The Times News coverage area features one double local contest in Week 3. Panther Valley will look to rebound after a non-league loss at Hamburg, while Jim Thorpe will look to keep momentum on its side following a victory against Marian.

Bangorat Northern LehighFriday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:COINCIDENCE? ... Bangor has given up 49 points in back-to-back games. The Slaters suffered a 49-21 loss to Saucon Valley to open the season, and were routed 49-15 by Notre Dame Green Pond this past Friday. Bangor gave up 256 yards (238 rushing, 18 passing) to Saucon Valley before surrendering 348 yards (262 rushing, 86 passing) to Notre Dame Green Pond. Despite giving up more yards to the Crusaders, the Slaters trailed only 13-9 at halftime after facing a 49-0 deficit at the intermission against the Panthers. "The Saucon game got away from them early with big plays, but they gave Notre Dame everything they could handle," Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout said of Bangor's first two opponents. "That game was close into the fourth quarter. Bangor has good team size. I think this is a good match up for us this week. We have been struggling with the speed that we saw the last two weeks. Bangor is a bigger team that wants to go power I and run the ball. They are big up front defensively, so we need to stay on blocks and make sure we get push up front."CHUNKS OF YARDS ... Despite carrying the ball just seven times, Northern Lehigh's Tekoah Guedes led the Times News coverage area with 154 yards on the ground last week. He had massive scoring rushes of 36 and 60 yards. The quarterback's 60-yard rushing score was the longest Bulldogs' scoring scamper since Sept. 18, 2015 when Taz McNair ran for a 66-yard touchdown against Wilson.SERIES LEAD ... Since 2006, the Bulldogs own a 6-2 record against the Slaters. The last battle between both teams was in 2013, when Bangor topped Northern Lehigh, 46-18.COSTLY TURNOVERS ... Bangor threw two interceptions and lost a pair of fumbles during last week's loss to Notre Dame. On the other and, Northern Lehigh lost three fumbles and also threw an interception. Keeping possession could be critical in this one. "Defensively, I believe we have to play with more confidence," noted the Bulldogs' coach. "We had players who were backing up too much in the passing game and gave too big of cushions. Offensively, we are entirely too undisciplined right now. We had three second-half fumbles (one of which was a drive that would have given the Bulldogs the opportunity to go up by two scores late in the third quarter). So our focus is on ball security and discipline."Northamptonat Pleasant Valley.Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:A TALE OF TWO GAMES ... In Saturday's 38-27 loss to Allentown Central Catholic, Pleasant Valley was outscored 21-7 in the second half after holding a 20-17 heading into the break. The sluggish finish against the Vikings came in stark contrast to the one the Bears put together in Week 1, when they outscored Nazareth 21-6 over the final two quarters to secure a 43-25 victory,UNEVEN ... Northampton has had trouble getting into a rhythm in losing its first two games of the season to East Stroudsburg North and Bethlehem Catholic, getting outscored 98-42. The Konkrete Kids put up a fight against the Timberwolves in a 48-42 loss in the season-opener, but were unable to find the end zone Friday, as Becahi cruised to a 50-0 win. The Golden Hawks racked up 422 yards of total offense; Northampton managed just 68 yards one week after amassing 405 yards (305 rushing) against ES North. "Northampton is a good team and they will be ready for us," said Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Versuk. "We just need to play for four quarters... we only played three-and-a-half last week and it cost us. We have been trying to take care of the many mistakes we made last Saturday night. There hasn't been time for excitement. For either the players or coaches. We both need to do a better job this week against a good Northampton team."BACK IT UP ... The Konkrete Kids got great production from Jared Stauffer (12 carries, 141 yards, one touchdown), Robert Ellersick (10 carries, 87 yards, one touchdown) and Colin Schucker (12 carries, 70 yards, two touchdowns) against the Timberwolves, as the trio combined for 298 yards rushing and four scores on 34 carries. The three weren't able to find similar success against the Golden Hawks, as Stauffer (seven carries, no yards), Ellersick (six carries, 12 yards) and Schucker (seven carries, -54 yards) combined for -42 yards on 20 carries.TURNAROUND ... After opening the past two seasons 0-3, Pleasant Valley has a chance to start the season 2-1 for the first time since 2013, a year the Bears finished 7-4. Pleasant Valley has gotten better play on both sides of the ball through the first two weeks of the season, scoring 70 points (35 ppg.) and allowing 63 (31.5 ppg.). In 2015, the Bears were outscored 97-34 in season-opening losses to Easton (43-13) and Bethlehem Catholic (54-21). The results weren't much better in 2014, as Pleasant Valley again dropped its first two games to Easton (49-14) and Becahi (40-38) by a combined score of 89-52.KEY TO SUCCESS ... Quarterback Brandon Keyes has added another dimension to the Pleasant