WILSON BORO — Northwestern’s bid to repeat as state champs began Saturday with a dominant 42-14 win over Wilson.

The Tigers showed off a few new weapons during the game, while some of their returning firepower was also on display.

“We’ve got a lot of bullets in the holster,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “We’re going to keep guys fresh, keep mixing and matching, play the hot hand, go by feel is sort of my gut feeling right now.”

Three different running backs scored touchdowns during the first half when Northwestern’s starters were still on the field.

Braxton Lakatosh led the way with five carries for 65 yards and one score. Chase Sukanick got five carries and ran for 31 yards and a touchdown. Brady Zimmerman carried the ball twice and scored once.

While last season the Tigers handed the ball to state Player of the Year Eli Zimmerman on most running plays, this season they will utilize a trio that complements one another.

“Brady is a downhill hard runner,” said Snyder. “Braxton has a little bit of both. Chase has elusiveness. All three bring a different style to their running, and I like what each of them are doing.”

Snyder could stick with a balanced rushing attack, or lean more heavily on one back when the matchups are favorable.

“We’ll go by feel, play the hot hand,” said Snyder. “Whoever is locked in and has got it that night is probably what we’re going to do. We ran [quarterback] Shane Leh one time, and in tougher games he’s going to get the ball a lot more. If we share the ball, a team can’t try to stop one guy.”

Leh, a senior and third-year starter at quarterback, ran an efficient passing attack Saturday.

He completed eight of his 13 throws for 119 yards. Tight end Shane Hulmes caught two passes for 48 yards, while both Mason Bollinger (3-40) and Michael Lagowy (3-27, TD) were his top targets.

The offense wasn’t the only thing clicking for the Tigers. Their defense had 10 tackles for loss in the first half as Wilson posted a negative yardage total (-26 yards) in that span.

“Defensively I thought we could be pretty dominant today, and we were,” said Snyder.

Lakatosh, a returning linebacker, made some big stops for the Tigers, while sophomore Fritz Scheirer had a breakout game in his first varsity start.

The 6-foot-1, 194-pound defensive lineman made several tackles for loss, but his biggest play came on special teams when he blocked a Wilson punt in the first quarter, resulting in a safety.

Scheirer said going for the block wasn’t his assignment on the play, but it all worked out.

“I wasn’t really supposed to do that,” he said. “But I got in his face and I got my hand on it. I’m supposed to fake the punter like I’m going to block it, then I run off to block. But I guess I got my arm in and I got it.”

Snyder was pleased with the sophomore’s showing Saturday.

“We saw it last year as a freshman on special teams,” Snyder said. “He’s got that high motor. He’s got that it factor.”

That wasn’t the only big special teams play made in this one. Lagowy took a punt 60 yards for a score late in the first half to give his team a 36-0 lead heading into the locker room.

Mason Bollinger also had a long return that would have been a touchdown. He took a kickoff to the end zone late in the first quarter, but a penalty away from the play negated the score.

The penalty wasn’t costly as Northwestern went three plays for a touchdown after the flag.

The Tigers’ starters rested the entire second half. Wilson kept the first string in the game, and the Tigers second team held its own against the Warriors’ varsity unit.

Freshman Trey Snyder got his first varsity reps under center and registered his first touchdown, a 6-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.

KEEP IT ROLLING ... Northwestern hasn’t lost a regular season game since falling to Bangor 27-21 on Oct. 14, 2022, marking 23 straight regular season wins. That’s also the Tigers’ last loss to a District 11 opponent, as they went 16-0 last year, and were 15-1 in 2023, with their only loss coming in the state title game.

JUST A COUPLE THING ... The Tigers’ performance against the Warriors wasn’t flawless. They committed six penalties for 60 yards, and had a couple missed blocks lead to tackles for loss. They’ll look to clean those things up for next week.

SHORT WEEK ... The Tigers will have just four days off before taking the field again for their annual rivalry game against Northern Lehigh Thursday in Slatington.

N’western 42, Wilson 14

Northwestern 16 20 0 6 - 42

Wilson 0 0 0 14 - 14

NW - Lakatosh 10 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Safety, Tadayesky downed in end zone

NW - Sukanick 9 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Zimmerman 2 run (kick failed)

NW - Lagowy 60 punt return (Sukanick kick)

W - Bonham 11 run (Penyak kick)

NW - T. Snyder 3 run (run failed)

W - Bonham 3 run (Penyak kick)