Catching fire.

Lehighton is playing its best football of the season at the most paramount time - both the end of the regular season and the postseason - and it’s been paying off for the Indians, who have won three of their last four games.

The Tribe’s hot streak began with an upset 34-14 victory over Tamaqua back on Oct. 11. Lehighton was then able to take care of business over Jim Thorpe, capturing the Route 209 Trophy in the season finale by putting together a huge effort on the ground. And then last week, the Indians shocked everyone with a 29-28 win over No. 2 seed Blue Mountain in the quarterfinals of the District 11 4A playoffs.

Lehighton will head to Bethlehem Area School District Stadium tonight to take on No. 3 seed Bethlehem Catholic in the 4A semifinals.

What has been the key to Lehighton’s turnaround? It’s simple: The Indians have been controlling the line of scrimmage, as Tribe offensive linemen Joey Houser, Brock Gower, Parker Rodgers, Yadiel Acosta-Rodriguez and Mark Macias have been winning the battle in the trenches to help the Lehighton run game move the sticks and take time off the clock.

“We have really been able to do some good things over the past month. It started during the Tamaqua game, and we have been able to build momentum off that win,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.

“Controlling the line of scrimmage, and having a running scheme that our players are really comfortable and confident in has really made a difference. I would say also that our players are playing with a lot more physicality. Last week our guys played very physical. Blake Roberts got the juices flowing early with a big hit, and then for the rest of the game you could see our guys flying around and playing with a lot of physicality on every single play.”

The Indians’ running game was good once again against Blue Mountain last week, rushing 41 times for 226 yards. Quarterback Both Jayse Lawrence and running back Lukas Croizier combined for 173 yards in the game. That performance against the Eagles followed a big-time rushing night against the Olympians that saw the Indians rush for 469 yards on the ground.

Croizier leads the team with 619 yards and four touchdowns, while Jacob Ferguson has rushed for 586 yards and five touchdowns, and Lawrence has rushed for 524 yards and six scores.

“We had a drive that took seven minutes off the clock in the first quarter, and then we were able to recover an onside kick. Then at the end of the game, we were able to take five minutes off the clock before getting the game-winning touchdown,” said McCarroll.

Keeping the ball away from an always explosive Becahi (5-6) offense will be a primary focus for the Tribe (5-6) in the semis this evening. The Golden Hawks have had an up-and-down season, and finished the regular season on a four-game losing streak before defeating East Stroudsburg North in the 4A quarterfinals last week, 42-7.

But Becahi still possesses a host of playmakers, starting with quarterback Cayden Vassa, who has thrown for over 1,000 yards and also rushed for 556 yards and seven scores. Jeziah Gregory has also been a solid runner for the Hawks, as he leads the team with 726 yards and five touchdowns. Rodney Brodie (539 yards) and Carter Vassa (461 yards) top Becahi in receiving yards.

“There’s no doubt Becahi is an offense that can be explosive. It starts with the quarterback, who is a really good player. He’s a dual-threat guy that can make a lot of plays,” said McCarroll.

“They’re also an EPC team, so they have nice size up front and they’re athletic up front as well. Again, we need to focus on us and the things that we do; just doing those things better on each play. Two big things on the defensive side of the ball that we have to focus on is playing disciplined and physical football. That’s the way we have been playing, but we need to continue to do that.”