Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll thought his team could have success throwing the ball against Marian.

So the Indians threw it early and often on Friday night.

It turned out, McCarroll knew what he was talking about.

Quarterback Chris Whiteman threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns as the Indians defeated Marian, 26-6.

“We thought we had some mismatches with our receivers and tight ends going against their secondary,” said McCarroll. “We think we have some very talented ball catchers, so the game plan was definitely to get them the ball.

Whiteman completed 17 of 28 passes. His big night came despite several drops by the Indian receivers, including a couple that would have been touchdowns.

“We left some points on the field,” said McCarroll. “But mistakes are going to happen. What we normally try to do is come right back to someone who fumbles or drops a pass and give them an immediate chance to put it behind them.

“We dropped some balls tonight that our kids normally catch. But no one lost confidence. Eventually we made enough plays to finally put the game away.”

It did take a while for Lehighton to open up that breathing room, however, as the Colts trailed just 14-6 early in the final quarter.

“I thought we did a pretty nice job defensively, especially against their running game,” Marian coach Pat Morgans said. “But we had trouble generating any offense, especially in the second half.

“We had several possessions when it was a one-score game, but we just couldn’t get the big play we needed to get us over the hump.”

Lehighton led 14-6 at halftime as Whiteman tossed TD passes to Ethan Lutz and Zack Crum, and Marian countered with a pair of Lucca Stroia field goals.

The Colts had three possessions in the third quarter to try and get even, including one that started near midfield. But Lehighton forced three-and-outs on every one, before another Whiteman-to-Crum touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter made it 20-6.

“We led the entire game, but we were never really comfortable,” McCarroll said. “We had some chances to put a few more points on the board that we didn’t take advantage of and, as a coach, you’re always worried that will come back to haunt you.

“But our defense did a great job of keeping us ahead until our offense was able to break it open in the fourth quarter. I was really happy with our defense tonight, especially in the second half.”

GETTING DEFENSIVE ... Lehighton held Marian without a first down in the second half until the Colts’ final possession of the game.

TALENT AND DEPTH ... McCarroll has called Crum the best receiver in the area and despite a couple of drops, he still put up huge numbers, catching seven passes for 152 yards and two scores. Also playing well was Lutz, who moved into the starting lineup last night because the Indians had three of their top receivers — Zack Hunsicker, Lucan Sangiuliano and Logan Pagotto — out with injuries. Lutz caught four passes for 78 yards and a score.

MORE COLT INJURIES ... Marian was down to its third and fourth string running backs against Lehighton. Starter Seth Paluck suffered a season-ending knee injury a week before the season opener. His replacement, Matt Dougherty, missed last night’s game with an injury. Injuries also forced Marian to use two first-time starters in the secondary. “I thought our young kids battled,” Morgans said. “It’s tough making your first start against Crum. He’s the real deal.”

FLAGGED ... Marian’s Jacob McLaughlin returned a second-quarter kickoff 90 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a clipping penalty deep in Indian territory nullified the score. The Colts still managed to get a 27-yard Stroia field goal out of the possession.

RECORDS ... Lehighton improves to 2-2, while Marian is now 0-4.