Northwestern and Pleasant Valley will try to keep undefeated records intact as Week 3 of the season gets underway.

Elsewhere, Lehighton will try to pick up its second straight win while Panther Valley is set to take the field for the first time.

Meanwhile, Marian, Palmerton, Tamaqua and Northern Lehigh all will try to get back into the win column this week.

Marian vs. Catasauqua (at Al Erdosy Stadium, Northampton HS)

Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: No margin for error

Marian enters the contest off a 20-0 loss to Minersville last Friday that dropped the Colts to 0-2. Minersville senior Josh Adams had 40 pass attempts, connecting on 22 of them for 286 yards and three touchdowns. His go-to-guy with steady hands was fellow senior Jared Graeff, who had a bonanza of a night with 10 receptions for 129 yards. He hooked up with Adams for the game’s first touchdown, a catch of 21 yards. Adams also found junior Brock Polinsky six times for 110 yards and two sweet touchdown passes, both of which went for 11 yards. “At times we’ve shown flashes of being a good football team, and at times we’ve shown flashes of being a relatively inexperienced football team,” said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. “We need to have fewer turnovers and mental mistakes, and that’s part of the process, but these kids have been coming in and working hard, and we’re trying to turn the corner.” The setback came after a 21-6 loss to Schuylkill Haven in the season opener. The Colts are dealing with injuries along the line, though Dakosty noted other players are going to need to step up. “We’ve had to move some guys around, and they’re trying to get better,” said Dakosty. “We’ve been inside the 10-yard line three times and haven’t scored. That’s not the way you win, so it’s my job as head coach to get that cleaned up and get us going the right direction.” It will be a tough task against Catasauqua, which rolled to a mercy-rule 42-15 victory against Pen Argyl Saturday to move to 2-0. Against the Green Knights, Catty finished with 159 yards rushing and 171 passing. “I’m very impressed with Catasauqua,” said Dakosty. “They’re a well coached, very physical team. They’re an athletic team. They’re not 2-0 by accident. They’ve played very well. They certainly have our attention, and it’s going to take a real strong effort in order to beat them this weekend, but that’s what we’re working for.” Dakosty has seen progress throughout the offseason and the first two weeks of the season, even if it hasn’t resulted in a win. He hopes the program takes another step closer to that first victory this week. “We felt like we improved this year, and I think we are improved. But right now we’re good enough just to be good enough,” said Dakosty. “Obviously we want more than that, and to start putting some wins up. We’re still an underclassmen-dominated team, so any varsity experience these guys get is like money in the bank. But we want to start cashing those checks now. It’s hard to win football games; the margin for error we have is very slim so we have to play error-free football, and that’s our goal. And it’s going to happen somewhere down the line, hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Players to Watch:

Christian Fye, Catasauqua

Fye threw the first of his three touchdown passes - a 50-yarder to Jacob Scheirer - in last week’s win over Pen Argyl. Fye capped a 42-point first half with a 43-yard TD pass to Ian Juica with 11 seconds left. Fye finished with 171 yards passing and three TDs on just seven attempts.

Hunter Reitz, Catasauqua

Reitz scored on rushing touchdowns of 27 and 12 yards against Pen Argyl. He finished with 59 yards on five carries.

John Walko, Marian

Walko leads the Colts with 13 total tackles (10 solo), and is tied with Rawlin Melendez with four tackles for loss. Walko has also blocked a field goal and recovered a fumble this season. “He’s been super from our scrimmage, through our first game and second game,” said Dakosty. “He’s been playing great football. He’s durable, he’s a multi-position type of kid. He’s willing to move himself around to be able to help the football team. He has been a great, great player for us so far.”

Southern Lehigh at Northwestern

When: Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Can Northwestern limit turnovers and not let Southern Lehigh rebound from a tough 0-2 start?

Normally, when it comes to fundamentals like not turning the ball over, the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers are sound. Last week against Northern Lehigh though, they coughed up the ball three times and the Bulldogs were able to hang around and make it a 34-33 game with the Tigers escaping with a 2-0 record. Southern Lehigh has struggled out of the gates, but Northwestern coach Josh Snyder is taking nothing for granted. He has stressed to his team that to look at the Spartans as just another 0-2 team would be a mistake because their two losses have come against good teams in Quakertown and Notre Dame - Green Pond. “They might be 0-2, but they’re well coached and they’re coming off two losses to good teams. They’re going to come in here looking to get that first win and if we take them for granted, there is no doubt in my mind that they can beat us,” Snyder stressed. “Our offense made some mistakes last week, but we played well enough to cover them up. The thing that we stress though is that you don’t always get the chance to cover those things up and we have to do better in that area,” said Snyder. The Tigers look to make the most of their home opener after opening with two road games. Snyder noted that his team has been looking forward to playing at home for the first time this season. “When you think about it, it’s really been about two years since we’ve been able to have a lot of fans at games. Last season, the tickets were limited because of COVID but with those restrictions gone, we should have a big crowd Friday,” said Snyder.

