The Northwestern Tigers are entering into uncharted territory as they prepare for their first state playoff game since 2002.

With that challenge comes facing new teams that you're not familiar with and having to take long bus rides to get to where you need to be. That's the case this week as Northwestern travels to Peckville Friday night to face the Dunmore Bucks (11-1) out of District 2."They're very well coached and they're sound fundamentally and they're big all the way across the front line and have two running backs over 1,000 yards. They're just very big, very physical and they don't really throw the ball all that much; a couple times a game is about it. Definitely a tough team, they didn't get there by accident, they're tough and fundamentally sound," said Northwestern coach Josh Snyder about this week's opponent.The two teams really have very different styles and are very different programs. While Snyder is just in his third season as Tigers' head coach with a total of 21 wins under his belt, Dunmore's Jack Henzes is in his 44th season with Dunmore and his 393 wins rank him second all-time among high school coaches in Pennsylvania. The teams also differ in that the Tigers like to mix up their offense and have varied offensive weapons, while the Bucks prefer to simply run the ball, throwing just a couple times per game. Running backs Sal Marchese and Colin Holmes have each crossed the 1,000 yard mark this season in rushing."We're not a very fancy team, we prefer to just go right at people and we rely on our offensive line to clear some holes and get our backs some room. We just stress that everybody has a job and we expect them to get that job done; it's an approach that's worked for us," said Henzes.The key for the Tigers (11-1) is obviously shutting down that rushing attack or at least containing it as much as possible. Northwestern has been able to stop some pretty tough running backs all season long and have allowed just 124 rushing yards per game this season."Our big guys in the middle, just like they've been doing all year, are going to have to come up big for us again. It's a little bit of a different team than what we've had to face in the Colonial League, being that they're just going to run right at us, so that's a bit of a challenge," explained Snyder.One place where the teams are similar is that they both have a strong defense. Dunmore has allowed an average of just 13 points per game this season and in their district championship game against Northwest, held the Rangers to just 17 yards rushing on 24 carries."Our guys like to play defense. They like to hit, they're big and they kind of bottle things up. We stress every part of the game and don't want to be known as either an offensive or defensive team," said Henzes.Northwestern is no slouch defensively and they've also allowed just 13 points per game, with a defense that is surprisingly young, with just five of the starters being seniors."We all just play as a unit and nobody looks to be the standout guy. We take pride in having such a strong defense and I think it's because we just focus on doing our job," said junior Teagen Golden, who leads the team in tackles (114) this season."We obviously have a very strong senior class, but we also have a mix of the younger guys, in particular, the junior class. We have six guys that are starting as underclassmen and making big plays and some of them started when they were freshmen and sophomores, so they're seasoned younger guys who are used to being in there and they're used to making plays and they're all close with the seniors and you kind of forget that they're underclassmen, but the luxury of having them for another year is going to be great," said Snyder.Not being afraid to play young players is part of what has helped the program to develop under Snyder. The team that went 3-7 in his first season was made up primarily of starters who were freshmen and sophomores and are now seniors and juniors who are making big plays for the team."I made that really clear as soon as I took over. For me, personally, if you're an underclassman and you're just as good as the upperclassman, I'll typically play the younger kid, just because you have him around for another year and it develops leadership," explained Snyder.Snyder, who mentioned players like Tyler Foster and Trevor Cunningham, who he believes could be starting on a lot of other teams and who have both seen playing time in certain spots during the season. Northwestern also filled a big hole when lineman Chris Trumbauer went down with a concussion earlier in the season and Brandon Schrader filled in well for him on defense.There's no doubt that Dunmore, riding an 11-game winning streak, will be the toughest team of the season for Northwestern, but then again, when you enter uncharted territory, you're bound to face some pretty tough obstacles.