Just when we thought fall sports would usher in a return to normal, Week 1 of the high school football season didn’t have a lot of normal.

For the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers, the new normal was a pregame delay because of weather concerns, and then another lengthy delay during the game when more lightning rolled through the area. In the end, the Tigers and Tamaqua got their game in, and Northwestern didn’t seem to miss a beat in the process.

For Colonial League rival Northern Lehigh, its preparation to play Panther Valley went out the window when the Panthers had to bow out of the game because of COVID issues, Bulldogs athletic director Bryan Geist and head coach Joe Tout made a few calls and set up a game against Muncy for Week 1. The change in opponents seemingly meant nothing to Northern Lehigh as it romped to a 40-21 victory.

Maybe Week 2, which sees the two teams facing each other, will turn out to be much more normal. If that’s the case, the meeting between the Bulldogs and Tigers will be one to remember. And if Week 1 is any indication, the question is whether the high-powered offenses or the stingy defenses of the two teams will carry the day.

“Our guys were happy to get out there and play last week. It wasn’t the team we were thinking it would be, but we were out there playing, and that was better than sitting around and waiting for another week,” said Tout. “We have a lot of strength at our skill positions, and we knew coming in that would be a strength for us.”

The Bulldogs have experience at the skill positions with seniors Matt Frame (running back), Trevor Amorim (wide receiver) and Dylan Smoyer (quarterback) all returning and looking to repeat their performances from last season. Frame rushed for just under 1,000 yards last season and led area players with 14 touchdowns, Amorim had 27 catches and scored seven touchdowns, and Smoyer threw for just under 1,000 yards and passed for 11 TDs.

The Bulldogs put up 436 yards of total offense against Muncy, while Northwestern amassed 340 net yards of offense. One of the keys for both teams was the play of their offensive lines, both of which have some young players among the starters.

“As always, coming out of the first week, we have some things to clean up, but I thought our defense played really well Friday night,” said Tigers coach Josh Snyder. “Our secondary played pretty well, and it’s an experienced group of guys back there, so we like our chances of containing the other team’s offense. We’ll work on a few things, and hope to be able to slow down Northern Lehigh a little.”

Of course, the Northwestern Lehigh offense is no slouch. Even with a revamped offensive line, the Tigers rushed for nearly 200 yards last week, with sophomore Dalton Clymer carrying seven times for a team-high 75 yards. Meanwhile, Kent State-bound quarterback Justin Holmes had two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns against Tamaqua. The Tigers offense had touchdowns on their first six possessions and needed just 28 plays to put up those points.

“Our guys up front played well for us and really opened up some holes for Holmes and Clymer. They’ve worked really hard, and I think it showed last week that they can get the job done,” said Snyder of his offensive line. “Clymer really stepped into his new role and did a nice job, and that takes some pressure off the passing game when other teams know that we can run the ball. We always like to run first and pound the ball, and with Holmes and Clymer carrying the ball for us, we have some weapons there to use.”

“Whenever you play Northwestern, you know they’re going to be tough,” Tout admitted. “They have quality players up and down the roster, and they can beat you in a number of ways. They have a Division I kid (Holmes) at quarterback, and he can beat you on the ground or with his arm, and they have good players around him, too.”

The meeting of the two rivals has become a Thursday night tradition over the past couple of seasons.

With the obstacles that the two teams have faced between last season and the first week of this season, playing on a Thursday night will feel like just a normal meeting of friendly rivals.