BANGOR - Stingy defense and a strong running game can take a football team a long way.

Bangor used both in a 32-6 win over Lehighton on homecoming night.

The Slaters ran for 271 yards on 40 carries (6.8 per carry) while holding Lehighton to 37 yards on the ground.

“That’s our biggest pride, what we can do on the ground and what we are able to do up front,” said Slater head coach Paul Reduzzi. “We’ve got some guys up front that are returning and experienced and we’ve got some hard-nose running backs. We’re pretty fundamentally sound doing that.”

The Slater defense got things started, forcing a three-and-out that led to a blocked punt for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game.

After a second Indian three-and-out, the Slaters went 60 yards in 12 plays to go ahead 14-0 with 3:05 left in the first quarter.

While Lehighton (1-5) struggled to move the ball in the first half, gaining just two first downs, the Tribe’s defense did its best to mach the Slaters’ effort and kept it a two-score game at intermission.

“It was 14-0, but one of them was a blocked punt,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “We put them in some tough situations and made them work for everything they got.

“Offensively, for the second week in a row we really struggled. We had some opportunities. When you’re struggling to make plays and those opportunities come, to make catches and make blocks and score touchdowns, you have to take advantage of them.”

The Slaters (5-2) took the second-half kickoff and mounted a long touchdown drive. On their next possession it took just two plays to score as Ahston Kluska (16 carries, 148 yards) broke free for a 57-yard touchdown run to put his team ahead 26-0 with 2:07 left in the third quarter.

“We really needed a stop coming out in the second half,” said McCarroll. “We didn’t get it and it really snowballed downhill from there then.”

The Bangor defense, which had given up just three first downs to that point in the game, then came up with the play that put the game out of reach when Greg Campbell intercepted a Jayse Lawrence pass and took it 43 yards for a touchdown and a 32-0 lead.

Lawrence, a freshman who entered the game late in the third quarter, bounced back after the interception. He orchestrated the Tribe’s only touchdown drive, completing six passes on the possession.

Dylan Moyer ran in from five yards out with 8:22 left in the game to put his team on the board.

QB KING...Bangor quarterback Eric Striba was named Homecoming King at halftime. The senior ran an efficient offense Friday night. He rushed for 92 yards while going 6-for-16 passing with 52 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for the Slaters’ first offensive score, a 15-yard scamper.

NOT IN OUR HOUSE ... The Slater defense established its dominance early by forcing three-and-out on the Indians’ first three drives of the game. They allowed just 26 rushing yards in the first half. “We flow to the ball well,” said Reduzzi. “We tried to take away the things they do well. We thought a lot of what they’re running back was able to do against some other teams and really focused on getting that stopped.”