Winning football is a tradition at both Northwestern Lehigh and Allentown Central Catholic high schools.

Which is why it’s no surprise then, that both programs have been perennial District 11 playoff teams over the years.

With similar enrollment numbers, it’s also no surprise the programs have become familiar postseason opponents.

When they play Friday night in the Class 4A championship game, it will be the fourth straight season Northwestern (11-0) and Central Catholic (8-3) have met in the playoffs.

Central Catholic holds a 2-1 edge in their recent meetings. Northwestern posted a 50-13 victory in the 2018 quarterfinals, while the Vikings pulled out a 23-22 win in the 2019 semifinals, and a 35-6 title game victory a year ago.

Northwestern will get a chance to even the score Friday night when the two teams meet at 7 p.m. at Northern Lehigh High School.

“They’re a definite challenge,” said Northwestern coach Josh Snyder of playing the Vikings. “Any time that a team goes 7-3 in the EPC South, they have to be pretty good. They have a big win over Parkland, and wins over a couple other teams that were impressive.”

Snyder believes that the play of his offensive line is the game’s biggest storyline. Central Catholic has a defensive line that is big and powerful, and will look to contain the ground assault that Northwestern Lehigh likes to use against its opponents. Giving quarterback Justin Holmes both running room and time to throw will be a key.

Holmes, who will be playing college ball at Kent State next season, is having another banner season both on the ground and through the air. In 11 games, he has rushed for 1,243 yards and 20 touchdowns, and thrown for another 1,263 yards and 17 TDs.

On the other side of the ball, Central Catholic’s offense is good, but lacks the explosiveness of the Tigers offense, averaging just under 20 points per game, or about half of an average game for Northwestern.

Junior Tamlin Ferguson quarterbacks the Vikings, and has thrown for over 1,100 yards, but is a pass-only QB unable to contribute to the team’s rushing attack. That responsibility is left to juniors Travis Foster and Caiden Shaffer.

“They have a big defensive line, and some pretty good two-way players,” Snyder said of Central Catholic. “You have to keep in mind that a lot of times they are playing against bigger schools because they play in the EPC, and most of the teams there are 6A, or at least 5A.”

Snyder and his players come in not looking at the game as a way of getting revenge for losing last season’s finale to the Vikings. Instead, they are simply looking to accomplish something that has eluded them in recent years - a District 11 championship. Northwestern’s last district title came in 2014.

“Our kids are looking forward to playing them, and it’s not because of revenge or anything. Our guys, especially our seniors, are just hungry and want to win the district championship,” Snyder explained. “We have had good practices so far this week, and our confidence is pretty high coming into the game.”

Snyder also pointed out that this is a different team than the one they faced in last season’s district final due to the loss of several senior players, particularly at the skill positions. This time around, the Tigers will enter the contest with healthy players.

“We’re not limping into this game,” said Snyder of the team’s health. “We have had some mercy rule games and have been able to rest some guys along the way, and that helps avoid injuries. It also has kept our guys a little fresher than they might normally be at this point in the year.”

The winner moves on to the PIAA tournament, which gets underway next Friday night.