After a big win over Southern Lehigh, Northwestern will look to stay in the Colonial League title hunt with a win over Saucon Valley Friday.

Elsewhere, Tamaqua will try to snap a two-game losing streak when it travels to Lehighton, while Panther Valley will try to pick up its third straight win when it hosts Mahanoy.

Saucon Valley at

Northwestern

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

PANTHERS AND TIGERS.

.. Saucon Valley and Northwestern have had some epic battles the past few seasons. The Panthers are perennial favorites to reach the District 11 championship game and have done so in each of the last five seasons, first in the 3A classification and now in 4A. Last season, Saucon Valley beat Northwestern in the semifinals, ending the Tigers run toward states.

“We’ve had some great games with Saucon Valley over the last four or five years, and we’ve won some that maybe we shouldn’t have and we’ve lost a couple that we shouldn’t have, against them,” said Northwestern coach Josh Snyder.

PANTHERS AND SPARTANS

... Saucon Valley presents many of the same challenges that last week’s opponent, Southern Lehigh did. Both teams like to grind out yards and can get into a very methodical type of game on offense. Northwestern’s defense came up with a couple of key stops against the Spartans, including an interception by Dom Harding that stopped a Southern Lehigh drive and led to Northwestern reaching the end zone on the ensuing drive.

“I think we have to come out and get a couple of quick stops on them and make a play here and there like we did last week. That sort of takes them out of their game plan, and gets them on their heels a little bit, and will be a big part of the game for us,” said Snyder.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

... When the Colonial League decides who the league’s football champion is, they only look at won-loss record, and don’t take head-to-head results into consideration. With that in mind, Southern Lehigh and Northwestern each have one loss, while Saucon Valley and Notre Dame – Green Pond have two. If both Southern Lehigh and Northwestern win out, they would be declared co-champions, although Northwestern beat the Spartans last week. A loss to Saucon Valley, and a loss by Southern Lehigh, could conceivably lead to four teams sharing the league title.

PLAYING A LITTLE “D”

... Nick Henry is known for his offensive prowess at running the ball. Last week against Southern Lehigh though, it was his defense that turned the tide. Henry came up with nine tackles, including a key stop on a two-point conversion attempt by the Spartans that preserved the 36-34 win for the Tigers. Derek Hebelka, who plays center on offense, came up with 13 tackles in the two-point win over the Spartans.

WHO TO STOP

... Northwestern will look to slow down senior Braydyn Lugardo, who ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns against Wilson last week. Sophomore Damian Garcia also added 78 yards of rushing for Saucon Valley in that game. While the Panthers run-first, sophomore quarterback Dante Mahaffey has thrown for six touchdowns this season and just under 400 yards, Snyder pointed out that he can be effective if he gets time to throw the ball.

Tamaqua at Lehighton

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

MOVING UP

... With Bangor’s 36-0 loss to Palisades last week, Lehighton moved up from the No. 9 spot to eighth in the District 11 Class 4A standings. The top eight teams in Class 4A qualify for districts.

SKIDDING

... After last week’s 27-18 loss to North Schuylkill, Tamaqua has now suffered consecutive losses for the first time since dropping four straight in Weeks 6-9 during the 2017 season.

“We had two tough losses against two quality teams,” Raiders coach Sam Bonner said of his team’s setbacks against the Spartans and Pottsville. “I thought our play improved from the Pottsville game to the North Schuylkill game. I thought we had opportunities. I think we held the lead for most of the first half. We gave up some big plays going into the half, and a big play after half. But I thought our kids played a tough, hard-nosed game against a really good team. We felt like we improved, so obviously we’re looking to do the same thing this week, and bounce back and try to get a victory at Lehighton.”

SLIGHT EDGE

... Lehighton holds a 3-2 advantage over Tamaqua in head-to-head meetings during the last five seasons. The Raiders won last year’s contest, 49-13. The winning teams have scored at least 40 points in each game.

“They have some athletes,” said Bonner. “(Hunter) Crum is an athlete, (Ben) Schatz is an athlete. I know (Lucas) Sangiuliano was a little banged up, but he’s another guy that can make plays on you, and if we go in there and play a sloppy game, they can make you pay for it. We have to go in and make sure we correct the mistakes that we made last week, giving up some big plays, basically on missed assignments ... that we want to improve on. We want to make sure that we go in knowing that we’re playing a Lehighton team that is dangerous and at home; it’s our second week on the road, we’re coming off of two tough games, we have to make sure we correct some things for these last three games of the seaosn.”

