A season after tying an all-time Times News area record by placing four players on the All-State team, Northern Lehigh did itself one better.

On Thursday morning, the Pennsylvania Football Writers 2022 All-State football team was released for Class 1A, 2A and 3A schools, and the Bulldogs placed five players on the squad.

“The work ethic of our kids the last few years has been exceptional, and I think you’re seeing them reap the rewards from that,” said Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout. “It’s a coachable, talented, hard working group of kids that have had tremendous success on the field the last two seasons.”

Northern Lehigh put together another outstanding season this past fall, compiling a 12-2 record, capturing a District 11 Class 1A championship, and advancing to the PIAA State quarterfinals. That success led to Nick Frame (offensive athlete), Austin Smyth (tight end), Jackson VanNorman (offensive line), AJ Jimenez (defensive line) and Ethan Karpowich (linebacker) all receiving All-State recognition.

“It’s not a coincidence that when you have team success, you usually see individual honors go with it, and that’s what we are experiencing as a program,” said Tout. “I couldn’t be more happy for these kids. They are extremely deserving.”

The five Bulldogs were part of a nine-player contingent of area players to be named All-State. Also receiving recognition were Marian’s Jesse Rodino (1A, defensive line); Jim Thorpe’s Noah Rosahac (3A, defensive line); Northwestern’s Cade Christopher (3A, offensive athlete); and Palmerton’s Matt Machalik (3A, quarterback).

Bulldogs dominate

Not only did Northern Lehigh enjoy a dominating 2022 campaign on the field, but it dominated the All-State team as well.

Times News All-State records go back to the mid-1980s, and in the last 35 years no team has ever put as many players on an All-State squad as the Bulldogs did this year.

The 2021 Northern Lehigh team, the 2019 Tamaqua team, the 1990 Marian team and the 1989 Panther Valley team all had four players selected All-State. The 2022 Bulldogs now own that record by themselves.

Northern Lehigh had five different position groups represented - three on the offensive side of the ball and two on the defensive side.

Leading the way is defensive lineman Jimenez - the only repeat selection among the five Bulldogs. Jimenez, a 6-1, 215-pound senior, led the Bulldogs in tackles (89), tackles for loss (23) and sacks (10).

“AJ is so dynamic on the field.” Tout said. “He’s got an outstanding combination of size and speed.

“He’s so athletic coming off the edge that even though teams would game plan against him, he would still find ways to make plays. As you can see by his stats, he had tremendous production all season long.”

Northern Lehigh’s other defensive player on the team is 6-1, 225-pound senior linebacker Karpowich, who had 77 tackles this season despite missing three games with an injury.

“Ethan was a four-year starter for us - something you don’t see a lot of in high school football,” Tout said. “He was the backbone and the heart of our defense. He was an extremely intelligent, sideline-to-sideline player. His combination of knowing the game and anticipating things on the field, combined with his athletic ability always had him around the ball. He was among our top tacklers in every game he played.”

While the Bulldogs had the top scoring defense in the area this past season (16.9 ppg.), their offense (34.4 ppg.) didn’t take a backseat to anyone.

Heading that offensive production was Frame, a 6-2, 180-pound senior. The Bulldogs’ first-year quarterback is believed to be the first player in school history to have over 1,000 yard rushing and passing in the same season, finishing the campaign with 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air, and 1,105 yards and 11 scores on the ground.

“Nick was the definition of a dual-threat quarterback,” said Tout. “He was usually the best athlete on the field and he proved that time and time again by making plays even when things broke down around him.

“It seemed like multiple times in every game we played, Nick would find ways to make plays. Whether it was a long pass down the field, a designed run, or a play where he saw an opening and just took off ... he was tremendous for us all year.”

One of Frame’s favorite targets was Smyth, a 6-3, 200-pound senior, who was selected as an all-state tight end, but was far more versatile than that. Smyth had 24 catches for 508 yards and seven touchdowns - averaging an impressive 21.2 yards per reception.

“Like all of our kids that made the all-state team, I think the one thing that really stands about Austin is his athleticism,” Tout said. “There aren’t many kids I’ve ever coached who could do what Austin did.