Players to Watch:

Jacob Peters, Northwestern

Peters not only came up with a big fumble recovery for a touchdown last week against Northern Lehigh, but he also broke up a pass to the end zone just before halftime to stop a Bulldogs drive.

Cade Christopher, Northwestern

Christopher has been a Swiss Army Knife for the Tigers this season. He leads the team in catches, has rushed seven times for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and has four kick returns for 110 yards.

James Wisecarver, Southern Lehigh

Wisecarver has set the offensive tone for Southern Lehigh and threw for 159 yards last week, using primarily two of his favorite receivers in Cade Sawyer (4 catches, 87 yards) and Tyler Houser (4 catches, 84 yards). Wisecarver can also take off with the ball and rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown last week against the Crusaders.

Panther Valley at Palmerton

When: Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Panthers are excited for season debut, while Bombers try to bounce back from heartbreaking loss against Jim Thorpe

Uncertainty looms in an interesting matchup this week between Palmerton (1-1) and Panther Valley (0-0). The Bombers, hailing from the Colonial-Schuylkill White Division will faceoff with the Panthers from the Blue Division for the first time since the 1970s. Week 3 will actually serve as Week 1 for Panther Valley, as its first two games were canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases throughout the program. “We’re hanging in there and we’re making the best of the situation. Everything is on track to play this week and I think it’s important that we get out there and play a football game,” said Panther Valley head coach Rick Jones. “It’s been tough all around for everyone with so much uncertainty surrounding everything. We just need to control what we can control. We know Palmerton is probably the most explosive team we’re going to see this season, so we just need to go out there work hard, be disciplined and compete. That’s all we can do.” Palmerton is coming into this week’s game after a tough loss to Jim Thorpe, which saw the Bombers probable win slip away on a waning seconds play that looked like it was going to result in a touchdown pass. But the pass ended up slipping out of the hands of the Palmerton receiver and into the hands of an Olympians’ defensive back. The Bombers stormed back from a 17-0 deficit, cutting the lead to 17-14, with a chance to take the lead late, but the interception in the game’s final seconds spoiled their comeback hopes. “You never want to let the game come down to one play, especially at the end, but we had some missed opportunities and give Jim Thorpe credit, they’re a tough and physical team up front. But I’m proud of our guys for how they fought back,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Something we definitely just need to focus on is ourselves this week. Execute at a high level and play complimentary football. We also need to do a better job this week of scoring if we’re able to create turnovers. You need to take advantage of those situations and we didn’t do that last week.”

Players to Watch:

Mike Pascoe, Panther Valley

In 2020, the Panthers’ quarterback had 130 carries for 544 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Daniel Lucykanish, Palmerton

Lucykanish has seven receptions for 63 yards to go along with five carries for 39 yards.

Matt Machalik, Palmerton

The sophomore has 36 carries for 197 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Through the air, he has gone 27-of-44 for 329 yards passing and two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Northern Lehigh at Tamaqua

When: Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Can the Raiders’ young defense stop the Bulldogs’ talented skill players?

Tamaqua (0-2) hosts Northern Lehigh (1-1), a matchup that features a struggling defense versus a high-powered offense. In their first two games, opposing teams have gained 786 yards and scored 97 points against the Raiders, while the ‘Dawgs have gained 766 yards and tallied 11 TDs. “We’re young and some of our upperclassmen are playing football their first year,” said Raiders’ coach Sam Bonner, who was an assistant coach at Northern Lehigh for 10 years. “Most of our mistakes are mental. We have had too many blown pass coverages and not playing together as one unit.” Joe Tout’s Bulldogs know how to score with a 40-21 win over Muncy and a 34-33 loss against Northwestern. “We have a talented running back in Matt Frame who had a great offseason preparing himself, but we’re not a one-man team,” said Tout. ‘Our veteran skill players have all contributed.” Five different players have reached the end zone for Northern Lehigh. Both teams are as Tout said, “still trying to figure things out” with what schemes to run and which personnel gives them the best chance to win. “We have to work harder on both sides of the ball,” said Bonner. “Right now, we can’t go score for score and have to stay away from third and 14 situations on offense.” Tout’s concern has been his young offensive line and that many of his players go both ways. “We need to recognize defensive alignments better than we have been,” he said, “and we rotate our skill players in and out to try to keep them fresh.” Both coaches expect a physical game, especially since Bonner’s forte is weight room conditioning and training.

