On Monday, I started a series looking back at my most memorable moments for each of our 10 area schools.

In 30-plus years, I’ve covered (and attended) numerous events, but some of them stand out more than others.

While teams winning championships are sure to appear on my list - which includes two moments for each school - other, more obscure, happenings will also be highlighted.

This isn’t an account of the greatest games I’ve witnessed, but rather the ones I remember most.

The first school I featured was Jim Thorpe. Today’s entry will be Lehighton.

I’ve seen Joe Gower dominate on the basketball court, and Robbie Frey run away from defenders on the football field.

If I would have been there for Corrine McConville’s winning goal that clinched a state championship, I’m sure it would have made the list ... but I wasn’t.

I wish I could have watched Carl Wolter throw the javelin, because that probably would have stuck in my mind forever.

Instead, these more recent events are the ones that pop into my brain first when I think of being at Lehighton sporting events.

June 3, 2010

Indians capture AAA baseball title

Baseball is my favorite sport, so getting the chance to cover a district championship at the home of the IronPigs (Coca-Cola Park) was memorable in itself.

Lehighton had never won a D-11 title in baseball, and had the opportunity against Saucon Valley.

The Panthers, however, took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth. The Indians rallied for five big runs in that home fifth to grab a lead they would never relinquish.

Kyle Hunter had an RBI single during the uprising, and a fielder’s choice and two bases-loaded walks accounted for other runs, but the hit that really stands out came off the bat of Jacen Nalesnik. Just a freshman, the team’s catcher delivered an opposite-field double off the wall. I’m not sure, but I think my jaw dropped as the ball banged off the fence, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that a ninth-grader had that much opposite-field power.

Saucon rallied in the seventh, putting the tying runs in scoring position, but Hunter got a strikeout to end the game and set off a wild party.

I remember going onto the field to get interviews, which was hard because so many players were celebrating and parents were taking photos. The team’s head coach, first-year mentor Brian Polaha, was almost too excited to talk, and I’m sure the grin he had on his face lasted hours after that final out was made.

November 6, 2015

Lehighton ends regular season 10-0

There was plenty on the line when Jim Thorpe and Lehighton met in their annual Week 10 football showdown.

The two teams were a combined 17-1, and the Indians were looking to finish off a perfect regular season and clinch an outright Anthractite Football League title.

Tom McCarroll’s club broke free from a 14-14 halftime tie and scored three unanswered touchdowns, which included a scoring run from Wyatt Clements and two TD passes by Tyler Cann, to eventually gain a 35-14 victory and improve to 10-0.

I was a fan that evening, as my son Brock (a member of the band) was among all those being honored on Senior Night. That alone was enough for a proud parent to permanently put in their memory bank, but the crowd, the rivalry and the festivities all added to it. There was a buzz and an atmosphere unlike other games - even for a Lehighton-Jim Thorpe matchup.

Added to the above circumstances was the fact that this would be the final regular season game played at Lehighton’s field. The new stadium at the high school, with its artificial surface, would soon be the home for Indian football.

McCarroll’s team would play two more games there the next two weeks (in the district playoffs). But after the victory against Thorpe, past players were invited down on the field. As a few turned into many, the thought of all those men sharing stories they formed while on that field was stirring.

It was truly a special evening for everyone involved.