Valley offense this season. Through two games, the junior has completed 24-of-43 passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception. In limited action over the first two weeks last season, Keyes completed 2-of-7 attempts for 25 yards and one interception with no touchdowns. Keyes has made good use of the Bears' many playmakers on offense, specifically wide receiver Justin Richardson and running back Mike Mitchell. Through two games, Richardson has 12 catches for 298 yards. Mitchell has done damage on the ground and in the receiving game, racking up 210 yards rushing on 36 carries while also hauling in eight passes for 136 yards.Panther Valleyat Jim ThorpeFriday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:BOUNCE BACK ... The Olympians bounced back against Marian last week after an opening week loss to Schuylkill Haven. The Olympians got their run game going with Justin St. Hill and first year-senior starter Brendan Carroll. St. Hill and Carroll were responsible for all of the Olympians scores last Friday night. "Our kids came to play on Friday night and that showed, especially up front," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "Brendan Carroll is getting more confident and that adds a weapon for us and Justin St. Hill ran the ball well for us. We made the plays you need to make to win the game, which is something you like to see early in the year."STEP BACK ... The Panthers got off to a screaming start against CMVT in Week 1. However, last week against Hamburg, penalties (12) and miscues on defense (surrendered four scores of 30-plus yards) resulted in a 34-14 loss to the Hawks."We preach to get better every week and we obviously did not do that a week ago," said Panther Valley head coach Matt Davis. "I think we did a good job of refocusing this week. We will definitely have to be disciplined against Jim Thorpe this week. We welcome the challenge of a team the caliber of Jim Thorpe and we look forward to playing them tough."INJURY BUG ... Jim Thorpe's Antonio Madera will miss some time with a shoulder injury. Madera is the quarterback of the Olympians' secondary and has been a starter since his freshman season. He also is a fixture in the Thorpe backfield.Marianat North SchuylkillFriday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:FINDING PLAYMAKERS ... The Marian Colts have had some trouble making the big play this season on the outside. Not one Marian receiver has more than 40 yards receiving on the year. However, the ground game could open up the pass attack with the return of running back Mike Neary. Neary was expected to be an explosive offensive weapon this season. The Colts could start to find their mojo on offense again with the combination of Neary and Seth Paluck. "We have some inexperience at those spots, but our kids have definitely been getting better and they've been real positive," said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. "I have confidence in our guys and they've really been working hard. The experience will come and we'll start making some plays."SPARTANS DEFENSE ... North Schuylkill is notorious for its hard hitting defense over the past decade. The Spartans' defense looks stout early this season, as it has shut out its first two opponents in Shenandoah Valley and Steelton-Highspire. North Schuylkill has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 75-0 so far this season.SLOW STARTS ... The Colts have had a tough time getting started in the first half this season. They have just three combined touchdowns in the first half, while the opposition has scored a combined 34 points. The flip side of that, however, is that Marian has been doing a better job in the second half on defense, allowing just 13 points the first two games.RUN HEAVY... North Schuylkill certainly hasn't been dependent on the passing game this season. In fact, the Spartans have attempted just four passes all season, which came against Steelton-Highspire a week ago. The Colts will be ready for a heavy dose of the run, as the Spartans rushed 47 times against the Rollers.Lehightonat Schuylkill Valley.Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:DROPPING THE BALL ... After getting out to a 14-0 lead last week against Schuylkill Haven, the Tribe had some miscues that led to a 27-20 defeat. The Tribe's defense allowed all of the Canes' 27 points in the second half, which gave Haven a big comeback victory. Lehighton is looking to learn from its mistakes in Week 3 against Schuylkill Valley. "I think some of our inexperience showed a little last week. Even the week prior, we didn't play a totally clean game, we just made some big plays to make up for our mistakes," said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. "We just have to be better this week and clean that stuff up. When we have a team on the ropes, we have to follow through and play consistent. That's our biggest challenge right now, is just staying consistent."TOUGH LOSS ... Schuylkill Valley's record could be deceiving, as it had a one-point loss to Pequea Valley in Week 1 and a last-second loss to Fleetwood by six. SV was stopped at the one-inch line, so the Panthers are surely hungry for a victory. The Tribe can't sleep on this Schuylkill Valley team, which will host Lehighton on Friday night. Schuylkill Valley did