PA EAST WEEK 5 POSTGAME
SOUTHERN LEHIGH DOMINATES IN 35-0 SHUTOUT WIN OVER LEHIGHTON
Lehighton visited Southern Lehigh Friday night for a highly anticipated District 11 showdown between two undefeated teams, but by the end of the night, the Spartans left no doubt.
Lehighton received the opening kickoff and appeared to go three-and-out on its first drive of the game. The Indians faced a 4th-and-6 on their own side of the field and sent the punt team out. Lehighton punter Sawyer Hoffman appeared as though he was going to punt the ball, but all of a sudden, Hoffman took off. After a second effort, he got the first down for the Indians and extended the opening drive.
Lehighton eventually turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert a crucial 4th down in Southern Lehigh territory.
Now it was Southern Lehigh’s first opportunity with the football, and boy, did they capitalize quickly.
QB Colton Sams hit WR Otto Young for a 21-yard reception to put the Spartans across midfield. A few plays later, RB Jack MoDavis rumbled into the red zone after a huge 28-yard run. MoDavis finished off the drive with a nice 9-yard TD run to put the Spartans up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
Lehighton’s next drive ended in a three-and-out.
The Spartans got a few big plays from MoDavis and Young to put them back in the red zone. That’s when Sams found WR Jack Pavis in the corner of the end zone for a really nice 4-yard TD catch. That put the Spartans up 14-0.
On Lehighton’s next drive, the Indians faced 3rd-and-9 in their own territory. They converted. QB Jack Lucykanish hit WR Cash White for a must-get 10-yard conversion. It was a spectacular catch by White, who went up and got the ball on a quick slant route.
Lehighton continued driving and made its way back into Southern Lehigh territory. The Indians couldn’t capitalize, though, failing to convert another 4th-and-short and turning the ball over on downs. Gut punch for the Indians.
Southern Lehigh got the ball back in its own territory with only a couple of minutes left until halftime.
The Indians NEEDED a stop.
They couldn’t get one.
Southern Lehigh’s Adam Fritts burst around the edge for a nice 18-yard run to put the Spartans around midfield. Then, on the very next play, Fritts took the ball again and ran for another 17 yards.
Two explosive plays from Fritts got the Spartans to around the Lehighton 30-yard line.
A few plays later, Sams hit Young for a beautiful 15-yard TD connection to put the Spartans up 21-0 going into halftime. It was Sams’ second TD pass of the night.
Southern Lehigh got the ball to start the second half and picked up right where they left off.
Fritts continued his big night on the ground for the Spartans, exploding for another 22-yard run to put the ball just past midfield.
On the next play, Sams turned what should have been a sack into a 10-yard gain and a first down for the Spartans. A few plays later, Sams hit Tanner Traub in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard TD to put the Spartans up 28-0. That gave Sams his third passing TD of the game.
Lehighton tried to get something going on offense with a deep ball to WR Carl Lingham, but Southern Lehigh CB Declan Walsh came up with a huge pass deflection to bring up a 4th down for the Indians.
Southern Lehigh got the ball back, and Sams hit WR Layton Shook for a nice 25-yard reception. Shook made a couple of key receptions for the Spartans throughout the night and proved to be a reliable option for Sams.
MoDavis capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. It was his second touchdown of the night, closing out a huge game for MoDavis.
That closed out a dominant win for the Spartans, who shut out Lehighton by a score of 35-0.
PA EAST TAKEAWAYS
LEHIGHTON
Lehighton falls to 4-1 after a tough loss to the Spartans. Had the Indians converted a few of those costly 4th downs, this could have been a totally different ballgame. I think Lehighton is way better than they played Friday night. They’ll look to bounce back next week when they travel to Bangor.
LUKAS CROIZIER — SR RB/SS — Croizier played a tough, hard-fought game for the Indians. He battled on the ground and had some really nice tackles on defense.
CASH WHITE — JR WR/CB — White had some spectacular catches in crucial moments for Lehighton. One came on a big 3rd down to move the chains.
PRESTON DIGRAZIA — SR MLB — I was very impressed with DiGrazia. He battled in the middle for the Indians all night and had some impressive tackles for loss and tackles from behind to prevent big plays from developing.
JACK LUCYKANISH — JR QB/CB — Lucykanish had an impressive night for the Indians. He had some great throws, made smart decisions with the football, and ran the read option well for his team.
SAWYER HOFFMAN — SR K/P — Hoffman has a leg. He flipped field position very well throughout the game with his punts and had a huge 4th-down fake punt run to give the Indians a first down on the opening drive.
SOUTHERN LEHIGH
The Spartans move to 5-0 on the season. They dominated on both sides of the ball all night long. They’ll look to keep their undefeated season going next week when they travel to Saucon Valley.
COLTON SAMS — SR QB — 13/16 PASSING, 157 YDS, 3 TDS • 3 CARRIES, 40 YDS
Sams continues his stellar season for the Spartans. As always, he looked cool, calm, and collected in the pocket. He made smart decisions all game long and was able to avoid pressure. On multiple occasions, he turned what should have been a sack into a big run. This kid is special.
JACK MoDAVIS — JR RB/CB — 12 CARRIES, 105 YDS, 2 TDS • 2 REC, 22 YDS
MoDavis dominated on the ground all night long. He’s a tough, physical runner who is not easy to bring down. He runs hard and proved to be a very capable receiving back.
ADAM FRITTS — JR WR/RB/OLB — 3 CARRIES, 58 YDS
Fritts had three carries for 58 yards. That’s nearly 20 yards per carry. He looked very explosive and made the most of every carry he got. He also made an impact on defense and was all over the field for the Spartans.
SOUTHERN LEHIGH DEFENSIVE LINE — LUCAS SUTYAK (SR), DYLAN GRETZ (SR), CODY WESNER (SR) & COMPANY
Southern Lehigh’s defensive line absolutely dominated all night long. They completely shut down Lehighton’s ability to run the football and got pressure when needed on passing downs. Big game for these boys.