Lehighton and Panther Valley's Thursday night showdown will mark Week 5's only Times News double local contest.

Lehighton at Panther ValleyThursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:AIR IT OUT... Lehighton quarterback Cody Scherer has thrown the ball 40 more times than anyone else in the TN area. The Tribe also features the leading ball-carrier (Mike Mayernik) and the TN leader in receptions (Gavin Zehner). "They're a program that's brainwashed that they can win every game," said Panther Valley head coach Matt Davis. "They know how to finish, which is something that's going to be hard. We're going to have to battle them for four quarters. They have great skill players. Scherer and Mayernik are one of the best combos in the area."I CHALLENGE YOU… Tamaqua toppled Panther Valley last week, 59-6. The Panther Valley coach had a strong message for his team this week. "We moved on to Lehighton and we challenged our kids to see what kind of hearts they have," said Davis. "Last week we didn't play with heart and that was frustrating as a program. We thought we were beyond that. We're telling them to go out there and we need 11 guys on the field that are going to fight every down. We challenged them this week to step up. "COMEBACK KIDS… Through four weeks, Lehighton has scored 54 points across the first two quarters. The Indians have scored 48 points in the fourth quarter alone. "Our kids showed great resiliency in coming back from a two-touchdown deficit," said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. "We do not change much to prepare for this game. We feel Panther Valley is better than their record and scores might indicate. They are well coached and have some explosive athletes. If they eliminate self-inflicted wounds, they can compete with most teams in this league. We have impressed this on our players all week."UNDER THE HELMET… Thursday will be the fourth annual Bo Tkach Foundation "Under the Helmet Football Classic." This game was established after the loss of community members and students through mental health and drug/alcohol issues that occurred during instances within both school districts. Both schools joined to promote awareness of these issues. This game is played annually between both Lehighton and Panther Valley to celebrate the power of athletics in honor of healing families and to promote good health.Pleasant Vy. at PM WestSaturday, Sept. 24 at noonHere's what you need to know:NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM... Pleasant Valley erupted for 30 second-quarter points during last week's lopsided victory over Allen, 59-14. However, last year was a different story for the Bears. The second quarter was the only period that Pleasant Valley was outscored by its opponents in 2015.FROM ROLE, TO ROLLING... Senior Mike Mitchell has become one of the most dangerous scoring threats in the TN coverage area. He touched the ball just a total of 19 times on offense last year and compiled 240 total yards. This year, he's an integral part of the Bears' attack, posting 645 yards from scrimmage and 10 scores through just four weeks.IT'S BEEN A WHILE... Pocono Mountain West hasn't played a game at its school in 14 years. West's field, which doesn't have lights, will play Saturday afternoon home games this season."We've got to be ready for Saturday because they're going to be ready to go," said Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Versuk. "It's going to be a special day for them. Coach (Jim) McCarroll and his team finally don't have to get on a bus and drive to (Pocono Mountain) East. They can stay at their own stadium and play in front of their fans, at home, and they're going to be ready to go. So we've got to match their intensity right away."NEED SOME STOPS... PMW (0-4) has been outscored by its opponents by a 219-72 margin over the first four weeks."They have a bunch of good athletes and they have some nice size," Versuk said of PM West. "They've gotten up on teams. Almost every team they've played they've been in the game for. They gave Stroudsburg a battle to the end (before falling 28-24); they led ACC (before losing 70-27). They've been in games they just haven't been able to finish. That's something we have to make sure we're aware of and our kids are aware of, that this is a team that's very dangerous, that has a lot of weapons and is going to be ready to go. We just have to make sure we hold on to the ball, win the turnover battle and play for four quarters. If we do that, we'll see what happens."OVER THE LAST DECADE... Pleasant Valley owns a 7-5 advantage over West. The Bears have won the past four meetings, outscoring the Panthers by a 178-36 margin.Northern Lehigh at WilsonSaturday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m.Here's what you need to know:RECENT SUCCESS... Northern Lehigh (1-3) is 7-4 against Wilson (0-4) since 2004, which includes four-straight victories over the Indians.IMPROVING OFFENSIVELY... The Bulldogs scored only 32 total points across the final three games of the 2015 season. However, NL has scored 91 points over it's last three games."We felt we got better as a team last week," said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. "We did a better job of ball security and that kept them in the game. We did a good job limiting big plays. It took us a little time to adjust to their speed. I thought we threw the ball well, but we missed opportunities. We ran a fake screen and missed a vertical route on that pass. That would have either scored or give us the ball inside the twenty in the first half. So, we need to take advantage of opportunities."NEW IN TOWN... Most of the Bulldogs' offense will run though quarterback Tekoah Guedes, who has amassed 557 yards of total offense, while averaging six YPC on the ground.A HARD JOB... One of NL's areas of concern is containing Wilson tailback, Job Goodman. "They will not run a ton of plays offensively, but what they run, they run well," explained Tout. "They run Power-Iso and Veer with success. So, again,we will key on No. 25 (Goodman). He did not play last week, but I'm sure he will be back for us. If we can slow him down, we will have an opportunity to win."Jim Thorpe at Shenandoah Vy.Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:GOING FOR FOUR... After a 31-14 opening week loss to Schuylkill Haven (4-0), the Olympians have been getting better every week, winning their last three ballgames. The difference has been up front as they've been getting that all important push in the trenches. Since week one, the Olympians have been averaging 264 yards rushing per game. The Thorpe defense has also been much better since its week one performance, allowing just 162 total yards per game."I think it comes down to experience," said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. "Our kids are simply gaining experience and getting better and working harder at practice. We started this year with seven or eight new starters on defense, so it's taken some time, but we've been playing real solid football lately. We just have to continue progressing as the season moves forward."DUAL THREAT... Shenandoah quarterback Noah Allegretta has been the bright spot for the Blue Devils this season. Whenever they've had any success on offense, Allegretta has been the man behind it. Last week against Canton, Allegretta was responsible for 164 yards through the air and 100 yards on the ground. Keying on him will be the main objective for the "Red Swarm" defense come Friday night."Shenandoah can really break off some big plays in the passing game, so our secondary will certainly be tested," said Rosenberger. "We have to come out and play our game and do a good job of keeping the ball in front of us and not give up the big play."DEFENSIVE STRUGGLE... The Blue Devils have had a tough time keeping the opposition out of the end zone this season, giving up 46 points per game. The Olympians, which have scored over 30 points in their last two games will certainly be looking to improve on their 27 points per game average on the year.Schuylkill Haven at MarianFriday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:RUNNING WITH THE BIG DOGS... Schuylkill Haven hasn't been afraid to take on the bigger schools from Division 1 of the Schuylkill Football League this season. The Hurricanes have defeated Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Tamaqua and North Schuylkill, going 4-0 against big school competition.RUSHING ISSUES... The Colts turned in one of their best offensive games of the season last week in a 27-26 loss to Lehighton. Marian quarterback Ethan Kuczynski threw for just under 200 yards on the night and two scores. However, when it comes to running the football this season the Colts have struggled, They're averaging just 104 yards on the ground per game and 3.06 yards per carry."If we're going to compete against a really good Schuylkill Haven team, we're going to have to run the football more consistently," said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. "We have to do a better job up front to set up our passing game with our rushing attack. I think we gained some confidence last week offensively, we just have to now carry that over into the running game."THREE-HEADED MONSTER... The "Hurricane Express" has been motoring through opposing defenses this season. Schuylkill Haven is averaging 271 yards rushing per game with quarterback Danny Lozada (289 yards rushing), running back Mike Kalyan (345 yards rushing), and do everything back Preston Gehring (357 yards rushing) forming a dangerous three-man attack. The Colts were strong against the run in the first half against Lehighton, but wore down a bit in the second half, which helped the Indians earn the "W." The Colts are giving up 156 yards rushing per game this season.Bangor at PalmertonFriday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:ON THE BOARD... After starting the season with three straight losses, Palmerton was able to thwart a tough running Pen Argyl team last week. Physicality up front and mistakes on both offense and defense have been the issue for the Bombers this season, but against the Green Knights improvements in all facets of the game were able to get them their first victory."I was really proud of how our kids played last week and I think mentally our preparedness and our focus was much better heading into the game," said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. "We played solid assignment football, we were in position to make plays and then we executed. We need to continue to bring that same mentality to the field each and every week."OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION... After struggling offensively the last three weeks, the Bombers exploded for 396 yards of total offense. Palmerton senior signal caller Garrett Perschy was 15-of-20 for 259 yards and four touchdowns and his counterpart, senior running back Mike Stasko, came through with five touchdowns on the day. It was just what the doctor ordered for a Palmerton team that is looking to get on a winning streak.STUFFING THE RUN... Palmerton was able to hold Pen Argyl to just 96 yards on the ground. The Green Knights the week prior ran all over Catasauqua, rushing for over 400 yards. This week, The Bombers will need to once again be tough in the trenches. According to its previous four contests, Bangor will look to run the football almost 80 percent of the time, so stopping the run will be paramount if Palmerton wants to earn its second win of the season.Northwestern at Pen ArgylSaturday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m.Here's what you need to know:HE DID IT AGAIN... Yeah, another week, another record for freshman quarterback Deven Bollinger. After putting himself into first and third place in the single-game passing chart in games earlier this season, Bollinger now is tied for the school record of four touchdown passes in a game, previously held solo by Frank Dangello from 2014.HAVE THEY STOPPED GAINING YARDS YET?... Pen Argyl's defense had a tough outing last week against Palmerton, who picked up 399 yards of total offense and downed Pen Argyl 40-6. They allowed quarterback Garrett Pershy to have a career-day, throwing four touchdowns on 257 yards passing. They also gave up touchdowns on the ground, in the air and on a kick-off return, with running back Mike Stasko accomplishing all three just by himself.TIGERS AND KNIGHTS AND SNAKES, OH MY!... Pen Argyl and Northwestern probably have the two best views of any football fields in the Lehigh Valley, let alone the Colonial League. Pen Argyl's stadium is known for a press box perched high above the field reachable by an access road that provides quite a walk. It's also known for the hill full of weeds in front of the press box. When Northwestern played there two years ago, a Pen Argyl representative said that nobody wanted to cut that grass, because there were rumors of Copperhead snakes living in there.THREE IN A ROW... Northwestern has pretty much manhandled the Green Knights in each of the past two seasons, beating them twice by a combined score of 82-6. In 2013, it was Pen Argyl picking up the win over Northwestern 28-16 at Tiger Stadium.BEST OF THE BEST... There are two 4-0 teams (Notre Dame and Saucon Valley) and two 3-1 teams (Northwestern and Southern Lehigh) in the Colonial League. Notre Dame and Saucon Valley are atop the East Division, while Northwestern and Southern Lehigh are ruling the West. The Tigers play Saucon Valley next week at home and then host Southern Lehigh on October 14th. The Crusaders and Tigers don't play each other this season.