Sequels rarely live up to the original.

That may not be the case, however, on Friday night in Ashland.

While Jim Thorpe (9-1) and North Schuylkill (9-1) hooked up in a defensive and hard-fought contest back in Week 6, the rematch figures to be as entertaining, if not better, than the 8-6 victory the Spartans claimed on Sept. 28.

For starters, a trip to the District 11 Class 3A championship is on the line when the Schuylkill League Division 1 rivals meet in the semifinals. Also, both teams have improved since their regular-season matchup five weeks ago.

“We have the goal of being in a district championship game and in order to get to that point, we obviously have to play North Schuylkill,” said Olympians head coach Mark Rosenberger. “So, we’re excited about the opportunity of getting to play them again. It was a great game the first time around, and unfortunately, they made one more play than we did and they won the football game.

“They’re a great football team, and it’s going to be a great game Friday night ... We have a tremendous amount of respect for North Schuylkill and the players they have.”

The top-seeded Spartans feature all-everything Jaden Leiby, who is a threat to run and throw. The junior quarterback has picked up 1,537 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, while throwing for 714 yards and seven scores.

Senior Mitch Wagner (617 yards) also garners attention in the North Schuylkill backfield. The senior accounted for his team’s only score against Thorpe in the first contest when he broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run. Zack Chowansky (564) has reached the end zone seven times, while Tyler Elsdon, a 6-3, 215-pounder known best for his stellar play on defense (93 tackles), has been given the ball more recently and has responded. He ran for over 100 yards in last Friday’s win over Pottsville.

“Obviously, their quarterback gets a lot of the big plays for them,” said Rosenberger. “Wagner had the big run against us here the first time around. They have some physical-style runners in the two fullbacks. They’ve changed a little bit of their offense to some I-backfield, so we’re expecting to see physical, tough downhill running.

“Our defense is excited about the challenge ... This is hard-nosed Coal Region football at its finest with two teams that love to run —and will pass when you have to. But the bottom line is it’s about the running game this week.”

Thorpe, the No. 4 seed, has also made some changes in its running game, utilizing the speed and power of Derrick Beckham more often the past few weeks.

Primarily running a speed sweep, Beckham has collected 76 and 93 yards in back-to-back games.

His added involvement, combined with the power running of CJ Selby (1,261 yards) and the finesse and speed of both Jarrin Geisinger and quarterback Roberto Santiago, gives the Olympians an offense that’s hard to stop.

“(Using Beckham has) been able to get one more athlete involved in our offense,” said Rosenberger. “It continues to diversify what we do. He’s a very physical runner with nice speed as well. He has that one-cut vision. When he runs downhill, he’s very physical and aggressive with his running style. I think the more athletes we get involved in our offense, the better off we’ll be.”

While both teams look to do most of their damage on the ground, the importance of winning the line of scrimmage figures to be magnified.

The unsung hero for Thorpe this season has undoubtedly been its offensive line. The play of Brandon Becker at center, Ethan Mordaunt and Nick Trovarello at guard, Billy Munson, AJ Bailor and Cobe Frycklund at tackle, and Kendall Herron and Dylan Dailey at tight end, has helped the team produce an average of 289 rushing yards per game.

“I think in eight of the 10 games, our line controlled the line of scrimmage,” said Rosenberger. “The two we struggled in were Pottsville a little bit, and North Schuylkill. In order for us to be successful, we have to do a better job upfront against North Schuylkill this week.

“When you sign up for the letter G, T or C, you understand you’re not going to get much limelight or credit. But as far as we’re concerned, they’re the MVPs of our team ... The team that can control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, I think, will be the team that will moves on into the district championship.”

The winner of Friday’s showdown will face the survivor of Tamaqua and Notre Dame.

“I think the way we lost (to North Schuylkill this season), our players learned a lot from that,” said Rosenberger. “They learned how important every single play is ... We preach every single play that can make the difference in a game. I think our players realize that, and hopefully we make that one extra play this week.”