Hunter Crum had no shortage of highlights against Tamaqua.

The senior tied a school record with six touchdowns as Lehighton pulled out a 55-42 win over the Blue Raiders last Friday.

Crum ran for 126 yards and four TDs, and also caught three passes for 63 yards and a pair of scores.

It was a performance that helped the Tribe bounce back from a season-opening loss to Palmerton, and an effort that earned Crum Times News Player of the Week honors.

“We’ve been fortunate; I know our record sometimes hasn’t really been indicative of how some of our kids have really grown and developed. But we’ve been fortunate to have a playmaker, almost every year,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “And it’s been a kid who’s been in the mix, been in the mix, and then it gets to his senior year, and now he’s ‘the guy.’ And he’s been on that same journey. We had Zach Hunsicker, we had Zach Crum, Cody Scherer, and the list goes on and on. And they were in the mix, but then it became their time.

“For us, Hunter has been a unique animal, so to speak, because he’s a lot bigger, he’s a lot thicker than some of the kids in those situations that came before him. So our thought process going into the season is, ‘How many different ways can we get him the ball?’ Maybe someone like his older brother Zach, or a Zach Hunsicker, maybe we don’t line them up at running back, because they don’t quite have the physique, but they are still playmakers. But with Hunter, he just brings a different element to the table.”

His talents were on full display against Tamaqua, an effort that was aided by the disappointment of a Week 1 loss.

“I think we approached it with a different mentality,” said Crum. “Coming off the loss to Palmerton, we used that as motivation, and it helped us get the win.

“Everything that happened on Friday was clicking. It was just overall a really good game.”

Crum contributed in all facets of the game, including a stellar one-handed grab that generated plenty of buzz on the sideline.

“It’s awesome. But the other thing that goes along with that is, the other kids now have to step up in their roles,” said McCarroll. “We can’t just be one-dimensional. And there were some times on Friday night where we did use him as a ‘decoy’ because they have to respect that because of the plays that he did make. So a kid like Brayden Lutz steps up. A kid like Ian Rarick steps up. Luke Blauch made a couple of big catches. Those guys, they have to also fill those roles, and be very available and be cognizant that the ball can come to them at any moment, and they have to make those plays. Because if they don’t, or if they show that they can’t make those plays, then we become very one- dimensional, no matter where we put Hunter.”

With his size and speed, Crum is a matchup nightmare for defenses. And the Tribe took advantage.

“Tamaqua is very good at what they do, and have been,” McCarroll said. “ And the way we look at it is, we know what they do, and they know what we do as well. There are no secrets. We’re at the point now where we’ve played each other so many times that we kind of know each other’s schemes, advantages, disadvantages and so on. And that’s a good thing. And we thought with our experience on the offensive line this year, which was one of the things we had coming back, we thought we could maybe be a little more physical at the line of scrimmage, and I think we showed that a little bit. With Hunter having over 100 yards rushing and things along those lines, I think we took advantage of a couple of different position matchups that I think worked in our favor.”

More than yards or touchdowns, Crum was particularly interested in one stat from last Friday night.

“It feels really good just knowing that I contributed to the points to help us beat them,” he said. “We haven’t beat them in the three years that I’ve been on the team, so that felt good, too.”

He’s hoping it happens again this week against undefeated Wilson.

“I just want to do the same thing we did last week,” Crum said. “Come home with a win.”