Tamaqua’s Connor Dillon is one of the smallest players whenever he steps onto the field.

But his effort Friday night at Lehighton was arguably the biggest.

Dillon scored three touchdowns, doing damage receiving and running with the ball, to spark the Blue Raiders to a 32-29 victory.

“I think he played a helluva game,” said Blue Raider head coach Sam Bonner. “He didn’t come off the field on defense. He was on special teams. Offensively, he caught the ball. And he was shifty. He’s just a playmaker for us.

“We were running some double moves, some wheel routes. We thought we’d have an opportunity to make a couple of those plays ... And then usually at the end of the game, when we’re trying to run a clock out, I was always a power-I guy trying to pound and ground. Today, we were running a 160-pound back with a single backfield. It was a little different, but we still finished the game off the same way we like to finish it off.”

Dillon, who caught two touchdown passes in the first half to help Tamaqua (1-1) gain a 26-14 advantage, was forced into running the ball in the second half when senior Warren Stewart went down with a knee injury. Dillon, listed in the program at 157 pounds, responded in a big way. He ran nine times for 107 yards, including a 44-yard scoring run late in the third quarter to extend the lead.

“Oh my gosh, this was amazing, to get the first victory,” said Dillon, who had over 100 yards receiving in the first half. “That’s what we needed. Now we need to keep the momentum going.

“I knew I needed to step up. The line did an amazing job. They blocked, and I had a bunch of holes to run through. And when we needed to pass, Luke Kane put it right on the money ... Coming into this week, we knew that we had to control the line, and if we could run the ball we were going to be in good shape. And that’s what we did.”

Lehighton managed to fight back, scoring on two fourth-quarter touchdown passes - one to Ian Rarick and another to Ethan Buchert - to narrow the gap to just three points with 5:56 remaining.

But the Raiders never allowed the Indians to get the ball back, running seven straight times - five by Dillon - and recording four first downs to seal the win.

“We know (Lehighton) has athletes and playmakers that they can come back on you really fast, so I still didn’t feel comfortable being up 18 and obviously for good reason,” said Bonner. “Thank goodness we were able to grind the clock out there at the end. We did a good job making plays when we had to made plays, especially at the tail end.”

Both teams made plays early in the contest.

Indian quarterback Brady O’Donnell hit Rarick with a 23-yard scoring pass on the game’s opening drive. Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Stewart broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

The Raiders took the lead early in the second quarter with another 58-yard tally - this one on a pass from Kane to Dillon.

The two would hook up again midway through the frame for another touchdown, and their 37-yard completion on Tamaqua’s next possession led to a 12-yard Isaac Curvey scoring run.

“Credit to Tamaqua,” said Lehighton mentor Tom McCarroll, whose team fell to 0-2. “They did some nice things and took advantage of some things ... When they have a playmaker here and a playmaker there, they’re going to take advantage of those opportunities. Dillon is a nice up-and-coming athlete. He did some nice things at the lower level for them and he’s a kid when he gets the ball in his hands he can be dangerous.

“Our group definitely has fight in them. But the inconsistencies kill us. Maybe when you have a group that hasn’t experienced winning, they kind of try to make the big play when they don’t need to. At the end of the day, it falls on me. I have to do a better job of preparing these kids. It’s good to have fight, but fighting in a losing effort is still a loss.”

BIG PLAY GAME ... The two teams combined for 29 plays of 10 yards or more, with Tamaqua finishing with 16 and Lehighton having 13. Dillon had eight himself, four receiving and four rushing.

PASSING FANCY ... The Indian connection of O’Donnell-to-Rarick was a force. Rarick caught 10 passes for 156 yards and two scores. O’Donnell finished the evening with 255 yards passing and three touchdowns. For good measure, he also ripped off a 65-yard scoring run.

FAMILY AFFAIR ... Dillon’s offensive skills shouldn’t be a surprise. The junior is related to Palmerton quarterback Matt Machalik, who was the Times News Offensive Player of the Year last season. The two are cousins.