PEN ARGYL - Physical.

Ask an opposing coach in the Colonial League about Northern Lehigh football, and that word is sure to come up somewhere in the conversation.On Saturday, after the Bulldogs battled through heat and humidity to gain a 21-14 win over host Pen Argyl, it didn't take long for Green Knight head coach Paul Reduzzi to bring up the subject."It's a tremendous program that has tremendous coaching and tough kids," said Reduzzi. "Being physical doesn't change with their program. It didn't change last year, no matter what their record was (2-8). They didn't stop being physical. We expected it ... When it's Northern Lehigh and Pen Argyl, whoever runs the football better and whoever tackles better is going to win. Today it was their guys."The Bulldogs' physical play, especially in the trenches, was never more apparent than in the second half of their season opener.Tied at 14-14 to start the third quarter, Nolehi's offensive line keyed an early drive to give their team the lead. After that, it was the defensive line that came up big. Faced with first-and-goal on two seperate occasions, the Bulldogs held both times to preserve the victory."Our offensive line made some mistakes and had some missed assignments but overall I like the physicality of our team," said Bulldog mentor Joe Tout. "Our offensive line and defensive lines were a strength today. (On those goal-line stands) it wasn't one play, it was our interior ... I think it said something about our kids will to win."Actually, Tout's squad and lineplay displayed that will right before halftime. Trailing in the contest, Northern Lehigh reeled off a seven-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown run by Chad Cederberg that tied the score. All seven plays came on the ground with five of them gaining five yards or more.That glimpse of domination upfront made it easy for Tout to go for a fourth-and-three at midfield during the Bulldogs' first drive of the second half."We felt at haltime that our kids were pretty good upfront," said Tout. "We were getting a push and had confidence ... As a coach it was fun to watch them collapse that side, get the push and then break that one."Nate Farber's 38-yard pickup on the play put the ball in the red zone and three plays later, Northern Lehigh had its first lead. The go-ahead score came when Farber ran for three yards but fumbled into the end zone.Teammate Austin Lancsak was Johnny on the spot as he recovered the loose ball for a touchdown and a 21-14 advantage with 6:20 left in the third quarter.That margin seemed shortlived, though, when the Knights responded with a lengthy drive that extended into the final frame. With quarterback Logan Ruppert engineering the drive, Pen Argyl eventually moved to a first-and-goal on a Bulldog penalty.While Northern Lehigh held on fourth-and two and took over on downs, Tout's starting QB and tailback were on the sidelines with leg cramps. Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs went three-and-out and gave the ball right back to the Knights.Ruppert again moved his team into scoring position with a first-and-goal at the 4. But two plays netted two yards, freshman Mason Seiler knocked down a pass on third down, and Ruppert's throw on fourth was high."They were plugging away at us," said Bulldog junior lineman Cameron Kates. "We were tired, they were tired but we fought through it and stood up to them. We didn't break ... We played through adversity."With Farber (22 carries, 115 yards) and Cederberg healthy enough to play again, the Bulldogs collected four first downs to run out the final 4:51 and claim the win."That's our offensive line and our backs," said Tout. "Our offensive line did a great job of getting a push and there weren't a lot of times on that last drive where the first man tackled our ballcarrier ... We have tough kids in our program and the end there it showed."Cederberg, who picked up one of the first downs on a busted play, also threw a 23-yard TD pass to Ryan Rubio in the first half for the Bulldogs' first score of the season."We just did what we could to get through this game," said Tout about the numerous players affected by the heat. "Our athletic trainer (Jon Swartz) was huge today. Both teams were affected by it. Our kids just wanted to win this game."