not trail in the Pequea Valley game until 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter and Fleetwood didn't get its first lead against the Panthers until 1:49 remaining in the game.AIR RAID ... Lehighton's junior signal caller Cody Scherer has been torching opposing defenses with his arm. In two games this season, Scherer is averaging 277.5 passing yards, with six touchdowns and just one interception. Gavin Zehner has been Scherer's top target with 13 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown.Palmertonat Saucon ValleyFriday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:BATTLE UP FRONT ... Size has been an issue for the Bombers this season as they are undersized on both the offensive and defensive line. This week will not get any easier, as Saucon Valley boasts quite possibly the biggest offensive and defensive line units in the Colonial League. The Bombers will surely need to mix it up on the offensive side of the ball to try and keep the Panthers off balance. "There's no doubt we're going to have to spread them out a little and make some plays on the offensive side of the football," said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. "We also have to play tougher this week, and our leaders need to make the type of mental and physical plays on the field for us that team leaders are expected to make. We had many opportunities to finish off drives last week or get big stops on defense, and we didn't make those plays. Hopefully, we're able to do that this week."BIG PLAY BACKS ... The tandem backfield of Nate Kehs and Zach Petiet will give Palmerton all it can handle running behind that big offensive line. Keh's leads the team with 248 yards rushing (12.4 yards-per-carry). Petiet has a solid 110 yards (12.2 yards-per-carry). As a team, the Panthers have been averaging 206 yards on the ground (7.9-yards-per-carry).SOLID QB PLAY ... The Bombers Garrett Perschy has been pretty consistent this season. His completion percentage of 67 percent with 260 yards through the air has been impressive. Perschy has learned how to play with defensive pressure in his face. His offensive mate from a season ago, Mike Stasko, has been noticeably hobbled by an ankle injury, but looks to be on the mend and is getting closer to 100 percent. With Stasko back healthy, the Bombers are looking like an offensive resurgence is on the horizon.Palisadesat NorthwesternFriday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:CLOSE CALLS... Northwestern has two wins in two weeks of high school football, but neither was easy. In Week 1, it was a 13-12 win over Palmerton, with the winning touchdown coming with about three minutes left in the game. They followed that up with a big defensive play to stop the Bombers from getting a last-minute touchdown. Things went a little better last week against Salisbury in a 19-5 win, but penalties and mistakes ruled the night for the Tigers, who trailed at halftime before scoring three times in the second half.OBSERVATIONS... Through the first two weeks, some things stood out. Northwestern has just six first-half points. They were shutout by Salisbury through the first 24 minutes last week. Also, the penalties are much higher than a Northwestern team usually generates. Last season, the Tigers drew 48 penalties for 484 yards. This season, they've already been penalized 12 times for 100 yards."We're making it difficult on ourselves. Coming out at the half and being down in two straight games and having to make adjustments, you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself at that point in time. A lot of it is self-inflicted, being undisciplined, jumping, getting penalties and making a couple mistakes on every play," said coach Josh Snyder.COMING HOME... This week, after playing their first two games of the season on the road, Northwestern returns to The Jungle. Palisades (1-1) comes to town after a win over Wilson last week. Snyder believes that Palisades will bring their usual brand of physical football with them, but he also knows that they have a number of young players in key positions. Snyder is more worried about fixing the issues with his team though than he is about any particular problems that the Pirates may present."At this stage in the game, rather than worrying about the difficulties that they present, we've got enough stuff of our own to straighten out to make sure that we're clicking on all cylinders," said Snyder. "We've yet to put a four-quarter game in the books, so we're working on just fine-tuning our own needs."GAINING EXPERIENCE... Snyder has a lot of young players on his roster, which has accounted for some of the early growing pains, but even so, Snyder isn't happy with how things have gone thus far."You look at the film Saturday morning, and we only ran 33 plays on offense all game. It's the things that we practice, working on hard counts and minding where our hand placement is and the bad snaps, are things that we rep and we go over and it's unfortunate that we have to go through these things," stressed Snyder.TOUGH GAMES ON THE HORIZON... The schedule gets tougher as the season progresses, which Snyder has preached that to his players."The better teams aren't going to let you come back," he said. "It's going to be too late by the time you settle in to come back."