Northwestern will take its unbeaten record on the road to Bangor Friday night, while Marian and Tamaqua will both look to extend their winning streaks to five and four games, respectively.

No. Lehigh (3-4)

at Tamaqua (3-4)

Thursday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Both Northern Lehigh and Tamaqua could use big wins this week in their quests for the postseason. The Bulldogs need a win to stay in playoff contention in District 11 1A, while the Raiders are looking to improve their seeding in the 3A ratings.

Quote

: “Proud of our guys for sticking with it this season. Our guys could have easily folded up their tents at 0-4, but they kept working. They kept working hard in the weight room and at practice. We certainly have a challenge in front of us this week. They have an experienced and big group up front, and we have a young group there, so we will need to battle and use our quickness. They’re old school as well, so if they get it going with their run game, they’re going to keep coming at you, so we have to try and neutralize that. On offense, we also have to mix it up. We have to be balanced and mix in some play-action.” – Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner.

“We started our game last week with an eight minute drive, which stalled out on us and that was kind-of the theme for us offensively last week. We just didn’t finish drives. And then defensively, we just had a hard time matching Notre Dame’s speed. This week is going to be a matchup that is won or lost up front. Tamaqua is a team that likes to run the ball, and likes to come downhill at you. They also try to frustrate you with their speed up front. There’s no doubt they’re a team that is playing better and getting better each week. We hang our hat on our guys up front, so we need that group to play well for us. We also need to be better in our vertical passing game. We need to convert when we look to throw the ball.” – Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout.

Northwestern (7-0)

at Bangor (5-2)

Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Tigers continue to roll past their opponents. Last week, they scored 56 points in the first half against Pottsville. The Slaters could be a formidable opponent. On the defensive side of the ball, they have held the opposition to an average of seven points a game in their five wins.

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: “Last week, we came ready to play and never let up with 56 points by halftime. We were able to shut down their run game and force them to throw, which is not their best option. We had two one-play drives that put the game away early. Bangor is a solid, well-coached team. Their quarterback is looking to have back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. We have to prepare for their multiple formations. It’s a road game. Last year they beat us, so we’d like to change the outcome in our favor on Friday night. Each week, we add a few new plays to keep our team fresh and versatile. Of course, we’ll stay with our bread and butter plays that have given us outstanding success so far this season.” - Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder.

Southern Lehigh (7-0)

at Lehighton (2-5)

Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The unbeaten Spartans come in having outscored their opponents 436-87. The Indians defense will have to get stops, and their offense will have to sustain long, clock-eating drives to have a chance to pull a major upset.

Quote

: “It’s been the story this year with us shooting ourselves in the foot. Last week, we did some good things against Bangor. Then we got stopped on a fourth-and-one and they scored with literally no time left in the first which deflated us a bit. The second half we didn’t recover. Southern Lehigh is an immense challenge. On film, they show no weaknesses. They’re as explosive a team we will see outside of Northwestern this year. They have size up front, tremendous speed, and a quarterback who seems to do whatever he wants with running and passing. Last year they had one loss when we went there and three times we got in the red zone, but didn’t finish the drives. We have to slow this game down and execute our game plan. Instead of worrying about them, we have to focus more on us.” – Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll

Williams Valley (5-2)

at Marian (5-2)

Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Colts defense played great last week in a 30-0 shutout victory over Shenandoah Valley. The Marian defense will need to be great once again this week as it faces off with a potent Vikings offense and their running back Alex Achenbach, who has rushed for an impressive 1,672 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns.

Quote

: “I can’t say enough about the way our guys played defensively last week. It was a great effort. We have a lot of confidence in our defense, and we will be challenged this week with one of the better players you’re going to see in the area. I have been around a long time, and he is one of the better one’s that I have seen. Offensively, we’re also going to need to put some points on the board and take advantage of scoring opportunities, but we also want to run the football and use the clock as well and win the time of possession battle.” – Marian head coach Stan Dakosty.

Notre Dame GP (4-3)

at Jim Thorpe (2-5)

Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Olympians’ defense will be tested by the high-scoring Crusaders, averaging 31 points a game. Thorpe will have to finish drives it didn’t last week due to five costly turnovers.

Quote

: “We’re working on ball security drills in practice with our backs and receivers. We’re also emphasizing to our defense that they need to create turnovers to give us more scoring chances. We need to get more from our backs in the running game. Our quarterback, Cole Lazorick, gained over 100 yards for us last week and is doing a tremendous job running and throwing, but we need our backs to gain 30-40 yards so we can be more diversified. Notre Dame is an explosive team. Their quarterback is outstanding with running and throwing. They have a very fast back behind him that adds to their ability to score. They are physical up front on both sides of the ball. We have to consume time, and finish drives and try to frustrate them by keeping their offense off the field to give us our best chance.” – Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.

Panther Valley (2-5)

at Catasauqua (3-4)

Friday, Oct. 13. 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Panthers take on the Rough Riders, with both teams currently having lost their last three games.

Quote

: “The last two weeks we’ve been physically beaten on both sides of the ball. We work every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to get better. Catasauqua has good players at the skill positions. They like to throw the ball, so we need to get them off their game and run so we can move our defensive backs up in the box. On offense, we have to get some drives going and move the chains to keep them off the field. We’ll put in a few new wrinkles, but we have to block better at the point of attack. We hope to have some early success, and stay competitive to give us a chance we haven’t had in the past few weeks.” – Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine

Pleasant Valley (4-3)

at Nazareth (6-1)

Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Pleasant Valley faces another tough test in perennial powerhouse Nazareth after playing Northampton last week.

Quote

: “It’s a very tough stretch. Very, very proud of the way we played in the first half last week competing against a very good team. We got out-manned in the second half, lost the war of attrition a little bit. A bigger school flexed their muscles on us. We’ll bounce back. We know the task at hand coming up with Nazareth is the toughest we’ll face all year. We’re excited for the challenge and the opportunity, so we’ll have them ready to go. They’re very good at about every facet of the game. Big strong-armed quarterback, so he knows what he’s doing. Tremendous speed and amazing athletic ability and speed in the open field. Big and strong and play great defense, too. They’re ninth in the state for a reason.” - Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger.

Compiled by Rich Strack, Brad Hurley and Kyle Magda.