The Lehighton Indians are feeling a little different heading into this postseason.

After two straight years hovering around .500, Lehighton (7-3) opens the District 11 Class 4A playoffs Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pottsville (7-3) with confidence, momentum and a different set of expectations.

“In the past couple of years, I think they felt fortunate to get into the playoffs, and then it was, ‘Hey, let’s give it our best and see how it goes,’” Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll said.

“Now I think it’s, ‘Hey, we have earned this.’ There’s an expectation now of not just, ‘Let’s make it and see how we do.’ It’s, ‘Let’s make some noise.’”

Lehighton is playing like a team that believes it.

After consecutive losses to Northwestern Lehigh and Jim Thorpe, the Indians responded with a 49-7 victory over Palmerton, and a 17-7 win over Northern Lehigh to close the regular season.

“Our defense has just played lights out the last two weeks, so we really expect them to keep that momentum going,” McCarroll said. “We’ve been able to run the ball, control the clock, and control the line of scrimmage.”

Senior Lukas Croizier has led that rushing attack with 1,224 yards and 17 touchdowns on 178 carries. Lehighton has rushed for 1,967 yards as a team, while averaging 30.7 points per game and allowing just 14.2.

Quarterback Jack Lucykanish has provided balance, completing 86 of 143 passes for 1,057 yards and 13 touchdowns. Carl Lingham has been his top target with 41 catches for 518 yards and six scores.

“At every level, they say there are always two things that travel, and that’s defense and running the ball,” McCarroll said. “We’ve been able to do that lately. On top of that, we haven’t turned the ball over, and we’ve really minimized our penalties.”

McCarroll also credited the growth of players who entered the season with limited varsity experience. While the Indians returned their entire offensive line and Croizier, several other contributors have developed into more consistent performers.

“A lot of the kids who were inexperienced entering the season have done a really nice job of settling in,” he said. “They’ve made some mistakes. They cleaned it up. They took the coaching and made it a point to be better moving forward.”

Pottsville has enjoyed a turnaround of its own.

After opening 1-3, the Crimson Tide have won six straight, including a 42-13 victory over Hazleton Area last week.

Sophomore quarterback Tommy Welsh has thrown 17 touchdown passes, while sophomore running back Donovann Durham has surpassed 800 rushing yards, and is coming off a 200-yard performance against Hazleton Area.

Lehighton defeated Pottsville 35-0 last season, but McCarroll expects a much different challenge this time.

“We know we’re going to get a different version of what we’ve seen,” he said. “But scheme-wise, the familiarity is definitely there for us. They are playing well; there’s no question about it, but so are we.”

The Indians enter the postseason confident in their ability to extend their season.

“There’s a lot of composure right now,” McCarroll said. “We don’t have kids who look rattled or uncomfortable. I like where we’re at for this first-round matchup.”