PEN ARGYL — There’s no denying the fact that the Colonial League enjoyed a banner football season last year.

Northwestern went undefeated and captured not only a district championship, but a state title as well.

Southern Lehigh also had plenty of success, earning a District 11 crown while reaching the state semifinals.

Pen Argyl played for a district crown, while many others — including Jim Thorpe, Lehighton and Northern Lehigh — reached the postseason.

While duplicating those accomplishments seems rather daunting, those within the league aren’t backing away from the challenge.

That, at least, was the feeling at Tuesday’s Colonial League Football Media Day — held at Pen Argyl High School — where coaches and players from the 14 member schools gathered for the annual event.

“For us, we always have high expectations,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “The last six years we’ve been playing really good football. I think our program is at the point where we’re just looking to reload every year.

“We’re looking to play for championships again. It’s a real expectation for us. We have a target on our back, which I think keeps you sharp. You play your best because every team is out there ready to knock you off. And it can make a season for teams to knock off Northwestern, so it really helps us to play at our best.”

While none of those teams in the league were able to defeat the Tigers a year ago, those same clubs offered plenty of support once Snyder and his club reached the state level.

“I think the league is real good,” said Snyder. “The divisions ... offer a little bit higher competition, bigger schools, and being able to go in week in and week out against those schools really helped.

“There’s a number of Colonial — and Schuylkill teams — that are playing high-caliber football, and that just goes to show what we’re able to do. In the postseason, sometimes I tell our kids, listen we’re playing for our league too. It’s a special thing when you make a run like (we did last year) and all the coaches reach out to you and congratulate you. You’re playing for the Lehigh Valley, you’re playing for the Colonial League, and that’s a pretty neat thing.”

What’s neat for Snyder is that he returns some key members from that state title club — including his starting quarterback.

“Obviously we’ve built a pretty good program the past couple years,” said Shane Leh, who threw for over 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns a year ago. “Everyone’s just been winning, winning, winning, and the past few years we’ve made it to the state finals, losing one and winning one. I believe that the expectations are try to make it back to December, and try to make it back to the state championship game. So that’s really the ultimate goal for us now, just try to make it back to the state playoffs in December.”

Northwestern isn’t the only area team whose goal is to have success in the playoffs.

Northern Lehigh, one of the Tigers’ rivals, had a strong season in 2024 but came up short in its postseason appearance against Pen Argyl.

“We had a bounce back season from my sophomore year when we were 3-7,” said Grady Newhard, the Bulldogs’ leading rusher last season. “We have experience coming back, and hopefully we can make a good run in the playoffs. I’m excited.”

“It’s a good league,” said Nolehi head coach Joe Tout. “ It prepares you. And at some point, you saw that. Northwestern broke through last year, winning a state title. That’s the quality of football that comes from our league.”

Lehighton has a number of quality players returning, including its quarterback (Jayse Lawrence) and two talented receivers (Caden Meek and Blake Roberts), who were all at media day.

The Indians face a grueling schedule, but are eager for the season to start. They’re hoping last year’s district playoff win against Blue Mountain has carried over to a strong start in 2025.

“Coming off that playoff win ... it was definitely a high for us,” said Roberts, who had 27 catches a year ago. “We have a lot of kids coming back on defense and offense. I know we lost a little on our line, but we have a lot of kids that have stepped up and put a lot of work in the offseason and we’re ready to win football games.”

Lehighton is in Division A, which features not only Northwestern and Southern Lehigh — the league’s top two teams — but also strong clubs from the Schuylkill League.

“I think it’s going to be an extremely good, competitive league, like it has been,” said Indian mentor Tom McCarroll. “Obviously Northwestern made the great run last year, and Southern Lehigh also had a heck of a run last year as well. I think our division, in particular, is really one of the best. I don’t think there’s an easy game there at all, especially when you add the teams from the Schuylkill County like Pottsville, Blue Mountain and North Schuylkill.

“There’s really no down week for us, which is OK. I appreciate that, and you want to be a part of what you consider to be the most competitive division. And I think we’ve got a good group of kids who understand what the expectations are now, and I think the way we finished last year hopefully will give us a little bit of a springboard into this season.”

Jim Thorpe is also a part of that nine-team Colonial-Schuylkill Division A group.

The Olympians managed to sneak into the district playoffs as an eighth seed a year ago, but gave Solehi all it could handle before the Spartans eventually pulled away.

“I expect to have a great season,” said senior Josh Louk. “We look way better this year than we have my previous three years. This is the best team I’ve seen the whole time I’ve been here ... The chemistry on the team and the way we look to start the season, I think we’ll be good. And we expect big things. We expect to make a splash in the playoffs this year.

“I love the league and how competitive it is. Getting that competition is something you don’t get in a lot of other leagues, especially for me going off to play in college. Getting that experience against other top tier teams is great.”

It remains to be seen if Thorpe can become one of those top tier teams.

“We have four seniors, who I think are going to be tremendous football players for us this year. They’ve had a great summer, and did an outstanding job of leading our youngsters along. I think if we continue to work hard and get better each and every day, I think we’ll be very competitive and have an opportunity to be where we want to be at the end of the season.”

Palmerton, meanwhile, competes in the league’s Division B.

The Blue Bombers boast one of the league’s top players in Division 1 recruit Logan Anthony.

“I feel we’ll be improved from last year,” said head coach Chris Walkowiak. “We were very young, 68 percent of our team were freshmen and sophomores that played.

“The Colonial ... is one of the best small school football conferences ... Year in and year out, the competition in league play prepares you for the postseason run. The teams that have been making runs I think have been great for the league, but it’s a credit to week in and week out, that you have to bring your A game because if you don’t bring your A game, someone is prime to beat you.”