GREEN POND - Northern Lehigh brought its best defensive effort of the season to Green Pond Friday night. But it wasn't enough to stop the Crusaders.

The Bulldogs made the most of some opportunities in the game, but Notre Dame made more big plays in a 35-14 Colonial League win."I thought we came out strong," said Notre Dame head coach Phil Stambaugh. "Our defense got challenged a little bit. That's a team that is going to control the ball. Our possessions were limited in the first half. I think we ran 20 plays."While the Bulldogs used long drives and chewed time off the clock, the Crusaders used big plays to score quickly.Notre Dame (2-2) grabbed a lead 49 seconds into the game on Josh Clark's 50-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Cole Defranco.Northern Lehigh evened the score after Zach Moyer picked off a DeFranco pass. Two plays later Gage Hunsicker plunged in from a yard out to make it 7-7.The Crusaders answered with a two-play touchdown drive as Gerald Grube broke a 66-yard run to pay dirt for a 14-7 lead with 6:53 left in the first quarter.The Bulldogs responded with a 17-play drive that chewed over eight minutes off the clock. Justin Paul ran in from a yard out to cap the drive and tie the game early in the second quarter.Notre Dame went back in front late in the first half on an eight-play drive that featured two DeFranco runs and four completions, including a touchdown strike to Danny O'Hare for a 21-14 lead with 24 seconds left in the first half."Their quarterback is the kid," said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. "He makes plays."I was happy with our pressure, but we'd have things covered and he would scramble."The Crusaders put the game away in the third quarter with touchdowns on their first two drives. One came on a DeFranco pass and the other on an 11-yard scamper by the junior quarterback.Both scores followed three-and-outs by the Bulldog offense.DeFranco completed 11-of-24 passes for 155 yards while running for another 53 yards to lead his team to just its second victory of the season.Grube ran for 159 yards on just nine carries.Notre Dame had a difficult early schedule and lost by one-score margins to Palisades (22-17) and Southern Lehigh (29-28).Northern Lehigh (0-4) is still searching for its first win, but Tout believes the team is headed in the right direction."We got better," said Tout. "At times tonight we did some really nice things. The effort was there. It's a good group of kids. Something's going to break our way soon."DEFENSIVE MEASURES ... After allowing 409.3 yards per game in their first three outings, Northern Lehigh's defense held a potent Notre Dame offense to 366 yards Friday night.DYNAMITE DEBUT ... Junior Drew Sofranko got his first start on Northern Lehigh's defensive line Friday night and came up with a pair of sacks that led to a Notre Dame turnover on downs.INJURY REPORT ... The Bulldogs, who suited up just 31 players against Notre Dame, lost a couple starters during the contest when Hunsicker and Paul suffered first-half injuries. "Losing those two hurts. That's four positions: flanker, fullback, corner, [middle linebacker]."