To set championship goals is one thing.

But to actually accomplish them can truly be a difficult task.

With a host of talent returning from its 2021 District 11 Class 2A championship squad, Northern Lehigh, which moved down to Class 1A this season, once again set its sights on the gold.

Last week, the Bulldogs (11-1) were able to accomplish exactly what they set out to do, after they posted a commanding victory over Tri-Valley in the District 11 title game.

Northern Lehigh now enters the PIAA Class 1A State Tournament where it will face off with District 2 champion Lackawanna Trail. The Bulldogs are familiar with the Lions from having defeated them in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament just a season ago when both teams competed in Class 2A.

Lackawanna Trail (8-4) is coming into its first-round match-up off an upset win over Old Forge in the District 2 championship game, and a convincing win over Jenkintown in the District 2/1 subregional.

“Lackawanna Trail is a team and a program that we have a ton of respect for, and you also have to give them credit for getting here and taking care of business against Old Forge in the playoffs after losing to them earlier in the season,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “It’s a team that is playing confident and loose after some big late-season wins.”

Just as they did a season ago, the Bulldogs will face a unique challenge with the Lions’ Wing-T offensive scheme. Lackawanna Trail has used the Wing-T to put together impressive numbers on the ground.

The Lions rushing attack averages almost 200 yards per game. Lackawanna Trail has several rushers who have contributed on the season, as seven players have accumulated 100 or more yards on the ground. Junior running back Lukas Gumble leads the Lions with 714 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.

“They’re a Wing-T team, and they run it well. They won’t run a lot of different plays, but the plays that they do run, they run them well,” said Tout. “We feel good about our preparation. We have been getting some good looks all week at it from our look team guys and our guys were focused during film. We just need now to go out and execute on the field.”

Northern Lehigh has amassed some pretty impressive rushing numbers on the season as well, having averaged 260 yards per game on the ground. Chewing up clock and wearing down defenses with a grinding rushing attack has been the mission statement for the Northern Lehigh offense this season. The Bulldogs road-grading style up front has been showcased throughout the season, but over the last few weeks they have certainly taken that approach to a higher level.

Northern Lehigh rushed for an impressive 294 yards last week against Tri-Valley, and has been led in the run game by quarterback Nick Frame (912 rushing yards, 8 TDs) and power back AJ Jimenez (759 rushing yards, 13 TDs).

“We started to show some glimpses up front early in the season closing out wins over Northwestern and Notre Dame by running the football and sustaining long scoring drives,” said Tout. “It’s something our offensive linemen take pride in, and we as a program take pride in.

“We have a rotation of guys that we play to really try and make sure that all of our guys that play up front only go one way, whether that’s on offense or defense. I think that’s been a big reason for our success, because we’re keeping guys fresh. I’m just really impressed and happy with how our guys are playing up front. They made a statement last week, and we just kept keep getting five or six yards on every carry, which was big.”