The annual Mountain Road Rumble between rivals Northern Lehigh and Northwestern used to come much later in the season.

But for the second straight year, it comes in Week 2 on a Thursday night.

“It’s unusual to play a rivalry game this early in the season, but it doesn’t really dull the rivalry because our kids are so familiar with each other and want to beat each other,” Tigers’ coach Josh Snyder noted. “Plus, every game counts, so not only do we come in thinking about the rivalry, but we come in thinking about the bigger picture and getting the wins we need throughout the season.”

Northern Lehigh is taking much the same approach to the game as it realizes it may be a different team later in the season than it is now.

“The adage is that between Week 1 and Week 2 is when you make most of the changes to your team,” said Bulldogs’ coach Joe Tout. “Odds are that both of our teams will look very different in Week 8 than we do in Week 2, but this is when the game is, so you go out and play. True rivalries can be played anytime and anywhere, so to that extent, the schedule does not really matter to the kids.”

Defense could rule the night for two programs who typically feature high-powered offenses.

Northern Lehigh put on an impressive display against Catasauqua in Week 1.

The Roughies were held to just 203 yards of total offense on the night, while Northwestern’s defense held Tamaqua to 219 yards in the season opener.

“I have said all along that our defense was going to be the big story for us this season,” said Tout. “We have all four linemen back and if you include our linebackers, we have six of our front seven returning. The secondary has two of four players returning, and the two new guys (freshman Grady Newhard and sophomore Ayden Oswald) are both fitting in well and will be good players.”

Snyder echoed that sentiment.

“I think we like to do similar things, and so a lot of it will come down to finding some big plays here and there and which team executes better,” said Snyder. “We played well on both sides of the ball Friday in Tamaqua, and we have to keep doing that not just in this game, but all season for us to be successful. If we play our type of game and execute well, we’ll be in good shape.”

Both coaches are among the most tenured in the area.

Joe Tout took over at Northern Lehigh in 2006, and Josh Snyder is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Tigers.

While there is not a lot of recent scouting info, the Tigers and Bulldogs are familiar enough with each other that the lack of intel is not much of a problem.

Look for both teams to put in a few wrinkles to catch the other off guard and not be too predictable to the other coaching staff.

Each program has senior players who are in their first season as the team’s quarterback.

Cade Christopher was Northwestern Lehigh’s top wide receiver last season, and is now on the other end of the throws.

Nick Frame made the same move for Northern Lehigh, and both made their debuts last week.

As expected, neither threw the ball very often, preferring instead to facilitate the run game with Frame relying on backs John Abidelli (99 yards), Izaiah Ramos (83 yards) and Alexander Jimenez Wittong (56 yards) doing most of the damage.

Christopher rushed for a game-high 230 yards, while junior Dalton Clymer picked up another 94 out of the Northwestern backfield.