A year ago, Northwestern and North Schuylkill played for the Eastern Conference Championship, with the Tigers picking up the trophy and a 19-18 win. This season, the two teams meet again, but this time the trophy up for grabs is the District 11 Championship, something that both teams have had their eye since the end of last year's meeting between the two teams.

"It was a good match-up last year and it's going to be a good match-up this year," predicted North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall. "The kids on both sides have matured, gotten faster, gotten bigger and obviously, both teams have been better than they were last year, so it's going to be a battle."Both teams returned a number of players from last year's squad, so the memories of last year's game are still pretty vivid for both teams. While both schools are focused on the district championship, North Schuylkill (11-0) would like to gain a little revenge to go along with the shiny district trophy and the trip to states that comes with it."Our kids remember that game last year and remember how it felt to have that long ride back after losing that game and I think that gives them a little extra incentive," admitted Hall. "The bigger picture though is that all season, we've had a goal of winning districts and playing in states and that's what we're focused on. It just so happens that we're playing Northwestern."While the Spartans remember the feeling of that long bus ride, the Tigers remember how good it felt to have won the Eastern Conference last season. Like North Schuylkill though, they're focused on a bigger prize this season and have had the same goal of winning districts. With that in mind, Northwestern (10-1) continues to look at the season as just one game at a time, knowing that it could all lead up to a district title."We were both kind of young teams last year. They're a good team and have some really good athletes and they proved that last year in the Eastern Conference," remembers senior Cam Richardson. "They came down here last year and we're going up there this year. It's going to be fun and I know both teams are going to be pretty excited."Northwestern coach Josh Snyder has stressed to his team that they need to focus on just one game at a time and if they do that, good things would happen."We're taking it like any other game, just a lot more on the line, but they really play loose," said Snyder of his team."Even when we play a little sloppy, they're always in control, they never press and someone's going to make a play eventually and they always pull through, so I'm proud of them."The two teams are very close statistically, with the Tigers having outscored their opponents 459-132 this season, while the Spartans of North Schuylkill have outscored their opponents 460-100. Teams don't get too much closer than that.Snyder finds himself coaching a team that is breaking a lot of school records that were set by teams that he played on when he attended Northwestern. The 459 points scored by Northwestern this season are the most ever and senior Cam Richardson has become the first player in school history to pick up 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in his career.In addition to his career numbers, Richardson has set single-season records for receptions (39) and yards receiving (651) and just for good measure, has also thrown for a touchdown and returned a kick-off for a touchdown this season. Meanwhile, teammate Harry Hall has surpassed the 1,500 yard mark for the second straight season. Add to that a defense, which has scored eight defensive touchdowns and you've got some staggering numbers."I was telling my Dad, 'we don't have many records left,'" joked Snyder. "Actually, you know what? I hope they break them all. They're a good group of kids and they deserve it, because they've worked hard. They're pretty level headed and never get too high or too low and that's part of what has made them successful, just staying consistent."Snyder didn't realize it after last year's Eastern Conference playoffs, but as the season has progressed, he's realized that it makes perfect sense for the two teams to meet for this season's district title, since they both returned a number of players on both sides of the ball. Last year, the Spartans had to travel and this season, it's the Tigers making the long trek to Ashland to play North Schuylkill, which makes things just a little tougher for Northwestern."I guess we've been on a collision course this season," said Snyder about the two teams. "We've had higher expectations this season and so have they, so it makes sense for us to be playing each other."