In every football game, a number of opportunities to change the momentum - and even the outcome - can happen.

Lehighton had few such opportunities Thursday night during a 41-13 loss to Blue Mountain.

Besides not being able to capitalize on their minimal chances, the Indians also suffered four turnovers, a kick return for a touchdown, a pick six and a failure to get stops on fourth downs. All that was too much for Lehighton to overcome against the Eagles.

The Tribe’s opening drive ended quickly when Gaige Guers of Blue Mountain intercepted a pass to set up his offense with a first down at the Indians’ 38-yard line. On a fourth-and-10, Eagles quarterback Tyler Miller found Guers for a 19-yard gain. On the next play, Miller ran around right end to the three - where Payton Fasnacht pushed it in for 6-0 lead.

Lehighton (2-4) then went three-and-out on the ensuing possession.

The Eagles took over and survived 15 yards in penalties during a two-minute, six-play drive with Miller scoring from seven yards out for a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Lehighton’s Logan Kent picked up 37 yards on the kickoff to give his team good field position. Four plays later, the host team cut the lead to 14-6 with a shifty 27-yard TD run by Dylan Moyer.

An opportunity to get right back in the game was suddenly roadblocked when Blue Mountain’s Reese Miller took the kickoff to the house on a 75-yard return.

The Eagles’ defense stiffened, holding the Indians to only two first downs in the first half - one on a pass interference penalty. With 2:36 left in the half, the Eagles drove 45 yards in eight plays and scored with six ticks on the clock on a 4-yard pass from Miller to Will Jacobson to make it 26-6.

Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll lamented his team’s failure to play a clean game.

“We had our fair share of opportunities, but the turnovers, the kick return and penalties really set us back,” McCarroll said. “Football’s a game of momentum, and when we scored we had a chance to keep it going.”

On Blue Mountain’s first drive of the second half, the Indians had another opportunity to grab back the momentum when Moyer recovered a fumble on the Tribe 45, but once again the offense failed to get a first down and had to punt the ball away.

A bright spot for Lehighton was the play of its defense, especially when it stopped the Eagles after a nine-play drive and forced a punt with four minutes to go in the third quarter. But on a second and 11, Blue Mountain’s Jacobson picked off a pass and returned it to the Indians’ 8-yard line. Two plays later, Lukas Kauffman scored from the two to lift Blue Mountain’s margin to 33-7.

The teams traded punts until Eagles linebacker Hunter Blankenhorn intercepted a short pass and ran it in for a pick six and a 41-6 lead with 10:44 left in the game.

Lehighton didn’t fold its tents despite the large deficit. The Indians marched 65 yards in six plays, with Moyer scoring his second touchdown on a 3-yard run to end the night’s scoring.

McCarroll saw a silver lining in what was otherwise a dark cloud that hovered over his team most of the game.

“I thought our defense played great,” he said. “The turnovers and the kick return that gave Blue Mountain points wasn’t on our D. We have a lot to clean up on offense.

“The turnovers and the third-and-longs stopped us from finishing drives. There are no excuses. We’ll see what we do now that we’re facing adversity.”

BRIGHT STAR … Dylan Moyer’s performance for Lehighton may have been overshadowed in the loss, but the senior workhorse gained a hard 55 yards, scored two touchdowns, made several tackles and recovered a fumble - a good night’s work for the running back and linebacker.

ANOTHER STAR … Give the Indians’ senior wide receiver, defensive back, and punter Michael Yeakel credit for a solid performance. He caught a 39-yard pass for the Tribe’s longest gain of the game, broke up several Eagle pass attempts, and punted his team out of trouble five times with the longest at 43 yards.

FIRST START ... Lehighton was without its two starting quarterbacks, and turned to freshman Owen Eckhart, who completed six passes for 76 yards.

UP NEXT … Lehighton hosts the Bangor Slaters next Friday in what is the second of a consecutive three-game home stand.