CENTER VALLEY - It’s not a matter of if for Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.

Simply when.

A difficult stretch of losses could have sent the Indians’ season spiraling.

But Lehighton has continued to battle, something the Tribe showcased again Friday night against a one-loss Southern Lehigh team.

While a 36-7 loss to the Spartans wasn’t the turning point Lehighton was hoping for, it was another indicator that McCarroll’s group is very much on the doorstep of that breakthrough.

“There’s no question in my mind. That’s 100% the message, it’s always been the message for this group,” McCarroll said of the turnaround. “I just can’t say enough about the approach and the attitude that these kids bring in week in, and week out.”

Southern Lehigh (7-1) has responded with seven straight wins since a season-opening loss to Quakertown.

The Spartans took advantage of turnovers by the Indians (1-7) in the first half to take a 14-0 lead. Their first drive of the third quarter ended with Cade Sawyer’s third touchdown of the game and Avery Koser converting a two-point conversion to stretch the lead to 22-0.

“It’s huge, because I think they came up with a great game plan,” said Southern Lehigh coach Phil Sams. “They made sure they ran plays to the last second, and kept us off the field, and they kept getting first downs and we couldn’t get the ball.

“But they did a great job. They probably had more first downs then we did, I’ll tell you that.”

Sams was right. Lehighton had 16 first downs, while his squad finished with 15.

But the Spartans scored on their next two possessions in the second half, with Koser hitting Tyler Rizzuto and Bryan Tobin for touchdown passes.

Koser completed 9-of-14 pass attempts for 168 yards, while Sawyer finished with 105 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Lehighton went 80 yards on its final offensive series, with Dylan Moyer (17 carries, 96 yards) punching it in from three yards out and AJ Light nailing the extra point to make it 36-7 with 1:19 left in the game.

Rizzuto came up with a pick on Lehighton’s first drive, and Southern Lehigh went 24 yards on three plays with Sawyer going in from 13 yards out .

Southern Lehigh took over after a fumble and covered 58 yards on four plays, with Sawyer capping the drive with a 38-yard score

Lehighton’s next drive started at its own 20-yard line and went to the Spartans’ 5 before Xavius Roman came up with an interception in the end zone with 27.8 remaining in the first half.

Lehighton had several big plays on the drive – a 28-yard completion from Brady O’Donnell to Michael Yeakel on third and 12 at its own 41, and an 11-yard completion from O’Donnell to Ethan Buchert on fourth down at the Southern Lehigh 34 for another first down.

Moyer came up with a pick on Southern Lehigh’s next drive, and the Indians took over at the Spartans’ 29-yard line. A penalty on second down moved the Indians to the 12-yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, the Indians’ field goal attempt with .04 to play in the half was blocked to keep the score 14-0.

“We had some things that went against us, a lot of them self inflicted,” said McCarroll. “That’s the next step we have to take. Our effort is there, the kids have a great attitude. They have not quit, and they’ve been fighting every week. Now we just have to get rid of some of those self-inflicted wounds, and if and when we do that - and there will be a when. That’s the one thing I tell these kids.

“I am proud of their efforts, and at some point they’re going to turn a corner, and I think they’re really close. To play like we did against a really good team, hopefully they don’t lose sight of that, and they see the positives that we can pull from a game like this.”

MILESTONES

... Sawyer went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season in the game, while Koser hit the 1,000-yard passing mark for the season.

UP NEXT

... Solehi travels to Pottsville next week, while Lehighton hosts Saucon Valley.