SECOND HALF STRUGGLES

... Tamaqua has been outscored 34-13 during the final two quarters over the past two weeks. The Raiders had surrendered just 30 points total in the second half through the first five weeks of the season.

NOT ONE, NOT TWO

... Tamaqua had three different players complete a pass last week against North Schuylkill. Brayden Knoblauch (12-of-27, 175 yards), Nate Boyle (1-of-1, 23) and Matt Kistler (1-of-1, 19) combined for 217 yards passing for the Raiders. The 29 passing attempts were a season-high.

“We had over 300 yards of offense against a good defensive team,” Bonner said of the team’s performance against North Schuylkill. “So, we want to build off of that. I felt like we also left some plays on the defensive side, the offensive side, as well as special teams on the field that could have been the difference in the game. So we have to work on improving on that. We were 0-for-3 on extra points; that’s something that we normally don’t do, so we worked on some of our two-point conversions this week as well as shoring up our extra points. We walked away from the game with some positives, but obviously there are some things that we have to continue to work on.”

Shenandoah Valley

at Marian

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

STREAKING

... Marian has won eight straight against Shenandoah. The Devils last win in the series was a 36-14 triumph in 2010.

STILL SEARCHING

... Shenandoah is seeking its first win since a 37-0 triumph over Kutztown in Week 3 of the 2017 season. The Devils have lost 24 consecutive games.

GROUND AND POUND

... Marian’s 184 rushing yards last week against Panther Valley were a season high, as were the 203 yards of total offense. Xavier Ocasio carried the ball 28 times for 150 yards and gave the Colts a 7-0 lead – their first of the season – with a 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Ocasio has rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns over the past two weeks. Ocasio had 209 yards rushing over the first five weeks of the season combined. Lucca Stroia also connected on a 42-yard field goal that gave the Colts a 10-0 first quarter lead.

“There are always some bright spots,” said Marian head coach Pat Morgans. “We did start off well. Lucca (Stroia) made a big kick, and that’s great to see him have some success there. Xavier had a great game.”

STUCK

... Since a 36-34 setback to Morrisville in the season opener, Shenandoah has not scored more than eight points in a game this season. The Devils have scored a total of 20 points over the past six weeks combined.

“I give them credit because they’re in the same boat,” said Morgans. “Those kids come out every week and they play hard. But they’ve got some very good athletes. (Joseph) Karvois is a great athlete at quarterback, and (Alex) Donchak at receiver, and then (receiver) Alshefski. They’ve got good skill kids, they really do. Their line is huge, and they’re going to come after you. They’re going to play for four quarters. It’s almost a mirror image this year. We’re both short of numbers, but they’ve got a really nice team, they really do. They’re well-coached as well. I know what they’re going through, and I give those kids a lot of credit, I really do. And their coaching staff. I think their coaching staff does a great job of keeping that team together.”

Northern Lehigh at

Palisades

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

ON THE UP

... These two teams are moving in the direction their coaches prefer. Northern Lehigh notched an impressive 42-14 win over a tough Salisbury team in Week 7, while Palisades shut out Bangor 36-0. Both the Bulldogs and the Pirates seem to be on a collision course, which will come to fruition Friday night.

TRIPLE THREAT

... In last week’s win, the Bulldogs saw three main offensive weapons emerge in terms of scoring, as Dale Wanamaker had three scores, Zach Moyer threw for two and ran one in, while Mike Repsher had two scoring runs.

LESSON TO BE LEARNED

... After the Bulldogs built a 27-0 lead, they yielded a touchdown on special teams, which no coach likes to see. “We put together a whole game last week, and we just went at them,” Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout said. “We were in the positive in the turnover game, which we liked, but we can still improve.”

GAME PLAN

... Against the Pirates, Tout and his staff know they have a tough assignment. “They’re improving, and they’re very physical,” Tout said. “I think we’ll see a lot of different looks, offensively. We’ll have to stop the trips look they look to use the inside seam route, and do some two-back stuff. We need to be ready, and we can’t give up long third down plays because they made Bangor pay on those last week.”

SCOUTS SAY

...“Their linebackers are quick and athletic and can get to the ball well,” Tout added. “We want to be able to match them physically, and even though we moved the ball well last week, Palisades is gaining confidence, playing better and finding their identity. We want to show up ready and take it to them.”

