Lehighton’s chances of garnering a postseason berth in the District 11 Class 3A race seemed highly improbable – until late Friday evening.

These rapidly improving, youthful Indians pulled off a major stunner, if you will, tossing aside highly favored Jim Thorpe 27-14 to sneak past Pine Grove for the eighth and final spot in the tournament.

Now, Lehighton must go up against a mainstay that has been here, won it all several times and is also a familiar opponent. North Schuylkill drew the top seed, and after clubbing rival Pottsville Friday evening, 42-13, the Spartans improved to 8-2.

What Lehighton has going is a late-season surge with back-to-back wins. In addition to defeating Thorpe, the Tribe slapped a 24-7 loss on Saucon Valley in Week 9.

“I have so much respect for coach Wally Hall and his program,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “They’re one of the tops every season. They’ve been (to the playoffs) regularly, they have quality players and they’re very well coached.”

Hall feels the Indians just kept getting better and better as the season moved on, and knows his team has to be ready for four full quarters Friday at Spartan Stadium.

“I can’t say enough about coach McCarroll and his staff,” said Hall. “(Our coaches) have seen them on film, we looked at them from the start of the season, and each game they got better. The last two games show how much improvement they made.”

Despite the two losses, Hall says his team has gotten to this point because they had some early-season injuries and now, they’re healthy. The team features a rugged defense, a quick-striking offense and can spread the ball to various players.

“They put a lot of pressure on you,” McCarroll said of the Spartans. “You can’t rest; you have to be aggressive, and our concern is being in the right position on every down. They’ll burn you (with the big play) if you are not ready. So that’s what we’ve been stressing during practice.”

Ball control will be extremely important in this contest, more so for the Tribe. Should Lehighton hold the ball for a significant amount time, it could limit the Spartans’ chances for a big-play attack.

The Indians have rushed for 2,707 yards in 10 games, but the defense has allowed 312.3 yards per game. Ethan Buchert is the team leader in scoring, rushing for 10 touchdowns, three more than Ian Rarick, while quarterback Brady O’Donnell has thrown for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns, but has been intercepted 11 times.

North Schuylkill has all kinds of weapons to throw at the Indians’ defense. Junior quarterback Trevor Minalda has gotten better with each game. He has thrown for 20 touchdown passes this season, including three in last Friday’s trouncing over Pottsville.

Joey Flail, a junior and a collegiate prospect, is Minalda’s favorite target. Flail has sprinter speed, and is the all-time receiving leader at the school. This season, Flail has 44 receptions, 11 touchdowns and 592 yards. Jared Tinari is the top rusher with 1,122 yards and 12 touchdowns.

But the defense is the heart-and-soul of the Spartans, led by senior stud defensive tackle Steve Davis, who is 6-2, and 260 pounds. Jaxson Chowansky, who was sidelined for half the season with an injury, keys the linebacking corps in the 4-3 set. And the kicking game features one of the best in District 11 in sophomore Gavin Mentzer, who is capable of hitting from 40-plus yards.

McCarroll loves the challenge.

“It’s a great opportunity for our football team to face such a big challenge,” he said. “Anytime you face a quality team, you learn and grow from it. We’re grateful to have the opportunity to make the (district) tournament. We’re going to play our hearts out, and that’s all you can ask from our team.”