Cann thriving in Lehighton's offense
The Lehighton offense is clicking this season and there are plenty of potential theories to prove so.
Maybe it's stud tailback Wyatt Clements, who has 17 total touchdowns so far in 2014. It could also be the host of weapons that head coach Tom McCarroll has in his arsenal which includes Tyler Crum and Tom Ruzicka, who both do a bit of everything. Combine those skill players with the phsyical play at the line of scrimmage and you almost have the recipe for success.Despite all of the variables, junior quarterback Tyler Cann is the constant "X" factor of this offense that completes the winning formula and makes this offense go.Cann earned the Times News Player of the Week award for his performance during last week's 45-7 rout of Shenandoah Valley. Cann completed six of seven passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 14 yards on four carries which included a three-yard score."We did an all-around good job," said Cann. "The play calls were great and we executed well. I have to credit the offensive line too, we were feeling it out there. I've had a lot of games which I enjoyed, but this one was up there."McCarroll was pleased with his quarterback's performance last week."We had some things in our playbook that we thought we could take advantage of. It was nice that we got to spread the ball around. We didn't have to throw often, but when we did Tyler was great and threw it effeciently."The Lehighton coach has seemed to cut the playbook loose for Cann this year. The junior seemed to really take a big step up from last year in the developmental process behind center.In 2013 Cann completed 53 percent of his passes for 722 yards, four touchdowns, and eight interceptions. This season the junior signal caller has completed 66 percent of his passes for 931 yards and eight scores though the air with two regular season games remaining. The Lehighton offense has thrived on his success as they are averaging nearly 50 more yards per game this year (317.8 compared to 268.3) in his second season in charge of the no-huddle offense."It's a lot of fun to coach him and the rest of this team," said McCarroll. "I don't know if I've ever had quite the number of weapons in the past on previous teams that I have now. All of these kids have really developed and understand the new offense. Tyler kind of flies under the radar a little bit and he does everything well. I could put him at any position on the field and he would do fine anywhere. He's got the 'whatever the team needs' type of mentality. Pound for pound he's one of the toughest kids I've ever coached."The Indians are right in the thick of the postseason, as its next two games against AFL foes Tamaqua and Jim Thorpe are both considered "must wins"."These next two games are exactly why we are a perfect fit for this league," explained McCarroll. "Not only because of the location, but we are going to have our hands full. All three teams have a ton at stake. Wherever we play, we want to be physical and let them know that they played Lehighton."Cann is ready to go and finish this season on a positive note."We're all fired up. We just have to handle it one game at a time and it starts with Tamaqua on Friday. We need to be physical and go get the W."