass, and Zach Miller scooted 17 yards, before Buchert and O’Donnell were doing their thing again for another touchdown.

And when the Indians pulled out a Tim Tebow-like jump pass from O’Donnell to Blauch for the conversion, they were in front, 22-21 and the skies were no longer gloomy.

Lehighton was suddenly on the threshold of stopping a three-game losing skid.

However, the hosts weren’t so obliging.

The Indians were sensing momentum right after taking the lead, and on their next possession went for it on a fourth-and-one from their own 29, but came up empty.

Blue Mountain’s James Seaman ran for a 29-yard score on the next play, and Blue Mountain had the lead for good.

The Eagles added an insurance score by Guers with 10:24 to go in the game to seal the outcome.

COOL TOSS … The Indians shovel pass TD from O’Donnell to Crum was a well-designed play that caught the Eagles off guard.

GREAT SOUND … Bravo to the Lehighton band - a fantastic group of musicians who can really entertain. They were nonstop all night long.