Schuylkill League Football play officially begins this week.

There are many intriguing matchups in Week 6, but there's one in Division 1 that certainly stands out in particular.Momentum can be a huge advantage in the game of football. And perhaps only a few SLF teams have more momentum going into Friday night than the Jim Thorpe Olympians.Jim Thorpe has won four straight games after losing its opening week contest to unbeaten Schuylkill Haven. They will look to make it five in a row this week when Blue Mountain comes to Olympian Stadium.The matchup between the Olympians (4-1) and Eagles (4-1) has an old-school feel to it. That's because this game could be won in the trenches.Jim Thorpe's four-game win-streak has been due in large part to its success up front on both offense and defense."The Red Swarm" defense is coming off back-to-back shutouts, and is leading the Times News area in total defense, holding teams to just 170.6 yards per game. It's a unit that relies heavily on speed and having all 11 players fly to the football."We're obviously coming into this week with a lot of momentum after winning four straight games, but make no mistake about it, we know the challenge that we have in front of us this week in Blue Mountain," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "We know we have to match Blue Mountain's physicality, especially on its defensive front, and I think our kids are up to that challenge. We had a lot of inexperienced kids that I think now have gained some confidence and that are getting better every week."The Olympians will have their work cut out Friday night trying to keep the Blue Mountain duo of Erech Noecker (DT) and Connor Kerstetter (LB) out of their backfield.Noecker (24 tackles) was the Anthracite Football League Defensive Lineman of the Year a season ago, while Kerstetter (32 tackles) is taking his talents to Lafayette next season. The two anchor a defense that is big, physical and fast.Aside from a 28-point game from Wyomissing, the Eagles' defense is yielding just 10.25 points per game. They held a tough running Tamaqua team last week to just seven rushing yards.For the Olympians to succeed, they must keep their rushers away from Noecker and the interior of the Eagles defense. Jim Thorpe's ultimate weapon against the Blue Mountain 3-3-5 stack will be Justin St. Hill, who currently ranks third in the Times News area with 500 yards rushing. He is also tied for second in the Times News area in touchdowns with 10.St. Hill will need to have a big game Friday night to combat the physical Eagles "D.""Justin is a special athlete that has outstanding vision, and he can regularly turn five-yard runs into 15 or 20-yard runs with his cutting ability," said Rosenberger. "I think Justin is one of many players we have at the skill positions that can make an impact, and they will have to do just that come Friday night. It's also our job to come up with a scheme to put our guys in position to be successful against Blue Mountain's tough front. I think we're all excited for the challenge."It's not a definite, but Blue Mountain looks to be going into its game with the Olympians without its senior starting quarterback, Mason Freed, who has been suspended the last two weeks for undisclosed reasons.David Krewson will be at the helm without Freed. Last week, Krewson threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns in Blue Mountain's impressive 29-7 SLF victory over Tamaqua. If Blue Mountain cannot get the passing game going, it will turn to its rushing attack, which is averaging a healthy 228.2 yards per game"We just have to make sure our effort and discipline continues, and it's even multiplied this week," said Rosenberger. "Our team has built a confidence and a swagger that is helping us win games. Continuing to play like that and working hard will give us a great chance to win each week when we take the field."