The progression continues for Northwestern. Two years ago, in Josh Snyder's first year as the head coach, the Tigers finished a dismal 3-7. Last season, they turned that around to go 7-3 and won the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win over North Schuylkill. This season, Northwestern finished 9-1 to share the Colonial League Championship with both Southern Lehigh and Saucon Valley and put itself into the District 11 playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

To open districts, the Tigers take on league foe Palisades (7-3), who interestingly, was Northwestern's bye team this season. The two haven't played since the season opener in 2013 when the Pirates posted a 27-15 win."I think it's actually perfect the way it ended up," said Snyder. "They're a good football team and a good challenge. New opponents make for a different challenge and it should be a good game."Palisades had a shot at knocking Saucon Valley out of its bid to share the Colonial League championship last week, but after dodging a barrage of bullets in the first half, the Pirates were cut down sharply in the second and lost 38-14.The Pirates' ground game is led by senior running back Christian Gretzinger, while junior quarterback Austin Krauss is near the top of the league rankings in passing. Krauss' favorite target is fellow junior Blake Cassalia."They're a good team," said Snyder. "They like to run the ball and use that to set up their passing game. They've got Gretzinger at tailback and he's got a lot of talent, so you have to be careful against him. They can also throw the ball, so you can't just key on the run," said Snyder.Palisades can be tough defensively and have allowed an average of just under 17 points per game this season. In their last three games, though, against teams with a combined record of 11-19, the Pirates defense has given up 80 points, for an average of almost 27 points per game."Defensively, they've been running a 50 front and they can be tough, so they present some challenges and we're going to have to be ready and we certainly can't take them lightly," said Snyder.While the Pirates finished the season at 7-3, they were just 1-3 against teams with a record above .500 and their other six wins came against teams with a combined mark of 14-46. In their losses to teams above the .500 mark, they were outscored 71-35.One of the things that has helped Northwestern (9-1) to be successful this season has been its depth. While the Tigers have generally avoided injury, they have relied heavily on guys who aren't exactly household names."Every good team is going to have their high-profile kids who get the attention, but they're also going to have the kids who just do their job week-after-week," said Snyder, who puts juniors Teagen Golden and Dylan Snyder into that category."Teagen is a high-energy kid. Whether he's right or wrong, he goes 100 miles per hour," laughed Snyder. "He's an undersized linebacker, but every week when we look back at the film, he's there making plays."Dylan would be getting glory as a starting running back on most other teams, but he's a fullback for us. He's the kind of kid that's always got that 'whatever you need, coach' kind of attitude."The winner of the game will take on the winner of the North Schuylkill and Palmerton game for the District 11 Class AA championship. North Schuylkill is the top seed in the bracket. The Tigers haven't won a District 11 title since 1997.