Execution.

At its foundation, the definition of the word is pretty simple. It means the carrying out or putting into effect a plan, order, or course of action.

But in the game of football, executing a game plan doesn’t always come so easy, especially in the postseason.

Since Week 7 of the season, Northern Lehigh has not only been executing its game plan on a weekly basis, the Bulldogs have been putting the competition on the proverbial chopping block.

Northern Lehigh (8-3) continued its strong play on Saturday, making quick work of Minersville in the District 11 2A semifinals, defeating the Miners 43-7.

Although it was a dominant overall effort from the Dawgs, the game got off to somewhat of a surprising start with Minersville receiving the opening kickoff and adapting a new approach offensively. The Miners (7-4) - who have been a predominantly pass-heavy team throughout the season (265 passing attempts to 195 rushing attempts coming into the game) - instead focused on their rushing attack on their first offensive possession.

Minersville ran the ball 10 consecutive times before attempting a pass and in doing so, took almost eight minutes off the clock.

But the Northern Lehigh defense was able to turn the Miners over on downs at the 22-yard line, stalling their drive.

The obvious game plan for Minersville early on was to keep the football away from the Bulldogs’ explosive offense.

“We just had to kind of weather that first possession and make a few plays to get off the field,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “Give Minersville credit, they had a good plan. Everything we had on them, they were throwing the ball all over the place and they came out and slowed it down.

“But we were able to weather that, and then offensively we were able to move the ball all day and score quickly, which was a key for us I thought.”

The theme of the game was most certainly the Dawgs’ ability to score quickly and often. After getting a stop on the Miners run-heavy opening possession, Northern Lehigh marched 78 yards on seven plays, with Izaiah Ramos capping off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.

The Bulldogs continued to be efficient offensively in the second quarter as well. Leading 6-0 after one, Northern Lehigh had two offensive possessions in the second quarter, scoring on both. A 1-yard Matt Frame touchdown rush and a 4-yard Trevor Amorim score gave the Bulldogs a 15-point advantage at the half.

Minersville was able to get on the board late in the second quarter after a 41-yard connection between John Adams and Jason Cullen set up a Lorenzo Yourey short touchdown run, but Northern Lehigh - as it did throughout the day - stomped out the Miners momentum, scoring quickly on its ensuing possession to once again make it a two-score game right before the end of the half.

Miners quarterback John Adams was also injured on his team’s scoring drive and wouldn’t return.

“I think that score for us right before the half was big, and it kind of showed what we had on the day offensively,” said Tout. “That created some nice momentum for us, and then took away some momentum from them. We knew we would get the ball back to start the (second) half and if you go down and score, then you’re in a good spot.”

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs pulled away for good, once again executing efficiently on offense, making the most of their three possessions. A Smoyer completion to Amorim, another connection to Brett Misera on a beautiful catch where Misera got one foot down in the left corner of the end zone, and a 37-yard scamper by Frame put the game away and into mercy rule time.

“They loaded up on us, and they didn’t want us running the ball,” said Tout. “So, credit has to go to our quarterback Dylan Smoyer and our passing attack for executing all day.

“Our pass set up our run today, and our line did a nice job of holding up against their blitzes.”

EXCELLENT EXECUTION ... Northern Lehigh scored on six straight possessions before the game went into mercy rule and the reserve players were inserted into the game.

PRECISION PASSING ... Smoyer looked good and took what the defense gave him. He finished the game 11-of-12 passing, hitting five different receivers for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

NEXT UP ... The Dawgs will head to the District 11 2A championship for the second consecutive season where they will take on rival Palmerton in their second matchup of the season. The game is slated for noon on Saturday at Lehighton.