Players to Watch:

Matt Frame, Northern Lehigh

Frame has rushed for 252 yards, averaging nine yards a carry and has hit pay dirt three times.

Trevor Amorim, Northern Lehigh

Amorim is the other workhorse in the backfield with Frame, averaging over seven yards each time he carries the rock.

Warren Stewart, Tamaqua

Stewart has already had 40 carries in this young season and gets the tough yards between the tackles and has scored half of the total touchdowns for the Raiders’ offense.

Zander Coleman, Tamaqua

The sophomore has run and caught the ball for nearly 300 total offensive yards. He’s a big play threat with 11 yards a carry and 37 yards per catch.

Wilson at Lehighton

When: Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the week

: Can the Tribe stop Wilson’s track stars?

Wilson’s high-flying, 2-0 Warriors travel from Easton to face the 1-1 Indians. They have scored 94 points in their first two games featuring four speedy pass catchers: Zack Gillen, Kyle Harris, and Damon and Damian Simpson who were 4X1 relay track champions last spring. How impressive have they been in their two wins? The Warriors scored on their first five possessions against Pen Argyl and on their first seven possessions against Palisades in mercy rule routs. The Tribe knocked off Tamaqua last week and will look to slow down Wilson’s air assault. “We will definitely have to step up defensively and get pressure on their quarterback,” said Coach Tom McCarroll, whose team’s Achilles’ heel has been an inexperienced defense that has allowed 722 yards and 88 points in their first two games. “We’ll need to use our size advantage on our offensive and defensive lines to control the line of scrimmage.” McCarroll added that the Indians will have to keep their focus every play against the Warriors who can take it to the house any time they snap the ball. Lehighton will also have to cut down on penalties, having been flagged 14 times for 101 yards in their first two contests. Quarterback Brady O’Donnell, who has thrown for 368 yards and four touchdowns, will look to Hunter Crum, the Times News Player of the Week, who’s averaging over six yards per rush and nearly 27 yards per catch to move the chains and put points up on the board.

Players to Watch:

Hunter Crum, Lehighton

Crum has scored seven of the Tribe’s 10 touchdowns totaling 288 offensive yards.

Brayden Lutz, Lehighton

Lutz leads the Tribe with six catches for 113 yards, an average of nearly 19 yards a reception.

Cayden Stem, Wilson

The Warriors’ senior quarterback has over 3,200 career yards with 39 passing and 10 rushing TDs.

Pleasant Valley at Allen

When: Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Can the Bears continue their winning ways?

Pleasant Valley finally began the 2021 season in winning fashion after a 54-0 victory against East Stroudsburg North last Saturday. “Obviously, we started the season off the way we wanted it to, 1-0,” PV head coach Blaec Saeger said. “It was an opponent that we felt we could have success against and we kind of just took care of business. Lots to work on, lots to improve on.” Although the Bears put up a goose egg on the Timberwolves, Saeger said the team can work on some things. “Many things to look on and fix, so by no means a perfect performance,” Saeger said. “We did get the ground game going, but that’s what we expect to do every week. Good start for us, but a lot of growing to do.” “Same thing as offense, so many things to fix. It’s always nice to go back to fix things and it’s with a win in the books. It makes it a little easier to do that.” PV rushed for 271 yards on the night and most of the yardage came from the three-back rotation of Jarod Moore, Fela Olaniyan and Jake Gethen, who combined for 117 yards in the game. “We spread the ball around very well,” Saeger said. “We kept the touches down, trying to keep everybody involved and that was the plan going in and we executed pretty nicely.” PV’s opponent Allen started the season 0-2 with losses to Freedom and East Stroudsburg South. “They’re one of us,” Saeger said about Allen. “Allen’s a team that poses some problems and good athleticism and speed. It’s just another team on our schedule and we have to go out and do what we have to do.”

Players to Watch:

Robert Papaleo, Pleasant Valley

Papaleo rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday against East Stroudsburg North. He also threw two touchdown passes in the game.

Fela Olaniyan, Pleasant Valley

Olaniyan is part of the three-back rotation for the Bears and rushed for 31 yards and one touchdown in the last game. Not one Bears rusher had a 100-yard game against ES North.

Ryan Blass, Pleasant Valley

Blass caught two touchdown passes from Papaleo, one for 25 yards and another for 18 yards. Overall, Blass caught three passes for 49 yards for a mainly rushing team.

Capsules compiled by Rich Strack, Brad Hurley, Chuck Hixson, Kyle Magda and Patrick Matsinko.