When a team is the top dog, its opponent has to pull out all of the magic tricks to try and knock them off.

Undefeated Lehighton traveled to Blue Mountain on Friday night, and the Eagles tried to make the Tribe feel like a circus.

A few waves of the Blue Mountain magic wand included two onside kick recoveries and a fake punt early in the game, which picked up a total of 41 yards and an eventual touchdown.

But the Indians don’t believe in magic, and a big second half helped them stay unbeaten with a 46-27 Schuylkill League Division 1 victory.

“The first half was kind of crazy,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “Credit goes to them (Blue Mountain), we knew they would be a tough team. It was probably the most physical game we played in terms of an opponent. I tell you what, I’m just proud of the way the kids game out in the second half, settled down and executed.”

The first bit of Hocus Pocus was the Eagles’ fake punt in the first quarter, which prolonged their drive and ended with a Chase Sincavage four-yard plunge to put Blue Mountain ahead, 14-8.

The ensuing kickoff was the Eagles’ first of two onside-kick recoveries, but the Indians’ defense flexed its muscle and forced Blue Mountain to punt. The Tribe then showed resilience by putting together a four-minute, 61-yard drive that ended in a Cody Scherer score to tie the game.

“We matched their physicality and came away with the victory,” McCarroll said. “We go as our O-line goes. There’s no doubt about it. We got some great players behind it in Cody and TaQuan (Bradley-Chambers), and we finally got our passing game on track today. We know we need to do that moving forward.”

A big swing of momentum could have been before halftime, when the Indians forced a fumble and took over on the Eagles’ 36-yard line with twenty ticks on the clock. With no timeouts, Scherer threw a perfectly executed out pattern to Colin Troxell, the Tribe then drew a pass interference call, and then Scherer hooked up with Gage Hunsicker for the second time in the game with a 13-yard strike as time expired. Lehighton took a 22-21 lead into intermission.

“We were able to put that late score right before half, put that two-point conversion in, and our kids were riding high going into the locker room,” said McCarroll. “This is the third or fourth game we walked in the locker room at half either tied or winning by a small margin. Our kids have done this all year. We know that we need to just settle them down and refocus them, and execute the way we have been all year.”

Lehighton stuck to its blueprint after halftime and pulled away from the Eagles.

Cody Scherer scored twice, once with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Troxell, and another on a two-yard plunge. Bradley-Chambers continued his torrid pace, racking up 226 yards on the ground on Friday, including a two-yard score in the third. The Tribe’s defense might have fed off its offense, as the Indians held Blue Mountain to just six points in the second half.

“Defense stepped up in the second half, which was huge,” said McCarroll. “We like where we’re at right now. We’re not playing a perfect game yet, which is OK. We want to be peaking when the playoffs come around, and that’s what we’re shooting for.”

I’M GONNA MISS DEADLINE ... There was a total of 22 penalties during the contest.

A LOT ON THE LINE ... Lehighton and Jim Thorpe both won this week, which sets up a highly anticipated Week 10 rivalry, as both teams are 9-0.