“He was a great blocker, so we could line him up at tight end on one play and run behind him, and on the next play line him up as a wide receiver and throw him a fade. He was a great weapon to have.”

The final Northern Lehigh all-stater was VanNorman, a 6-1, 250-pound junior, who anchored an offensive line that paved the way for an offense that averaged an impressive 290 rushing yards per game.

“Jackson might be the best offensive lineman we have had since I’ve been coaching at Northern Lehigh, which is saying a lot because we’ve had some excellent linemen over the years,” said Tout. “But Jackson consistently graded out as elite game-after-game. He never seemed to have a bad game. He was consistent from the opening game of the season through our final game of the season.”

Another 1A star

Marian’s Rodino joined the Bulldogs as part of the local contingent on the Class 1A team.

The Colts’ 6-3, 210-pound defensive end was a huge playmaker this season, finishing with 80 tackles, seven sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Rodino also was a factor on special teams, where he blocked an incredible five punts this season. He is the first Colt to make the All-State team since 2017.

“Jesse is as deserving as any All-State player we’ve had during my time coaching,” said Marian’s Stan Dakosty. “He was a dominate player the entire season, and I’m extremely excited about what the future holds for him. He is definitely a game-changer on the field.

“On the track team, Jesse runs the 4x100 relay, and in football he plays defensive end and center. I think that tells you all you need to know about his combination of speed and strength.”

Class 3A standouts

A trio of talented multi-sport athletes were selected to the Class 3A All-State team.

Jim Thorpe’s Rosahac is a big player who had a big year.

The Olympians’ 6-5, 260-pound junior defensive end finished this season with 83 tackles, including 25 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

“Noah was a dominant two-way player for us,” said Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger. “He seemed to make big plays game-after-game.

“There were a lot of great 3A teams and a lot of great 3A players this season, so I think it says a lot about Noah and the kind of player he is to be one of just five defensive linemen selected to the team. I think that’s a tribute to Noah’s hard work, his football IQ, and his production on the field.”

While Rosahac made a name for himself by stifling offenses throughout the season, both Northwestern’s Christopher and Palmerton’s Machalik made a name for themselves by shredding defenses from the quarterback position.

Christopher, a first-year starter under center after playing receiver the past two seasons, gives the Tigers a string of five straight seasons where their quarterback has been to the All-State team.

Selected to the team as an offensive athlete, Christopher, a 6-0, 170-pound senior, ran for 1,886 yards and 27 touchdowns, while throwing for 799 yards and 11 scores. He also had three kickoff return touchdowns and one punt return touchdown.

“Cade is a tremendous athlete, but what probably isn’t appreciated enough is that he has a great football IQ,” Northwestern coach Josh Snyder said. “He had been our go-to receiver the last couple of years and without him at receiver, we really didn’t have a big play threat at that position this year. So we changed up the offense a little bit and gave our quarterback a few more reads to handle and Cade did a tremendous job executing it.

“He also showed a lot of toughness this year. As a receiver he was getting 5-10 touches a game at most - and almost all were in open space. This year, he was getting 20+ carries in some games and as a quarterback they were almost in tight spaces. I thought he did a great job of adjusting to that while also continuing to make explosive plays.”

The Blue Bombers’ Machalik, a 6-1, 190-pound junior, was named to the All-State team for the second straight season. After being selected as offensive athlete last year, he was picked as a quarterback this season.

That switch was probably a nod to Machalik’s impressive passing numbers this season as he threw for 2,554 yards and 31 touchdowns. While his passing improved, Machalik remained just as dangerous on the ground, rushing for 1,216 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“Matt is just a special athlete who deserves every honor he gets,” said Palmerton coach Chris Walkowiak. “He does so much for us, and he’s so versatile.

“I think the best way to describe Matt is that he has that ‘it’ factor. You can’t really explain it, but you know when you see it and Matt definitely has that. He makes plays in so many ways. He’s also a pleasure to coach. The team and team goals always come first for Matt, and that’s something you don’t always see in players who have that type of talent.”