When Lehighton has run the ball with success, it has been able to do impressive things this season. That trend continued Friday night against Jim Thorpe in the Battle for the 209 Trophy.

The Indians had a big night on the ground and scored on five consecutive possessions to defeat the Olympians, 40-20.

“We started a little slow. Hats off to them. Both teams battled all night. This is an intense rivalry game and that showed,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “But we were able to make big plays when we needed to, and I thought that was the difference.”

Jim Thorpe looked good early in this one, forcing two Lehighton punts. Thorpe would get good field position on its second drive of the game due to a big hit by Bobby Levins on a JT put that would jar the ball loose with Lehighton keeping possession at the Indians 6.

A few plays later, the Tribe would punt, setting up Thorpe at the Lehighton 37. Five plays later, Olympians’ senior quarterback Cole Lazorick would find a streaking Spencer Gothard from 12 yards out to give them a 7-0 lead at the 4:12 mark.

The Thorpe score awakened the Lehighton offense, as it would then start its run of five scores in five straight possessions. A Lukas Croizier 27-yard run sparked the Tribe’s first score with senior signal caller Jayse Lawrence scoring from six yards out to tie the ball game.

Croizier would then come through with another big run early in the second, scoring on a nifty 40-yard scamper, where he crossed the field and turned on the afterburners to make it 13-7 Lehighton lead. A 36-yard connection from Lawrence to Blake Roberts would help set up the Tribe’s third touchdown of the night, which was once again finished off by a Lawrence keeper to up the Indians lead to 20-7. Roberts had a big night, hauling in four catches for 64 yards, and in the process Roberts set the Lehighton receptions record with 114 career catches, surpassing Zach Hunsicker.

The Indians would get one more across the goal line with 45 seconds left to play in the half on one of the nicest passes you will see this season from Lawrence to Caden Meek. Lawrence rolled right and on the move fired a missile on the money to Meek for the 47-yard pitch-and-catch to give the Tribe a 26-7 lead at the break. Lawrence got hot for a stretch in the first half after starting 0-for-4, completing his next 8-of-9 for 145 yards and a touchdown. The Lehighton defense was also impressive in the first half, forcing three straight JT punts after Thorpe’s opening score.

“I’m proud of our line and I’m proud of our run game with the way they played tonight,” said McCarroll. “Croizier is a warrior. Anyone who judges him by his size, they will find out what he can do. He plays with a lot of heart and he runs like a tank, and then he can turn it on in space. He went over 1,000 yards on the season tonight and we haven’t had that in our program since 2017.

“Overall, I’m just proud of our guys tonight. A lot of guys made plays for us. You saw some different names making plays, especially on defense; some younger guys, which was great to see. But we got the win we needed to generate the momentum we wanted heading into playoffs next week.”

Thorpe would battle back in the third and had a chance to cut the Lehighton lead to just one score around the 3:19 mark. After both squads traded scores — a Lazorick to Gothard 18-yard connection, and a 25-yard Croizier scoring rush — Thorpe still trailed 34-14.

But JT would close the gap with an eight play 75-yard drive capped by a Lazorick to Angel Rivera fade ball to the right pylon to cut the deficit to 14 (34-20). Lazorick finished the night with 250 yards passing and three touchdowns. The Indians would turn the ball over on their next possession, with Gothard undercutting an underneath route and giving JT the ball at the Lehighton 44. Thorpe would move the ball to the Tribe 23, but it could not convert on a fourth-and-1 attempt, giving the ball back to the Indians.

Croizier would then come through with the dagger on the first play of Lehighton’s ensuing possession, finding a hole and shooting through it, racing 77 yards to the end zone to extend the Indians lead to 40-20.

“I thought our kids gave everything they had tonight,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “There is no quit in this team, and I attribute that to our four seniors. I’m so proud of those seniors and the leadership that they have brought to the team all season long.

“Lehighton is a good football team and they took advantage of their opportunities tonight. Our kids fought hard. We just couldn’t get that score we needed to cut their lead to a one-score game. They were able to make plays and push the lead back to a two-score or three-score game. But our season isn’t over. We’re going to work hard and prepare all week to try and come out next week and get a postseason victory.”

1,000 … Croizier finished the game with 207 yards on 16 carries with three rushing touchdowns. On the season, Croizier now has 1,112 rushing yards and nine rushing scores.

UP FRONT … The Indians were good in the trenches in this one. The Tribe offense rushed for 258 yards at over nine yards per carry. And on defense they held JT to 57 yards rushing at 1.8 yards per carry. The Indians also sacked Lazorick six times on the night.

PLAYOFFS … In the quarterfinal round, Lehighton (5-5) is the No. 5 seed in District 11 4A and will head to No. 4 seed Blue Mountain. Thorpe (4-6) is the No. 6 seed in 4A and will travel to No. 3 Allentown Central Catholic. Those games will be played on Thursday, October 30.

Lehighton 40, Jim Thorpe 20

Lehighton 7 20 13 0 - 40

Jim Thorpe 7 0 13 0 - 20

JT - Gothard 12 pass from Lazorick (Flyzik kick)

L - Lawrence 6 run (Ebbert kick)

L - Croizier 40 run (kick failed)

L - Lawrence 9 run (Ebbert kick)

L - Meek 47 pass from Lawrence (Ebbert kick)

JT - Gothard 18 pass from Lazorick (Flyzik kick)

L - Croizier 25 run (Ebbert kick)

JT - Rivera 15 pass from Lazorick (Flyzik kick)

L - Croizier 77 run (Ebbert kick)