Wilson at Palmerton

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

TURNAROUND SEASON

... Wilson has endured some tough times over the past five seasons. In fact, the Warriors haven’t had a winning season since 2010 when they went 6-4. Over the past five seasons, Wilson has gone 8-43. This year, the Warriors have doubled their win total from the previous five seasons, and have played some quality opponents tough as well, losing by three to Salibury in overtime, and putting up 30 points on a one-loss Northwestern Lehigh squad.

BACK ON TRACK

... After a five-game stretch that saw Palmerton score just 13.6 points per game, the Bombers’ offense was able to get back on track last week against Catasauqua, scoring 56 points and tallying 450 yards of total offense. The Palmerton passing game was especially efficient with three different quarterbacks in Jordan Nelson, Harrison Dailey and Lucas Heydt combining to go 11-for-11 for 204 yards, with Nelson throwing two TD passes to Lucas Heydt. “Our goal coming in was to move the sticks and move the ball consistently, which is something we were struggling with,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “We played smart and we executed and we took what the defense gave us. I thought if we could get a few first downs and gain some confidence, we could come up with some explosive plays offensively.”

DYNAMIC OFFENSE.

.. The Bombers offense will certainly need to build off the momentum they gained last week, but defensively they will need to bring their “A” game like they did in their shutout win over the Roughies. The Warriors, riding a three-game win streak coming into this matchup are averaging 41.3 points per game over their last three contests. Cayden Stem has been impressive from the quarterback spot, throwing for 1,131 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. The Warriors also boast a strong power rushing game, anchored by Alec Snyder, who has rushed for 490 yards and four scores.

Mahanoy Area at

Panther Valley

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

BACK-TO-BACK

... With a 40-17 win over Marian last Friday, Panther Valley won consecutive games for the first time since the start of the 2017 season when it defeated Columbia Montour Vo-Tech and Hamburg.

UP-AND-DOWN

... Mahanoy Area bounced back after dropping two straight games to open the season, ripping off three straight wins to go a game above .500. The Golden Bears have struggled since, losing two straight to Schuylkill Haven (57-19) and Minersville (41-25) to fall to 3-4.

ONE-SIDED

... Mahanoy has won six straight games against Panther Valley by an average margin of 39-9.7. The Panthers last win in the series was a 34-6 triumph in 2012.

BEND BUT

... While Mahanoy is averaging a solid 27.3 points per game this season, the Golden Bears are also giving up 31.3 points per contest. Panther Valley is scoring 20.8 ppg. and allowing 41.

FINDING A RHYTHM

... Panther Valley is averaging 359 yards of total offense the past two weeks. The Panthers have made huge gains on the ground, averaging 250 yards rushing during that stretch. Lou Clouser led the charge last week, carrying the ball four times for 104 yards with two long touchdown runs of 44 and 42 yards. A week earlier, it was Elias Tavares (12 carries, 123 yards, one touchdown) and Eric Moyer (eight, 92, two) who had breakout performances in a win over Shenandoah. Through the first five weeks of the season, the Panthers were averaging 131 yards per game.

“We’re taking it one week at a time, and we just want to get better. We have a real tough opponent this week in Mahanoy Area with the offense that they run, the flexbone, so we have to be disciplined. But we’re making strides, and our goal is to get better every week,” said Panthers’ head coach Rick Jones.

PM West at

Pleasant Valley

Friday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

ANOTHER TOUGH ONE

... Last week, Pleasant Valley dropped a difficult decision to East Stroudsburg North, 28-21. The Bears were up 14-0 against the Timberwolves and seemed to be on their way to their initial win of the season before the ‘Wolves battled back for the win.

DEN OF PRIDE

... Bears’ head coach Blaec Saeger knows how difficult it is to go through tough losses, and was concerned about how his troop would respond. However, the resiliency of his players has made his job all the more rewarding. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the kids,” he said. “They just keep coming back, keep showing up, ready to go to work with smiles on their faces.”

LOOKING AHEAD

... Against the Panthers in Week 8, Saeger hopes to see his crew continue to improve. “We’ve seen improvements with our program, and we knew it woulnd’t happen too quickly. But the Panthers are a good program with a lot of options on offense. They throw a lot of things at you, so we’re going to expect a fight,” Saeger said.

ATTACK MODE

... The Bears will need to key in on their opponents’ starting quarterback and tailback in seniors Lawson Bray and Kaleb Monaco. Both are potentially dangerous players to face on the opposite side of the field, but Saeger is confident in his team’s abilities. “We’re going to have to finish tackles and keep moving, because they are talented and have plenty of options. We’re concerned with stopping them, but we also need to focus on ourselves and taking better care of the ball,” Saeger added.