Let’s get ready to rumble.

Northern Lehigh hosts rival Northwestern Lehigh in an early season high profile matchup with both teams entering with a 1-0 record.

“The Mountain Road Rumble” is the Week 2 Times News Game of the Week.

The Tigers have owned the rumble of late, winning eight of the last 10 over the Bulldogs. Over the past two seasons, Northwestern has defeated Northern Lehigh by an average of 48.5 points.

But this season, Northern Lehigh figures to be more competitive in the rumble. Northern Lehigh had young squads in 2023 and 2024, and the Bulldogs undoubtedly took their lumps, going 3-7 in 2023. However, they improved to 7-4 a season ago, and are now led by a strong group of juniors this season.

Northern Lehigh’s experience gained was on full display last week, as it was able to come away with an impressive road win over a good Lehighton team, 41-26. Juniors Chris Frame, Garrett Smoyer and Colin Karetsky accounted for five touchdowns, with senior running back Grady Newhard also rushing for a score.

Frame looks to be one of the more dynamic players in the Times News area after his performance against the Indians. He rushed for 148 yards, at over 13 yards per carry, and two touchdowns and also caught four passes for 69 yards and a score. Smoyer went 9-of-12 for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for a score, and Karetsky hauled in a 24-yard touchdown reception.

The Bulldogs’ offense put up 373 yards of total offense against the Tribe.

“We were really happy about how we played last week on both sides of the ball. We were able to run the ball with success, and we didn’t give up a sack,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “We were also able to go to our power I and goal line set late in the game, and we looked good there, too. There’s no doubt that we’re going up against a really good Northwestern team. But our guys really put time the time in the weight room in the offseason to get bigger and stronger. This is a game where we’re going to see where we’re at. But we feel we can be competitive.”

As expected, Northwestern steamrolled Wilson in Week 1, 42-14. The Tigers were able to rest their starters by the half, jumping out to a 36-0 lead. Northwestern has not lost a regular season game since Oct. 14, 2022, winning 23 straight regular season games.

The Tigers’ winning recipe of running the football and playing good defense was once again executed on Saturday in Easton. Northwestern rushed for 206 yards at 8.24 yards per carry, and defensively gave up just 79 yards of offense.

The Tigers are going to look to spread the ball around early to find out who is going to be their workhorse running back. Braxton Lakatosh (5 carries, 75 yards, 1TD), Kendall Wikert (1 carry, 59 yards), Chase Sukanick (4 carries, 29 yards, 1TD) and Brady Zimmerman (rushing touchdown) all had productive days. In all, 10 Tigers carried the football.

Senior quarterback Shane Leh also had an efficient afternoon, going 9-of-13 for 123 yards and a touchdown. Michael Lagowy (3 catches, 40 yards, 1 TD), Mason Bollinger (3 catches, 27 yards) and Shane Hulmes (2 catches, 48 yards) were Leh’s top targets.

“We had a lot of guys out there last week that were getting there first taste of varsity football. Still, I thought as a team we played fast and physical, and we executed pretty well and we got a ton of stops defensively,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “We were able to play a bunch of guys, and get the ball to a bunch of guys on the offensive end. We didn’t show a whole lot in that game, so we’re looking forward to opening it up as the season goes on.

“The Mountain Road Rumble is always a great atmosphere, and we’re looking forward to it. Northern Lehigh is fast and they play hard like all of Coach Tout’s teams that he has coached there. They did a great job of forcing key turnovers last wee,k and obviously the Frame kid is very dynamic. So a lot of attention will be on him for us, and rightfully so. Since we moved the game to a Thursday night, I feel like the game has gotten more eyes on it and has some more energy, which is always what you want to see for a rivalry game.”