SALISBURY - Northern Lehigh was all business on Friday night.

And that’s exactly what head coach Joe Tout was looking for from his team.

The Bulldogs scored early and often in cruising to a 42-0 victory over Salisbury. The win improved Nolehi to 5-1 as they successfully rebounded from last week’s loss to North Schuylkill.

“We had a good week of practice. We had a solid week,” said Tout. “We were a little disappointed last week, and we said let’s put that to bed. We said business trip. Let’s see how we rebound.

“It was a business trip tonight. Come here and take care of business. And then next week is going to be another big game for us (against Notre Dame) ... We wanted to come out and do what we have to, and I thought we did.”

Tout’s club wasted little time taking care of the task at hand. The Bulldogs scored on their first four possessions to open up a 28-0 first-quarter advantage.

Senior quarterback Nick Frame was a big part of gaining that lead, running for a 40-yard touchdown the first time his team had the ball. Later in the frame, he threw scoring passes to Austin Smyth and AJ Jimenez Wittong.

“This was definitely big for us,” said Frame. “We played against a very tough and physical team last week, and coming out and putting on a show is what we needed to get our confidence back.

“People were coming left and right (on the touchdown run), and they just kept on missing. It was a nice start to the game.”

After Frame’s long run, in which he evaded would-be tacklers, twisting and spinning his way down field until he eventually ended up in the end zone, Northern Lehigh’s defense forced a three-and-out. On fourth down, Bailey Smith blocked Salisbury’s punt. One player later, Frame tossed a perfect strike to Jimenez Wittong for an 18-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

“Bailey’s that edge rusher and he loves it,” said Tout. “He’s kind of thriving on it. He’s come close before. He got one two weeks ago, when he pushed a player ... right into the punter. He loves coming off that edge hot.

“Nick threw very well tonight. Everything he threw was just about spot-on, especially the fades. That’s timing stuff ... and he’s been really, really good with that. Part of our success the last couple years is that we’ve been more balanced, so early on that was our point of emphasis. We were going to throw early and then get back to our basic stuff. I thought we executed that well.”

Frame hit Smyth with a 22-yard completion to set up the Bulldogs’ third score - a 9-yard run by Jack Tosh. After a Falcons turnover, Frame again found Smyth - this time in the end zone - for a 23-yard hook-up that pushed the margin to 28-0 with 3:25 still left in the opening quarter.

“We’re back-to-back playing here, and last year we came out flat,” said Tout. “That was our one flat game toward the end of the year. Any time you play at a place that doesn’t have bleachers on your side, that gives you the potential to come out flat. We told our guys to be aware of that, and that there were no excuses (to come out flat). We took care of business, so from that end we’re pleased.”

The scoring didn’t stop after the first frame; Northern Lehigh reached the end zone two more times before the half. Frame hit Chase Wisocky for a 23-yard pick-up and later scampered for 16 yards. That led to a 3-yard scoring run by John Abidelli, who had a 12-yard gain during the drive.

Jimenez Wittong closed out the touchdown barrage with a 7-yard tally with 1:13 left until halftime. Grady Newhard contributed a 23-yard run during that march, while Jimenez Wittong broke free for a 20-yard gain before his scoring play.

BULLDOG DEFENSE ... Northern Lehigh was stingy on defense, allowing just 43 yards of offense - including 15 on the final play of the second quarter - on 21 plays in the first half. They finished with nine plays for a loss and caused three turnovers - including interceptions by Smith and Newhard. “That’s our strength,” said Tout of the defense. “You can see that we have more speed overall team-wise on defense then we do offensively right now. Our kids get after it defensively and they did that tonight.”